Top Law Schools

These numbers are for the next two years. I need to decide by, like, tomorrow. I previously had this between HLS and NYU, but I got into SLS very recently (dinged at YLS). Sorry to everyone who advised previously on my poor information!

NYU: 153K
HLS: 98K
SLS: 102K

NYU+: Like NYC and the school. On LR, got every other award. Already bought shirt.
NYU-: Pretty expensive. Cold in winter. Have to take ConLaw.

HLS+: Large class sizes. Alumni network. Impresses parents more. Avoid ConLaw.
HLS-: Can't make LR. Pretentious jerks? Cold in winter. Have to take International Law.

SLS+: Can still make LR (but will I?). Closer to home. Nice weather. Fewer pretentious jerks?
SLS-: Doesn't sound quite as good as HLS. Too much IP focus? Mascot is a tree. Have to take ConLaw.

My main goal is biglaw somewhere. I don't really have any interest in IP anything. Clerkships or academia sound OK, but I'm pretty poor and probably not all that smart. I'm also not that enthused about doing LR; however, I do think it's something I would do because everybody tells you to do it.

How much do you like NYU/your friends? I feel like it's kind of hard to turn down graduating with a good amount less debt from HLS, especially if you don't really love NYU.

What's the difference in COA between staying and going?

I'd stay. Not an expert on the markets out there but I'd assume your job prospects aren't going to improve by tranferring considering your rank.

I like NYU, but I didn't make many friends. I'm not the most social person. I have like one or two guys I talk to.

If you're fine with it socially, no reason not to unless you want a clerkship. You'll get great biglaw offers at either school due to your grades. And Harvard appears to be significantly cheaper for you.

lawman84 wrote:If you're fine with it socially, no reason not to unless you want a clerkship. You'll get great biglaw offers at either school due to your grades. And Harvard appears to be significantly cheaper for you.

Yea I think you need to give your estimated debt at graduation as it's unclear which is cheaper. It appears Harvard is which makes it kind of obvious I think personally. (Though you are way more likely than most people to have an ex-alum interviewing you, which could hurt.)

Now updated w/actual COA and school. Thanks to everybody who responded previously!

Anonymous User wrote:Now updated w/actual COA and school. Thanks to everybody who responded previously!

All I've got to say is that you're the least ambitious top 1% T6 student I've met in my life, and I've met quite a few. You're so unusual that I don't know what to tell you.

ETA: You wrote the following in your OP: "Clerkships or academia sound OK, but I'm pretty poor and probably not all that smart." First, the "pretty poor" thing is a non-sequitur: your class background won't have anything to do with your ability to land a clerkship or excel in academia, if that's what you want. Also, I'm confident that you are very smart. Although law school grades are somewhat random, it's pretty tough to outcompete 99% of the highly-motivated, highly intelligent students at a top-10 law school. I suspect that you're rather intelligent.

Why transfer? There are plenty of SCOTUS clerks from NYU/Columbia top 1-2%.

rpupkin wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Now updated w/actual COA and school. Thanks to everybody who responded previously!

All I've got to say is that you're the least ambitious top 1% T6 student I've met in my life, and I've met quite a few. You're so unusual that I don't know what to tell you.

ETA: You wrote the following in your OP: "Clerkships or academia sound OK, but I'm pretty poor and probably not all that smart." First, the "pretty poor" thing is a non-sequitur: your class background won't have anything to do with your ability to land a clerkship or excel in academia, if that's what you want. Also, I'm confident that you are very smart. Although law school grades are somewhat random, it's pretty tough to outcompete 99% of the highly-motivated, highly intelligent students at a top-10 law school. I suspect that you're rather intelligent.

I actually talked to a psychologist about the ambition thing. He essentially said that it's because I'm poor (I became concerned about my lack of ambition when I started at NYU and met my classmates). Apparently, due to my parents always being busy and never pushing me to do any extracurricular activities or explore my "passions," I neither developed a drive to succeed nor any real interests. Probably a bullshit explanation, but it sounded pretty legit.

I brought up the poor thing in the OP not because I think it makes me dumb, but to explain why I want to go into biglaw. Sorry for the confusion.

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:Why transfer? There are plenty of SCOTUS clerks from NYU/Columbia top 1-2%.

Want to save that sweet sweet $50k. That's probably like a year of my life in biglaw after interest starts piling up, y'know?

Those are some of the best law schools in the country and, if you can't get amped about going to one, I don't think you're going to like being a lawyer. I've only gotten a taste of what being a real lawyer is like and I gotta say, law school seems like an amusement park compared to the real world, and you've got a ticket to Disney World. Dude, do you really want to be a lawyer? Why are you in law school?

How does a person not develop interests? Do you just sit and stair at a wall all day? There's gotta be things that you like that interest you. And a drive to succeed can be manufactured, fake it until you have it.

I don't think it's a problem if OP wants to pursue biglaw instead of going after a clerkship/academia just b/c OP has the grades to get those things.

lawman84 wrote:How does a person not develop interests? Do you just sit and stair at a wall all day? There's gotta be things that you like that interest you. And a drive to succeed can be manufactured, fake it until you have it.

Sorry, I don't mean I don't have interests, I just don't have law school-type interests. You know, people are into social justice, they're into like constitutional scholarship (I swear I heard a guy make a joke about the Federalist Papers once), they're into international law at the Hague or something, etc.

SLS. 50k cheaper and easier to explain at interviews (smaller class, better weather, very different city).

Have you tried negotiate with NYU for scholarship given your acceptance to H/S? I'd take S if I was you and nothing changes.

Anonymous User wrote:

lawman84 wrote:How does a person not develop interests? Do you just sit and stair at a wall all day? There's gotta be things that you like that interest you. And a drive to succeed can be manufactured, fake it until you have it.

Sorry, I don't mean I don't have interests, I just don't have law school-type interests. You know, people are into social justice, they're into like constitutional scholarship (I swear I heard a guy make a joke about the Federalist Papers once), they're into international law at the Hague or something, etc.

People are weird. I think a lot of law students aren't that passionate about a specific area of law. They might have an area they favor more than others but I doubt most people are THAT into it. It's just a lesser evil. Then again, I don't go to a t6 law school.

why is it a minus for SLS that the mascot is a tree

>:-[

eta: i'm biased toward nyu but if i were you i'd just go wherever i felt like i'd be happiest or wherever would ultimately be cheapest

chuckbass wrote:I don't think it's a problem if OP wants to pursue biglaw instead of going after a clerkship/academia just b/c OP has the grades to get those things.

I completely agree with this. Also, the vast majority of folks who land clerkships just end up in big law anyway.

.

Op there's really no wrong decision
Obviously you've killed it
Have 3 beers in an hour and a half or so, ask yourself where you want to be, shout the answer, and then do that
You are going to have big law and potentially stuff like Bristow or SCOTUS based on your grades

id transfer to SLS in a heartbeat for 50k less. and i'm an NYU grad.

tough choice given that H is cheaper. I'd prob stay tho given your connections and rank and LR

OP you sound awesome. Whatever you do, good luck.

sandwhich wrote:Those are some of the best law schools in the country and, if you can't get amped about going to one, I don't think you're going to like being a lawyer. I've only gotten a taste of what being a real lawyer is like and I gotta say, law school seems like an amusement park compared to the real world, and you've got a ticket to Disney World. Dude, do you really want to be a lawyer? Why are you in law school?

Please shut up, just because he doesn't sound like every other aspie striver on TLS doesn't mean he doesn't like what he's doing.