NYU law vs. Boston University law Forum

[catherine207]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. As soon as she heard the news, she offered to help me to pay back my debt for NYU because she wants me to go to the best law school possible. But what about class ranking? I feel like I will rank better at Boston than at NYU.

Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, we want to meet 3 times per month. It is just a train or bus ride away, how realistic is that plan? She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

[KateMcKitten]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

[UVA2B]

This is a huge amalgamation of personal and professional decisions, so it's worth dissecting.

1. Your decision absent your SO: If you want to end up in NYC following graduation, don't go to BU. It can get you there, but it can't reliably get you there. But the debt level makes it more attractive. Considering how important ending up in NYC is (sorry, this is including your SO's desires, so it's not absent them), NYU starts in the lead.

2. Debt level: what kind of debt level is your SO looking at, should you get married? They have a much more assured professional outcome as an MD with a more stable career, but considering your collective debt still matters. Plus it'll be tough sledding when they are a resident prior to becoming an attending. But this should be a stark reality: even an MD and JD making $400k/year paying off $500k debt should matter to you. It's a huge financial commitment, and worth considering.

3. Long distance: This entirely varies based on the couple. Some can do months and years apart and survive because they're just geared that way. Others go sour because they have to spend 8 weeks apart. Only you can answer whether your relationship can withstand being 2-3 hours apart, seeing each other once or twice per month (on weekends).

I'd love to discuss this via PM because I have extensive experience in this exact type of decision, but hopefully I've at least given you something to think about preliminarily.

Edit: clarifying long distance frequency

[jingosaur]

From what I have heard from students who went there, BU is incredibly competitive. The top students get great jobs and the bottom students get nothing. Think about it.

NYU is a great law school, but that is a lot of debt. It is still servicible with a biglaw job and NYU has a really good LRAP program that you should look into.

I was in a NY to Boston long distance relationship for my first 2 years of law school. We saw each other around every 2 weeks and lived together over summers. It is a 4 to 5 hour trip door to door via bus or train. Train is obviously much nicer but also a lot more expensive. We ended up breaking up though, and the distance contributed somewhat. We had trouble communicating my 1L year, mostly because I was meeting a lot of new people and was worried about doing well.

[throwaway_]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

Dude. Take the bus. It's like $25 one way.

[KateMcKitten]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

Dude. Take the bus. It's like $25 one way.

I did the first few times, but it's not the most efficient time-wise and it's incredibly unreliable, regardless of line. I work 5 days a week 9-5, so even with taking one day off, I lose an entire day of the weekend in bus stations, as it's 6 hours each way. And that's *if* the bus is on time. Last time I waited 4 hours for my bus, effectively making it a 10 hour commute. It's a cost-benefit ratio...much like OP's dilemma here

[eck456]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

Dude. Take the bus. It's like $25 one way.

I did the first few times, but it's not the most efficient time-wise and it's incredibly unreliable, regardless of line. I work 5 days a week 9-5, so even with taking one day off, I lose an entire day of the weekend in bus stations, as it's 6 hours each way. And that's *if* the bus is on time. Last time I waited 4 hours for my bus, effectively making it a 10 hour commute. It's a cost-benefit ratio...much like OP's dilemma here

Not the most relevant to this situation, but last time I took the bus Boston-NYC on a Friday after I was done with classes I got trapped for over 11 hours and we almost had a full rebellion before the driver broke the rules and turned off his official approved route. Some dude was watching porn on his laptop by the bathroom, the ladies next to me drank several of bottles of wine at the beginning of the ride and went straight into hangover by the time we arrived, and I literally could see my dads apartment window FROM THE BUS before we were stuck in traffic for 3 more hours. Take. The. Train. On. Weekends.

[lakers180]

nyu if anything is less aggressive and competitive because people have better job outcomes

[throwaway_]

Are you guys doing the greyhound? Delays for hours is not normal. And obviously time your trips so that you won't hit peak traffic. (Friday afternoon is, like, the worst time ever.) I'm not saying that it's ever a fun trip, but with a little advanced planning it gets comparable to Amtrack at a third of the price. Good luck trying to find a pair of major cities that's less unpleasant to travel back and forth.

[KateMcKitten]

Not the most relevant to this situation, but last time I took the bus Boston-NYC on a Friday after I was done with classes I got trapped for over 11 hours and we almost had a full rebellion before the driver broke the rules and turned off his official approved route. Some dude was watching porn on his laptop by the bathroom, the ladies next to me drank several of bottles of wine at the beginning of the ride and went straight into hangover by the time we arrived, and I literally could see my dads apartment window FROM THE BUS before we were stuck in traffic for 3 more hours. Take. The. Train. On. Weekends.

Also sometimes flights can be cheap, too, booked way in advance. Always track Google flights if you go the LDR route. Sorry for the lack of law school advice. My next career would be a travel agent.

[KissMyAxe]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

Dude. Take the bus. It's like $25 one way.

I did the first few times, but it's not the most efficient time-wise and it's incredibly unreliable, regardless of line. I work 5 days a week 9-5, so even with taking one day off, I lose an entire day of the weekend in bus stations, as it's 6 hours each way. And that's *if* the bus is on time. Last time I waited 4 hours for my bus, effectively making it a 10 hour commute. It's a cost-benefit ratio...much like OP's dilemma here

Not the most relevant to this situation, but last time I took the bus Boston-NYC on a Friday after I was done with classes I got trapped for over 11 hours and we almost had a full rebellion before the driver broke the rules and turned off his official approved route. Some dude was watching porn on his laptop by the bathroom, the ladies next to me drank several of bottles of wine at the beginning of the ride and went straight into hangover by the time we arrived, and I literally could see my dads apartment window FROM THE BUS before we were stuck in traffic for 3 more hours. Take. The. Train. On. Weekends.

Why would you not just get off and walk then?

[malibustacy]

Despite this thread getting derailed...

Go to NYU. Stay with your significant other. 3 years is a long time to do long distance. Don't choose BU based on one good visit; they pull all the stops at admitted student week anyway. You won't necessarily do better at BU. Even if you did, you'd rather be slightly below median at NYU than top 1/3 at BU.

200k is a lot. But I'd assume you'd live together with your significant other so that should save some.

[cavalier1138]

nyu if anything is less aggressive and competitive because people have better job outcomes

This.

You guys really need to evaluate the debt and your plans for repayment to make a decision. But don't go to BU on the assumption that it'll be easier to place well in your class. It won't.

[Dr. Nefario]

nyu if anything is less aggressive and competitive because people have better job outcomes

This.

You guys really need to evaluate the debt and your plans for repayment to make a decision. But don't go to BU on the assumption that it'll be easier to place well in your class. It won't.

This is 100% true. Many kids at BU have turned down non-HYS, t14 schools because they wanted to stay in Boston or because the scholarship was so much better here. The school isn't competitive in the old-school gunner aggression, but a large majority of the class does want biglaw and only 1/3 get it.

[eck456]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, wouldn't we still meet up every 1-2 weeks? It is just a train ride away. She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

My gf and I are doing Boston to NYC long distance and it SUCKS. Like, sure, a train ride away, but you have to book it 3+ weeks in advance and it's still $100 for an 8+ hour round trip. We are lucky if we see each other every 3 weeks. No law school advice here from me, just the reality of NYC-Boston LDRs.

Dude. Take the bus. It's like $25 one way.

I did the first few times, but it's not the most efficient time-wise and it's incredibly unreliable, regardless of line. I work 5 days a week 9-5, so even with taking one day off, I lose an entire day of the weekend in bus stations, as it's 6 hours each way. And that's *if* the bus is on time. Last time I waited 4 hours for my bus, effectively making it a 10 hour commute. It's a cost-benefit ratio...much like OP's dilemma here

Not the most relevant to this situation, but last time I took the bus Boston-NYC on a Friday after I was done with classes I got trapped for over 11 hours and we almost had a full rebellion before the driver broke the rules and turned off his official approved route. Some dude was watching porn on his laptop by the bathroom, the ladies next to me drank several of bottles of wine at the beginning of the ride and went straight into hangover by the time we arrived, and I literally could see my dads apartment window FROM THE BUS before we were stuck in traffic for 3 more hours. Take. The. Train. On. Weekends.

Why would you not just get off and walk then?

The driver refused to let us off and had our luggage underneath, so to just force your way off was to abandon your stuff...we all started to as a group tho and that's when he turned off. But it's against Megabus policy or something bc it violates their insurance to let people off anywhere but the designated stop near penn

[corporatemandaorbust]

Hi everyone! I was accepted into Boston University law school, attended their revisit weekend, and really love their student body and opportunities. Two days ago, NYU law school also accepted me!! I think that NYU law school has better opportunities, but my impression of their student body is aggressive and competitive. I am not sure if I want to work in a highly stressful wall street environment. Also, I will come out with 60k debt in Boston law school, but probably 200k debt in NYU law school.

My girlfriend of 4 years is in medical school in NYC and I would like to marry her one day. She is so supportive of me during difficult times. As soon as she heard the news, she offered to help me to pay back my debt for NYU because she wants me to go to the best law school possible. But what about class ranking? I feel like I will rank better at Boston than at NYU.

Right now we see each other once a month or so. We already did 2 years of long distance out of 4 years. But if I go to Boston law school, we want to meet 3 times per month. It is just a train or bus ride away, how realistic is that plan? She is unhappy that I asked her to do another 3 years of long distance relationship. I am determined to get summer internship and ultimate job offer in NYC, because her residency will likely be in NYC.

What would be better for our future?

Stats?

[heythatslife]

If the relationship means that much to you, I would do NYU. Getting a decent legal job in NYC is possible but far from a sure thing from BU. Also, from what I've heard from folks at BU, the competition there is more cutthroat, and I wouldn't be so sure that you'd necessarily place better there than at NYU to get the kind of job you'd want.

I do Boston-NYC LDR but it's manageable for me because a) it's only for 1 year; b) I couldn't care less about my grades at this point (3L with job offer); and c) I'm already married. I make it to New York pretty much half of any given month. I couldn't imagine doing it as a 1L, with both the relationship and law school performance on the line - something would have to give.

[Bach-City]

.

[catalina559]

I've actually found the environment at NYU to be fun and non-competitive! I'm a 0L though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I also know two people who went there, one who is currently a student, and both love it at NYU.

[Tr3]

I'm actually pretty surprised to hear that you think NYU students are aggressive and competitive. I'm a 2L here and would say that the student body is awesome, that's one of the things I love about NYU. I've found most people to be pretty collaborative, and certainly I haven't seen anyone try to sabotage someone else. NYU has fantastic employment prospects, so no one is really worried about competing with each other for jobs because most people get a job they'd be happy with. Of course, there are those that strike out in EIW, but I think that's a rare circumstance. Law school attracts a lot of type-A personalities, so I'd say that gets annoying, but I'm sure there are extreme type-A people at a lot of law schools. I'd imagine there'd be more competition at a school with fewer job opportunities.

If your circumstances end up such that you can afford NYU, then I'd recommend going to NYU.

[Veil of Ignorance]

nyu if anything is less aggressive and competitive because people have better job outcomes

This.

You guys really need to evaluate the debt and your plans for repayment to make a decision. But don't go to BU on the assumption that it'll be easier to place well in your class. It won't.

This, as someone at Columbia whose girlfriend is at Fordham, being at a T6 is way less stressful. I got great grades, but couldn't possibly have known that going in. Even if I had done poorly I would probably be totally fine. I turned down way more money from Vanderbilt and WUSTL to come here at about 200k in debt (70k in scholarship from CLS) and I don't regret it for a minue.

Law School Transparency has cost of attendance at $330k a year. I'm just curious how a 70k scholarships could get it to around 200k. Do you think Law School Transparency is too liberal in its cost estimates (if you are familiar with the site).

[Bach-City]

.

[Joscellin]

Some additonal information about your long-term job goals is needed here.

That said, go to NYU. Be with your girl and be assured of a decent job.

[Thelaw23]

This is impossible to give advice on until we know your long term and short term career goals.