Hi there, I have been accepted into the Oxford BCL and the LLM at New York University (NYU) for the 2005 academic year. I did not apply for the Cambridge LLM this year, but my understanding is that it is harder to get into the BCL than the Cam LLM, and that the Oxford BCL has a better reputation than the Cam LLM (if not for international law specifically, for a masters level law degree in general).

Anyway, I am deciding whether to go this year (which would imply getting into more debt) or defer acceptance until next year (giving me an opportunity to obtain decent funding). From a personal perspective, I'd rather go this year than the next, but from a financial perspective I think next year would be better.

I'd be grateful for any views as to the "markeatability" in international law for the Oxford BCL vs the NYU LLM. I intend to practice in public international law (either in private practice or for an international organisation), however I'm not sure whether ultimately I'd like to practice in Europe or the US - I am hoping I'd be able to work at both!

Since I have a choice here, I would really appreciate it if any of you who have been in a similar situation could share their experiences.

Many thanks!