Hello everyone!

I want to study public international law and I have been accepted to the LLM in international legal studies at NYU, the MJur at Oxford and the LLM at Cambridge (though the latest is conditionnal upon obtaining really good grades which I am not sur to obtain...).

There are more courses in international law at NYU and the Law School is in NYC, but I can't help but thinking that Oxbridge's reputation is better, especially for european people... I am also wondering if having the Fulbright scholarship (for NYU) would make a difference because it is really prestigious... (I'm on waiting list)

I'm really confused and I don't have much time to make a decision. Could anyone help me please?

Thanks!

Congrats for your offers!

I reckon that the dilemma (regarding PIL) is between NYU and Cam.

NYU is well renowned for international law and provides indeed a wide range of courses but the cost is very high.

However, there is consensus I'd say (based both on the posts here and its worldwide reputation) that Cambridge LLM is the place to be for PIL.

Oxford is exceptional for legal theory, I guess!! but for PIL NYU and Cambridge are the place to go to!!

Hello dominion, thanks for your reply!
I am also more convinced by Cambridge, but as I am not sure at all to meet the conditions set, I don't want to miss my chance at other universities... Plus, there are fewer PIL courses on offer for next year's LLM students than there used to be.
For what concerns NYU, I might have 35000 $ of the tuition covered (that would then leave 15000 + living expenses for me) but I won't know for sure before I give a firm answer.
And that seems pretty risky to say yes without knowing about the funding...
What will you be doing next year?

Oxford is exceptional for legal theory, I guess!! but for PIL NYU and Cambridge are the place to go to!!

I know, but there are issues in both cases: one is the funding and the other is the academic condition, two problems I have no influence over :-(

I'm heading to Camb - I didnt apply for Oxon Mjur, as it is perceived inferior to BCL (which is a big misconception, but unluckily names do matter). And I am thinking of applying for a second LLM in USA or MLF in Oxon next year. Not sure yet :)

Do you know if it is possible to negociate your final admission to Cambridge even though the academic condition set is not fulfilled?

I m afraid I dont know. But I suppose that if your grades are slightly lower than the required ones, you should try to negotiate (and you should find a very good explanation of the results obtained! )

for PIL it's 1) Cambridge, 2) NYU, 3) oxford.

Thanks everyone for your answers!
For what concerns the fulbright scholarship, do you believe that it should make me choose NYU over Oxbridge?

AnneC,

I don't envy the choice you must make but go for NYU - the LLM for international law is very dynamic both in terms of the selection of courses and range of international lawyers you will meet. You do not indicate where you come from but it is a good idea, particularly since you expect to receive a scholarship at NYU, to get a sense of the approach in scholarship and practice of international law from a primarily American perspective for a year. There is some distinct parting of ways from the "continental" scholars.

If you are keen to pursue it more seriously (doctoral studies), though, a few of the English universities are very good. In this respect, Cambridge is an obvious choice.


Good luck.

I am thinking of doing a phd after my LLM, that's why I chose the English universities in the first place (Cambridge if I was to get the grades, Oxford if I wasn't). But being a Fulbright scholar seems to be pretty huge, and I don't know if I should turn that down... I'm French by the way, and I don't really know what university would make the difference on the French market. I know that more and more French students get LLMs from NYU, and that's another reason which made me choose Oxbridge. But here again the Fulbright scholarship makes it a lot harder to decide.
Thanks for your answers, I know that I am the only one able to make the decision but it always helps to have some advice when you're so confused...