Philly automatically less competitive than Chi for BigLaw? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I would rather live in Philly (I grew up in PA) and have some semblance of ties in Philly (though not strong at all - a family member went to school there and I visited often and loved it). But my school has no GPA data for Philly offers from a particular firm but has the Chicago offer GPA data. Would I be safe to assume the Philly market for the firm is automatically less competitive? (I go to UMich too, so I bet very few of my colleauges have interest in Philly v. Chicago)

Or should I not risk it and just bid on/tell the interviewer (since they do not allow multiple interviews) that I am interested in Chicago (I like Chitown but have no real ties) just because I at least have hard data telling me i am relatively competitive for their Chicago GPA #s?

Thanks a ton.

[keg411]

I would rather live in Philly (I grew up in PA) and have some semblance of ties in Philly (though not strong at all - a family member went to school there and I visited often and loved it). But my school has no GPA data for Philly offers from a particular firm but has the Chicago offer GPA data. Would I be safe to assume the Philly market for the firm is automatically less competitive? (I go to UMich too, so I bet very few of my colleauges have interest in Philly v. Chicago)

Or should I not risk it and just bid on/tell the interviewer (since they do not allow multiple interviews) that I am interested in Chicago (I like Chitown but have no real ties) just because I at least have hard data telling me i am relatively competitive for their Chicago GPA #s?

Thanks a ton.

If you want Philly, bid for Philly (PA will probably suffice). FWIW, I got to Mich and did OCI last year, so I'm 99% sure I know which firm you're talking about and I really doubt that particular office is incredibly selective (beyond the "small class size" thing).

But if you're interested in Philly at all, don't rely on OCI and do an alumni outreach and mass mailing campaign ASAP.