I’ve been very fortunate to be accepted into UVA and Michigan Law this cycle. I’ve been offered $10,000-15,000/Year scholarship at each school, so I don’t want to make that a determining factor. My goal is to get a large firm job in one of the major cities (NYC/LA/SF/DC/Chicago). As a single, mid-20’s, I’m not too picky where I live as long as it’s an active, decently-sized city.
I’m also an international, and Michigan has more of a brand name overall from where I come from (by the virtue of its size and the # of international students there), but I’m not sure how much that will matter as far as law schools are concerned.
I’ve visited each school, and I could see myself at either one. Both have pros and cons, obviously, but neither school jumped out at me positively nor negatively. I really could see myself enjoying either Ann Arbor or Charlottesville.
Any former students at UVA or Michigan? Any inputs/advice?
The issue that you may face is getting a job in the US. (I have no idea how difficult that is for an international JD.)
Unless you have ties to California or Chicago, you will most likely end up in NY. So, from that perspective, either school will get you there. UVa has better placement in DC, however, so to hedge your bets, I’d choose that one. (But again, that assumes that you can actually work in the US with a JD. I’d call both schools and inquire how likely that is…)
When you say you’re an “international,” does that mean you are from another country and lack US citizenship? If so, that’s a hurdle you really need to overcome before looking at law school. Work visas go to those who fill jobs that cannot be filled by US citizens. Law is not one of those fields (I’ve heard of some firms being able to recruit IP people internationally, however).
Otherwise, go to whichever school has cheaper accommodations. 15k per year is nice, but you’re still looking at a six figure debt. Keeping that as low as possible should be your primary focus. In terms of job placement the schools are roughly comparable, so minimizing debt is as good a goal as any.
Both schools are comparable in terms of outcome- esp NYC biglaw is fairly easy to get from either. Go based on where you’ll be more comfortable and more likely to succeed
I personally would take UVA since it seems more laid back and has better weather with lower col.
Disclaimer: law student at another school but did go to uva ugrad
Both schools are similar. I’d say Michigan’s faculty has a higher reputation than UVA’s these days, but it’s a close call. I’d say Michigan’s quality of law faculty is in or close to the top 5 whereas UVA’s is somewhere in the bottom half of the top 20. Internationally, as OP says, Michigan is very well known, maybe even top 10 as a university as a whole, whereas UVA is not; that gives UM more heft in the sciences, business, tech, and entrepeneurship, if that’s an area of the law that you are headed for. Not Stanford or Harvard level, but an edge over UVA. If both campuses, climate etc. make no difference to you, I’d go with Michigan. But really there are very little differences the educational quality of the schools, so your legal success is going to be determined by your own personal achievement, not this choice in schools.