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Who has better placement in New York? And who is more willing to accept/forgive a low gpa (3.1)?

Penn, for NY.

As to who is more willing to accept a low GPA - this totally depends on your LSAT and WE. I would say that with good WE, NU is generally willing to dip a little lower than Penn (one of the only T14s that will take <3.0 splitters consistently) for the same LSAT which, of course, needs to be high. Without WE you're SOL at NU.

I would say if you're trying to manage splitter-friendliness and NYC prospects then UVa is probably a solid choice.

It really depends on your LSAT. Low 170's and you're looking at UVa and NU (if w/e for the latter), high 170's and you might have a small shot at M/P or CCN with ED (emphasis on small for CCN).

Better for NYC- Penn

Will likely overlook 3.1 - NU, assuming 170+ (172 is better) and W/E.

Like everyone else said UVA is another contender but good luck getting into UVA without 170 + (instate or an ED).

Honestly, if you already have strong ties to NYC, NU might be a better choice over Penn. While NU certainly sends fewer students to NYC every year, NU is nevertheless very successful in overall placement. As I recall, nearly every single V50 firm in NYC (minus Wachtell and Debevoise) visted NU during OCI. The overall level of competition (in terms of getting a CB) is also much less at NU than it would be at Penn.

My friends at NU who targeted NYC have all largely been very successful.

Thanks for the advice. And bk I don't mean to be redundant (you responded to a similar post of mine this weekend).

LSAT is 171 with 2 years solid work experience. I can't bring myself to ED at UVA. I will definitely use it at either NU or Penn - just can't quite decide between the two.

Anyone else have an opinion?

chadwich - that's a good way to look at it that I hadn't thought of. A higher percentage of Penn students than NU probably target NY. However, is the supply of NY offers at Penn large enough to mitigate the issue?

Self selection aside, I think Penn's placement in NYC is unquestionably better than NUs. However, this is not to say that you can't get NYC with NU - just that it's more difficult.

Again, your chances at NU are considerably better than at Penn. Penn is very very slim, even with ED.