what would you choose?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>University of Michigan or NYU, assuming that neither awards a significant scholarship?</p>

<p>Would you consider Georgetown or Berkeley over either of these? What if you were interested in public interest/land use/housing law? What if one offered a scholarship (Berkeley kind of does, in the sense that it's easy to become a resident and pay lower tuition for the 2nd and 3rd year)</p>

<p>Is there any reason to choose any of these schools over Harvard or Yale? </p>

<p>Basically, I've gotten into Mich, NYU, Georgetown (and UMN, but have pretty much ruled it out), been deferred at Penn (which I'm not that interested in at this point) and Havard, and am waiting to hear from Berkeley and Yale. I'm also waiting for need-based aid packages from all the schools, and am under consideration for scholarships at NYU and Georgetown. I've started visiting some of the closer-by schools, and am kind of at a loss about how to make the decision.</p>

2

<p>EDIT: forgot I was on the law schools board.</p>

<p>If am not wrong NYU is higher ranked then GT and also since it is in NYC firms recruit out of NYU extremely heavily. Might want to consider that</p>

3

<p>In order ... Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, NYU ....</p>

<p>The end.</p>

4

<p>I'm guessing that UC Berkeley could be more favorable if the desired career was more towards patent law...but I am not sure.</p>

5

<p>Do you have any idea where you want to end up working? </p>

<p>How much financial aid/merit $ will you get from each? How much will each cost?</p>

<p>Where will you feel comfortable spending three years of your life? </p>

<p>If all else is equal, it's usually best to go to the highest rated law school, at least if the schools in question are in different tiers. There's no doubt that of those schools which have already accepted you, NYU is the most prestigious. However, the difference in prestige vs. Michigan isn't that much and if you want to work in the Midwest, e.g., in Chicago. the difference is really meaningless. The cost of living in New York is high, so it could be that UMichigan will cost considerably less, just because of cost of living. If you want to work in NYC, DEFINITELY choose NYU over Michigan, but if you'd be happier living in Ann Arbor than NYC for 3 years and would just as soon end up in Chicago as NYC after you graduate, then go to UMichigan, if the total cost is significantly less. </p>

<p>Personally, unless you get a whopping amount of merit $, I'd recommend going to Yale or Harvard over any of them. And even if you do get merit $, it's a tough decision.</p>

6

<p>thanks, everyone!</p>

<p>I'm really unsure about where I want to live/practice, which seems to be the big indicator of where I should go. So I guess I'll just have to visit Ann Arbor (I live near NYC, and spent several months in DC, but I've never been to Michigan before) and see what I like best.</p>

7

<p>I think that the weather's best at Boalt. ;)</p>

<p>All are great. Keep us updated!</p>

8

<p>I know Boalt is a great Law school, but how national is it truly? Or is it only good for the whole CA region</p>

9

<p>I have classmates (I graduated in the 80's) practicing all over the country. Those who wanted to work in New York, D.C. or Texas didn't have trouble finding work there. </p>

<p>A high percentage did choose to stay in the Bay Area, or practice in Souther California. They're two of the biggest legal markets in the country, and many of us do like living here.</p>

10

<p>A few things to consider (some of this is somewhat repetitive, but it bears repeating):</p>

<p>*Examine TOTAL cost of your education. Student loan rates are rising. Calculate your debt repayment at each school, assuming a 10 year payment period.</p>

<p>*Figure out which schools have the best loan repayment if you go into public interest. Consider how comfortable you are with debt - would you be happier without the huge debt load, or is the fact that repayment is there enough for you?</p>

<p>*Look at each school's course catalog. What courses sound interesting? How often are they taught? What does each school require? </p>

<p>*Consider what type of environment you would like. You're going to spend three years at the school - can you even stand to be on the campus for a while? (I do remember touring one school and just getting a horrible feeling - realized that I didn't even want to finish the tour there, let alone live there for three years.) </p>

<p>*Friendliness of the student body. See Robert Miller's Law School Confidential for more info about this. In a nutshell, there are important questions to ask: Call up the librarian and ask how often books needed for common assignments go missing. Ask if grades are posted. Ask if students are allowed to self-select the people to interview with. Ask how Law Review membership is determined - just grades, or is a writing competition involved? Is there an honour code? Are professors readily accessible? How strict is the grading curve? </p>

<p>*Miscellanea: what do you want to do at law school, besides take a bunch of classes to get a credential? Do you want to be on a journal? Moot court? Political organisations? If so, find out how easy (or hard) it is to get on a journal; if Moot Court participation is limited or open to all; what kinds of student groups there are (and how active each chapter is).</p>

<p>*Go to nalpdirectory.com and run a search. You can type in geographic areas and types of law, then find out where employers recruit. </p>

<p>*How big are the classes? (Note that larger first year classes can sometimes be good - you're not on the Socratic hot seat on a regular basis!) How is the writing section taught? Is it graded or is it pass/fail?</p>

<p>*Pick up the US News graduate edition and flip to the back. Yes, the back. It will have stats on each school and the percentage of graduates that go into different fields and geographic areas. Strongly consider this when making your decision. It's easiest to swim with the other students - don't spend law school impersonating a salmon. :p</p>

11

<p>Stacy, I would say in terms of overall quality and prestige, all 4 are practically equal. All 4 of those Law schools can make arguements for top 10 honors. I would definitely recommend you visit the 4 Law schools and decide which one fits your personality best because all 4 law schools you list are truly awesome. </p>

<p>I hear Georgetown Law School is separate from the main campus and in a not-so-great area and it is a HUGE school, second only to Harvard in size. Cal is obviously all the way out in the West Coast, so if you really like the West Coast, go for Cal, if you really don't like the West Coast, then Cal is probably a no-no.</p>

<p>Of the 4 schools, I'd say Michigan is the most "national". Just look at where its graduates went over a three year period:</p>

<p>NYC: 160 graduates placed at 143 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.
Chicago: 153 graduates placed at 133 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.
Washington DC: 74 graduates placed at 47 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.
Los Angeles: 44 graduates placed at 40 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.
San Francisco: 39 graduates placed at 35 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.
Boston: 24 graduates placed at 22 Law firms. Average starting salary, $125,000.</p>

<p>The reason for the widespread national placement has nothing to do with quality mind you. It is just that unlike most top Law schools, Michigan is not near a "Law center". NYU and Columbia are in NYC. Georgetown is in DC. Cal is in San Francisco. Michigan is in Ann Arbor. I love Ann Arbor and truly feel itis the best college town anywhere, but it is not a "Law center"! LOL So, whereas many NYU and Columbia law students chose them because they want to work in NYC, and many Boalt Hall and Stanford law students chose them because they want to work in the Bay area, students who chose Michigan Law probably do not have pre-set georgraphic preferences.</p>

<p>Jonri, I disagree that if the OP wishes to work in NYC, she should go to NYU. Michigan places over 50 graduates in NYC Law firms annually (out of a class of 350) and the Michigan Law school New York bar passage rate for first-time takers is higher than NYU's or Columbia's.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/facts.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/facts.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/grad-employer-firms.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/grad-employer-firms.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

12

<p>...I honestly can't imagine anyone else who would say that if cost is equal and you want to work in NYC, you shouldn't pick NYU over Michigan.</p>

13

<p>I hope the problem the OP is having is the same problem Im going to have</p>

14

<p>Jonri, I am a Michigan alum (undergraduate). But based purely on statistics and not opinion, Michigan and NYU are pretty equal in terms of reputation and quality. I personally know a couple of people who ended up working in NYC but turned down NYU or Columbia for Michigan Law, and the cost of attendence was not the reason. They just wanted to live in a college town with a nice Law school environment. </p>

<p>I agree that NYU is probably more effective at placing students into NYC law firms. I never said otherwise. But is it that much better at placing grads into NYC law firms? I mean, over 3 years, 150 Law firms have hired 160 Michigan graduates at an average starting salary of $125,000 (the mean starting salary of NYU and Columbia Lawyers) and the University of Michigan lawyers actually had a slightly higher NY Bar passage rate than NYU or Columbia Lawyers. With this in mind, if the OP really prefers Ann Arbor to NYC as a place to study, I don't see why she should pick NYU, even if she wishes to work in NYC in the future.</p>

15

<p>Due to the very different cost of living, cost is rarely equal at UM and NYU even if tuition is equal.</p>

16

<p>you've all given me quite a bit of food for thought...this week i'm making my travel arrangements to berkeley and michigan for a spring break trip, and i'll be sure to post back with my final choice. </p>

<p>i have to say, after seeing what housing one gets in NY vs. other areas of the country (my sister lives in houston; i spent a summer in montana), it's tempting to live anywhere but New York. but it's a tough choice.</p>