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Hi all.

I am an international student from Asia, K-JD. LSAT is 172, and GPA is graded as Superior. Now I have to make a choice between Umich and NYU. Michigan offered a scholarship of 120k, while NYU offered 26k. Will try to negotiate with NYU, though I doubt they will increase the amount. Also in at Georgetown with 120k (love Michigan much better, so Gtown is out). Hold at Columbia, will get a decision before 25 April (it seems that they will waitlist me anyway). Did not apply to any other law schools.

I plan to work in the US for several years after graduation and biglaw are the only employers who will sponsor my visa. So, yes, basically I will focus on biglaw. As a foreigner, I have no ties to any specific market. I guess the location of my law school is going to have a great impact on my future choice of market. And ultimately I think I will go back to Asia and end up in a local office of the law firm.

My parents are willing to pay for all the law school expenses, but I still want to make a financially reasonable choice. I have tried the search function and read almost all the previous discussion. 9 out of 10 will reply with "take the money" lol. My situation may be a little different as I am international and I will not take loans. Life won't be a disaster if I cannot get a biglaw job, but life still sucks if I cannot find the job I want after investing a lot of money. The chance of biglaw at NYU seems much better than Michigan, and NYU is also more famous in my home country. I had never heard of Michigan until I began my application cycle. I don't care much about rankings or lay prestige, but the brand name of NYU may indeed bring merit when I go back to my home country in the future. Will these advantages make NYU worthy of the extra money?

Now I am regretting that I did not apply broadly for scholarship negotiation. Maybe the choice will be much easier to make if Columbia admits me in April (which is not quite possible). I will go to Columbia as long as I'm in because its brand name will be a significant boost. NYU is famous than Michigan in my home country, but not that famous. However, I will withdraw from Columbia if they Reserve me because I don't feel like the idea of sitting on waitlist and waiting late into summer. A choice has to be made between NYU and Michigan in most cases.

Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Go with Michigan. I don't think NYU is worth the extra ~100K in money.
Michigan places very well in NY biglaw. Also, if you have a good career and are successful, no one is going to care whether you went to NYU or Michigan in the future.

ashleyk wrote:Hi all.

I am an international student from Asia, K-JD. LSAT is 172, and GPA is graded as Superior. Now I have to make a choice between Umich and NYU. Michigan offered a scholarship of 120k, while NYU offered 26k. Will try to negotiate with NYU, though I doubt they will increase the amount. Also in at Georgetown with 120k (love Michigan much better, so Gtown is out). Hold at Columbia, will get a decision before 25 April (it seems that they will waitlist me anyway). Did not apply to any other law schools.

I plan to work in the US for several years after graduation and biglaw are the only employers who will sponsor my visa. So, yes, basically I will focus on biglaw. As a foreigner, I have no ties to any specific market. I guess the location of my law school is going to have a great impact on my future choice of market. And ultimately I think I will go back to Asia and end up in a local office of the law firm.

My parents are willing to pay for all the law school expenses, but I still want to make a financially reasonable choice. I have tried the search function and read almost all the previous discussion. 9 out of 10 will reply with "take the money" lol. My situation may be a little different as I am international and I will not take loans. Life won't be a disaster if I cannot get a biglaw job, but life still sucks if I cannot find the job I want after investing a lot of money. The chance of biglaw at NYU seems much better than Michigan, and NYU is also more famous in my home country. I had never heard of Michigan until I began my application cycle. I don't care much about rankings or lay prestige, but the brand name of NYU may indeed bring merit when I go back to my home country in the future. Will these advantages make NYU worthy of the extra money?

Now I am regretting that I did not apply broadly for scholarship negotiation. Maybe the choice will be much easier to make if Columbia admits me in April (which is not quite possible). I will go to Columbia as long as I'm in because its brand name will be a significant boost. NYU is famous than Michigan in my home country, but not that famous. However, I will withdraw from Columbia if they Reserve me because I don't feel like the idea of sitting on waitlist and waiting late into summer. A choice has to be made between NYU and Michigan in most cases.

Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

You should have applied more broadly, but Michigan is a good deal

In addition to the better scholarship, cost of living is significantly lower in Ann Arbor, which will probably save you at least $30k over the course of law school.

These schools' employment outcomes are close enough that it's not worth paying so much more for NYU. Go to Michigan.

Go to Michigan, be happy. Ann Arbor is a great place to spend three years. Students know each other and professors better than at NYU.

Go to Michigan for the reasons already stated above.