Top Law Schools

Name says it all.

NYU>all other law schools.

^ Ummmm ok? No, just wondering if since I got admitted to NYU this means that I will probably get into Chicago as well?

Veyron wrote:^ Ummmm ok? No, just wondering if since I got admitted to NYU this means that I will probably get into Chicago as well?

Stats?

But you will probably get into Chi if your stats are normal.

There are a few stray factors around. NYU is somewhat more strictly numbers-based than Chicago; if both of your numbers are below median at NYU, you'll probably be waitlisted or rejected, whereas strong softs could still see you admitted at Chicago at 25th percentile on both. The reverse is also true: NYU will accept everyone with one number above 75th and the other at median, but Chicago might reject someone with those numbers and particularly bad softs otherwise. Chicago is one of the few schools that values undergrad prestige, so a 3.6 from Princeton has more value at Chicago than a 3.63 from Rutgers, while the 3.63 at Rutgers has more value at NYU.

Those are the major things. People are accepted into NYU and rejected from Chicago quite often, and people are accepted into Chicago and rejected from NYU quite often. That's pretty much all there is to it.

Stats were median on the LSAT about 25th on the GPA for NYU. Will it matter that I sent in my Chitown app a month latter than NYU (so in December)? (I guess you can tell where my priorities were from this but it would be nice to have an option.)

Undergraduate prestige on the level of Berkley (but not Berk)

Veyron wrote:Stats were median on the LSAT about 25th on the GPA for NYU. Will it matter that I sent in my Chitown app a month latter than NYU (so in December) (I guess you can tell where my priorities were from this but it would be nice to have an option)?

It might matter a little; when did you go complete at Chicago? Also, don't expect a decision at Chicago before March; they go in strict chronological order, and they're way behind right now.

I'm not even sure that they've recorded me as complete yet.

Chicago is harder to get into because of its smaller class size, especially for splitters.

BenJ wrote:There are a few stray factors around. NYU is somewhat more strictly numbers-based than Chicago; if both of your numbers are below median at NYU, you'll probably be waitlisted or rejected, whereas strong softs could still see you admitted at Chicago at 25th percentile on both. The reverse is also true: NYU will accept everyone with one number above 75th and the other at median, but Chicago might reject someone with those numbers and particularly bad softs otherwise. Chicago is one of the few schools that values undergrad prestige, so a 3.6 from Princeton has more value at Chicago than a 3.63 from Rutgers, while the 3.63 at Rutgers has more value at NYU.

Those are the major things. People are accepted into NYU and rejected from Chicago quite often, and people are accepted into Chicago and rejected from NYU quite often. That's pretty much all there is to it.

How do you know all of these things? Do you work in admissions? These are very specific things to say...

chanchito wrote:

BenJ wrote:There are a few stray factors around. NYU is somewhat more strictly numbers-based than Chicago; if both of your numbers are below median at NYU, you'll probably be waitlisted or rejected, whereas strong softs could still see you admitted at Chicago at 25th percentile on both. The reverse is also true: NYU will accept everyone with one number above 75th and the other at median, but Chicago might reject someone with those numbers and particularly bad softs otherwise. Chicago is one of the few schools that values undergrad prestige, so a 3.6 from Princeton has more value at Chicago than a 3.63 from Rutgers, while the 3.63 at Rutgers has more value at NYU.

Those are the major things. People are accepted into NYU and rejected from Chicago quite often, and people are accepted into Chicago and rejected from NYU quite often. That's pretty much all there is to it.

How do you know all of these things? Do you work in admissions? These are very specific things to say...

http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

im_blue wrote:Chicago is harder to get into because of its smaller class size, especially for splitters.

Is Chicago GPA or LSAT heavy? Given their reputation I'd guess GPA but it's not one of the ones I've heard about (Berk, Stanford, UCLA, etc)

def2104 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Chicago is harder to get into because of its smaller class size, especially for splitters.

Is Chicago GPA or LSAT heavy? Given their reputation I'd guess GPA but it's not one of the ones I've heard about (Berk, Stanford, UCLA, etc)

CCN all have lower median GPAs than Virginia, Penn, and Berkeley. The reason is likely due to the fact that CCN can achieve a median LSAT of 171-172, while V/P/B can only get 170 medians, so the latter group seeks to maximize their GPA so they don't lag too far behind in selectivity.

NYU's acceptance rate is 21%, Chicago's is 16%

^ This doesn't say much. Penn also has a lower acceptance rate than NYU even though NYU is certainly acknowledged to be the more difficult school at which to gain admission.

My first thought that came to mind when I saw this thread was, chicago, for sure.

im_blue wrote:

def2104 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Chicago is harder to get into because of its smaller class size, especially for splitters.

Is Chicago GPA or LSAT heavy? Given their reputation I'd guess GPA but it's not one of the ones I've heard about (Berk, Stanford, UCLA, etc)

CCN all have lower median GPAs than Virginia, Penn, and Berkeley. The reason is likely due to the fact that CCN can achieve a median LSAT of 171-172, while V/P/B can only get 170 medians, so the latter group seeks to maximize their GPA so they don't lag too far behind in selectivity.

That makes sense I guess. I wonder why NYU is ranked higher than...location maybe plays into it, giving them a bigger applicant pool.

def2104 wrote:

im_blue wrote:

def2104 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Chicago is harder to get into because of its smaller class size, especially for splitters.

Is Chicago GPA or LSAT heavy? Given their reputation I'd guess GPA but it's not one of the ones I've heard about (Berk, Stanford, UCLA, etc)

CCN all have lower median GPAs than Virginia, Penn, and Berkeley. The reason is likely due to the fact that CCN can achieve a median LSAT of 171-172, while V/P/B can only get 170 medians, so the latter group seeks to maximize their GPA so they don't lag too far behind in selectivity.

That makes sense I guess. I wonder why NYU is ranked higher than...location maybe plays into it, giving them a bigger applicant pool.

NYU ranks higher because they have buckets of money. The per student expenditure part of the US News ranking is pretty significant. University of Chicago spends a great deal less money. That said, I am facing this decision right now and consider the 'lower ranked' school superior in just about every way.

CCN all have lower median GPAs than Virginia, Penn, and Berkeley. The reason is likely due to the fact that CCN can achieve a median LSAT of 171-172, while V/P/B can only get 170 medians, so the latter group seeks to maximize their GPA so they don't lag too far behind in selectivity.

That makes sense I guess. I wonder why NYU is ranked higher than...location maybe plays into it, giving them a bigger applicant pool.[/quote]

NYU ranks higher because they have buckets of money. The per student expenditure part of the US News ranking is pretty significant. University of Chicago spends a great deal less money. That said, I am facing this decision right now and consider the 'lower ranked' school superior in just about every way.[/quote]

Interesting. I didn't know this. So, does this difference make any significant difference in the quality of life at NYU? What do they spend the money on?
CCN all have lower median GPAs than Virginia, Penn, and Berkeley. The reason is likely due to the fact that CCN can achieve a median LSAT of 171-172, while V/P/B can only get 170 medians, so the latter group seeks to maximize their GPA so they don't lag too far behind in selectivity.[/quote]

That makes sense I guess. I wonder why NYU is ranked higher than...location maybe plays into it, giving them a bigger applicant pool.[/quote]

NYU ranks higher because they have buckets of money. The per student expenditure part of the US News ranking is pretty significant. University of Chicago spends a great deal less money. That said, I am facing this decision right now and consider the 'lower ranked' school superior in just about every way.[/quote]

Interesting. I didn't know this. So, does this difference make any significant difference in the quality of life at NYU? What do they spend the money on?

Interesting. I didn't know this. So, does this difference make any significant difference in the quality of life at NYU? What do they spend the money on?

I don't know about QOL at either school (0L here). I just know money is the most significant advantage that NYU has in the rankings. You can spend the money on all sorts of things, and games can be played to make it look like one is spending more money (not saying that NYU does this). Chicago doesn't give full-tuition scholarships. I would guess that practices like this start to add up. NYU has also been spending a lot of money attracting faculty as of late.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/reale ... deal1.html

That is a link to an article that talks about the multi million dollar apartments they have bought to lure prestigious teaching hires. It is all a big game. Trying to figure out why one school is ranked above another is only about as useful as using US News rankings at all. In the end, one should try to get a complete picture of the schools and try to evaluate them based on the criteria that is important to YOU.

My case is likely extraordinarily unique, but I got into chicago and rejected by nyu within a week of each other. Lower lsat, high gpa, exceptional softs.

I had no intention of going to nyu but the strength of my directed statements were legitimately identical for both. Chicago is more holistic imho. hth.