Puneet, have you given your deposit?

yes sahil i have. what have you decided? did you hear from Columbia?

PuneetSharma, I have a question for you. Your app tracker shows you have an acceptance from Fordham. Yet you seem to have decided on Cardozo. Was it a difficult choice?

jsd, thank you for your question! i understand your skepticism as Fordham is a better law school than Cardozo. Before pointing out my other reasons to go for Cardozo, i would like to say that my primary reason to decide on Cardozo was scholarship. Cardozo scholarship is really good. And i didn't think that Fordham was worth losing my really good Cardozo scholarship.

I would like to disclose the fact that scholarship offered to me is less than what has been offered to sah130 for obvious reasons.

But scholarship was not the only factor which made me opt for Cardozo instead of Fordham. See, although Fordham is an overall better law school than Cardozo but Cardozo has a stronger program in Intellectual Property than Fordham and as i wanted to specialize in Intellectual Property, it seemed logical to me to go for Cardozo rather than Fordham. Cardozo has a small class size than Fordham which i personally prefer.

Cardozo also has externship opportunities for LL.M. students. Although i concede that such opportunities are limited but at least they are there which is not the case with Fordham as far as i know.

There is one more observation i made. it is just an after thought and i don't think it is of much significance and obviously you will take me for a fool. But i would like to share it with you anyway as you asked me a question. See, i tracked some of the LL.M. alumni of both Fordham and Cardozo and guess what i noticed! Most of the Fordham LL.M. alumni went back to their own country for work and few stayed in U.S.A. but in case of Cardozo, number of LL.M. alumni getting jobs in U.S.A. was comparatively more than Fordham. it's just a rough observation but it gives me hope. I am not saying i will be one of them but still!

So to answer your question, yes it was little bit tough for me to choose Cardozo over Fordham but i guess it will all work out in the end for the above mentioned reasons.

I am looking forward to your inputs and criticisms, if any!

Hey puneet just saw your last post. I am still waiting for Columbia. Let's see I may choose Cardozo for the scholarship. In any case chances of getting accepted at Columbia are slim! Also, I agree with your choice of Cardozo over Fordham for the IP program. It makes a lot of sense!

Also Puneet I wanted to ask you are you planning to take up the accommodation provided by Cardozo or are you going to look for something external?

Sahil, right now i am planning to apply for two bedroom shared apartment in Alabama housing of Cardozo. Forms will be out in mid-april. I was told that i have been placed on waiting list for housing accommodation. As far as outside accommodation is concerned, i don't know how to find one and that too when i don't have anyone else to share it with.

I know that housing accommodation provided by Cardozo is expensive but it is at very good location and near to law school. And it's a great learning opportunity as LL.M. students get to live and interact with the J.D. students. Right now i haven't decided anything but if you decide to go to Cardozo and you need a roommate, we can figure out something then.

And i am looking forward to you attending Cardozo! i won't say anything about Columbia but i do hope you get into Stanford or Berkeley! Both law schools are great for IP.

So do you think its tought to get accommodation? I am in favour of staying at Alabama too actually but I worry that I will wait for the other results and apply for housing late and not end up getting it!

It's not that tough if you apply on time as every year many LL.M. and J.D. students vacant their accommodations. You don't to have to worry about applying late for housing as i told you that housing applications for fall 2015 semester will be out in mid april and all your results will be out by mid march. You will have plenty of time to decide your law school and apply for housing.

There is one more observation i made. it is just an after thought and i don't think it is of much significance and obviously you will take me for a fool. But i would like to share it with you anyway as you asked me a question. See, i tracked some of the LL.M. alumni of both Fordham and Cardozo and guess what i noticed! Most of the Fordham LL.M. alumni went back to their own country for work and few stayed in U.S.A. but in case of Cardozo, number of LL.M. alumni getting jobs in U.S.A. was comparatively more than Fordham. it's just a rough observation but it gives me hope. I am not saying i will be one of them but still!

Thank you very much jsd for your insight! it has helped to reinforce the point i was trying to make. I know a guy who did his LL.M. from NYU and i don't want to speak ill of anyone but sadly, he has nothing to show for it. I am just trying to make sure that whatever i have decided doesn't come back to haunt me. Its all about end result.

People have mentioned a number of excellent programs (Harvard, NYU, Columbia, etc.). In my opinion, it is a bit unfair to blame the law schools when students fail to land a job. These schools provide an excellent education but there is no guarantee that will lead to a job. As applicants, we need to be realistic. The market is not crying out for more graduates with LLM's in esoteric subjects. Clients will pay for the services they need. They won't care what I wrote my dissertation about they just want me to solve their problem. In many cases, an LLM from a less famous law school will provide you with a more marketable skill set. For example, I know a lawyer (here) working in family law who really gets a lot of value out of her LLM in dispute resolution. Her firm is happy to have someone on staff that can take on mediation files with confidence. I have no illusions about this process. In some ways, the LLM could actually slow my career but I am OK with that. I have a great job but I really want another year of study. I loved law school and want to go back and focus on my favourite subjects. I'm lucky that my boss is a former law prof and is willing to hold my job for a year. If not, I would probably be more cautious.