Top Law Schools

I would MUCH rather attend NYU. It has always been my top choice school and my life is in New York already. However, I don't know if I would be a complete idiot for choosing it over UVA with scholarship.

Thoughts?

Interested in biglaw and (down the line) PI.

I'd personally take UVA, but honestly, these price points aren't that different, so if you can stomach the cost of living differences, NYU is fine. Again, I would take UVA, but its not like you're making a bad choice at all by taking NYU.

While NYU is definitely more expensive (especially given COL), it’s still defensible. The difference in scholarships isn’t *so* great as to mandate UVA, when it sounds like you want to be in NYC long term (don’t get me wrong, you could easily get back to NYC from UVA, but there’s still always a benefit to attending where you want to work after graduation).

That said, you never explained why you wanted to do biglaw to pay off debt rather than do PI directly and rely on LRAP? (NYU’s is really good, not certain about UVA.)

15K is not a meaningful difference, and NYU is a fine choice, especially since you say you're set on NY and PI.

One thing to think about is that these are two different schools with two different environments. UVA is more big law focused than NYU, which has more of a focus on public interest (not to say you can't do public interest at UVA, and they also have a loan repayment program). NYU is more of a commuter school, whereas UVA is in a small town and prides itself on community involvement. Depends what you want--since your life is already in NYC, NYU might make sense for you. It's worth considering the environment too.

pkeller wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:29 am

One thing to think about is that these are two different schools with two different environments. UVA is more big law focused than NYU, which has more of a focus on public interest (not to say you can't do public interest at UVA, and they also have a loan repayment program). NYU is more of a commuter school, whereas UVA is in a small town and prides itself on community involvement. Depends what you want--since your life is already in NYC, NYU might make sense for you. It's worth considering the environment too.

NYU is a commuter school? Who is writing this garbage? Anyway, it's very difficult to miss NYC biglaw from NYU, whereas its a bit tougher at UVA, and the price differential isn't that much. If you prefer NYU anyway, it's an easy decision.

jackshunger wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 27, 2022 1:24 pm

pkeller wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:29 am

One thing to think about is that these are two different schools with two different environments. UVA is more big law focused than NYU, which has more of a focus on public interest (not to say you can't do public interest at UVA, and they also have a loan repayment program). NYU is more of a commuter school, whereas UVA is in a small town and prides itself on community involvement. Depends what you want--since your life is already in NYC, NYU might make sense for you. It's worth considering the environment too.

NYU is a commuter school? Who is writing this garbage?

You're reading disparagement that isn't there. "Commuter school" means that people live out in the city, often venture to campus only for classes, and their social/personal lives are less intertwined as a result. UVA, at the other end of the spectrum, is a place where you never really get out of earshot of the law school. Reasonable people can disagree about which is preferable.

The Lsat Airbender wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 27, 2022 6:57 pm

jackshunger wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 27, 2022 1:24 pm

pkeller wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:29 am

One thing to think about is that these are two different schools with two different environments. UVA is more big law focused than NYU, which has more of a focus on public interest (not to say you can't do public interest at UVA, and they also have a loan repayment program). NYU is more of a commuter school, whereas UVA is in a small town and prides itself on community involvement. Depends what you want--since your life is already in NYC, NYU might make sense for you. It's worth considering the environment too.

NYU is a commuter school? Who is writing this garbage?

You're reading disparagement that isn't there. "Commuter school" means that people live out in the city, often venture to campus only for classes, and their social/personal lives are less intertwined as a result. UVA, at the other end of the spectrum, is a place where you never really get out of earshot of the law school. Reasonable people can disagree about which is preferable.

Exactly. Just depends on how close you want to be with your classmates. If you go to school in a big city, your social life doesn't really revolve around school, whereas in a smaller town, it does. If you already have a solid support system and friend group in town like OP, this is less of a deciding factor.

I’d definitely go with NYU. It’s the better school, and the scholarship difference is not significant. If you’re going for BL, you’ll get it from either school (NYU more easily and maybe at a better firm) and make up the difference in scholarship in no time. No brainer.

NYU is not “definitely” a better school. Is it ranked marginally better? Yes, but NYU is no longer a solid T6 school. It’s easier to land DC big law and a federal clerkship from UVA. For many, UVA is definitely the better school.

There is no meaningful difference between UVA and NYU for the vast majority of students so comparing the schools is like splitting hairs. It would be foolish to choose one of the schools over the other because of a notion that one school is "better" than the other. If you really wanted to draw some distinctions, UVA probably has stronger ties to DC and NYU probably has stronger ties to NYC, but people from both schools successfully work in both cities (and other cities as well obviously). Unless there are some dramatically different financial scenarios involved in attending one school over the other, then you should just go where you think you'll be happier.

mab9ve wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 1:46 pm

]
NYU is no longer a solid T6 school.

a one-year change in the rankings is nowhere near sufficient to support this statement.

nixy wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:10 pm

mab9ve wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 1:46 pm

]
NYU is no longer a solid T6 school.

a one-year change in the rankings is nowhere near sufficient to support this statement.

Yeah, making any decisions based on year-to-year changes in ranking is a bad idea.

OP: It really would be more helpful for you to actually answer the questions you got in your other thread(s) instead of continuing to create new threads that don't provide the information people are asking for. The kind of PI you want to do (and why you think you want/need to do biglaw at all) is a crucial factor here.

Depends if you're borrowing full COA minus the scholly. If that's the case, even UVA will be tough to swing. If your parents are helping out substantially, then NYU to enjoy the city on their dime.