Hi all,

I am facing a dilemma between CLS and NYU (with Dean's Scholarship of 40k).

My considerations are as follow:

1. School reputation.
In my home country, CLS is better regarded by the legal circle, partly because CLS is an Ivy league school and partly because NYU admits too many students of varying qualities each year. Therefore, CLS might be a better stamp if I want to go back and find a position in an international law firm.

2. Career plan.

I want to sit for the NY bar and then try to find a position in a US law firm in Hong Kong. I have two years law related work at an arbitration center, but no real experience in law firms.

Option 1
I take the NYU scholarship, go to NYU this year, sit for the bar, and then find job with the bar next year.

Option 2
If I do not take NYU, I may defer CLS and try to work in a law firm, probably as a paralegal, for a year before taking the CLS LLM.

Which route would better suit my objectives? How much importance would a recruiting law firm attach to the one year's paralegal experience in a BigLaw?

Thank you fellows!!

I assume your field of interest is international arbitration, right?? are you in the IBRLA LLM??
I was in a similar situation (NYU with full-tuition award) and I have picked up NYU!! in my country CLS is also better known "generally", but look, interantional law firms knows what NYU is! and for international arbitration I would say both are great (CLS has G. Bergman, NYU Donovan etc) so you cant go wrong.... if you add the 40K FOR ME IS A NO BRAINER... keep in mind that you have a merit-based scholarship from NYU, which is only you can put in your CV and makes you stand out... I mean, you are not anyone else admtted at NYU (WHICH is also great!) but a "meritorian student"... besides, 40k is a lot of money.. is almost full-tuition...
In the field both NYU and CLS are highly regarded.. and in my opinion you will have great job opportunities in both... without the scholarship maybe I would say go to CLS (no because is better, but because is the brand and its true is more selective), but with the scholarship things changes... but my opinion is also bias because I made my mind towards NYU.. so maybe here you have other opinions to take into account!

Good luck!

I assume your field of interest is international arbitration, right?? are you in the IBRLA LLM??
I was in a similar situation (NYU with full-tuition award) and I have picked up NYU!! in my country CLS is also better known "generally", but look, interantional law firms knows what NYU is! and for international arbitration I would say both are great (CLS has G. Bergman, NYU Donovan etc) so you cant go wrong.... if you add the 40K FOR ME IS A NO BRAINER... keep in mind that you have a merit-based scholarship from NYU, which is only you can put in your CV and makes you stand out... I mean, you are not anyone else admtted at NYU (WHICH is also great!) but a "meritorian student"... besides, 40k is a lot of money.. is almost full-tuition...
In the field both NYU and CLS are highly regarded.. and in my opinion you will have great job opportunities in both... without the scholarship maybe I would say go to CLS (no because is better, but because is the brand and its true is more selective), but with the scholarship things changes... but my opinion is also bias because I made my mind towards NYU.. so maybe here you have other opinions to take into account!

Good luck!

Though a scholarship does look good, a better school on your CV will still make a better impression. If reputation is what matters to you, go to Columbia.
Money is an issue now but think long-term. Don't let a scholarship decide the path of your future career. If you think Columbia will give you better prospects and you can afford it, your NYU scholarship will not matter 5-10 from now.

Though a scholarship does look good, a better school on your CV will still make a better impression. If reputation is what matters to you, go to Columbia.
Money is an issue now but think long-term. Don't let a scholarship decide the path of your future career. If you think Columbia will give you better prospects and you can afford it, your NYU scholarship will not matter 5-10 from now.

Hey I am in the same situation right now. I was not granted 40k but then again NYU gives me 30k (half tuition) whereas there is no financial assistance from CLS. I am also waitlisted by Harvard. I will focus on corporation law, capital markets, public M&As etc. Many of the people whom I talked to, told me that there is not much of a reputation difference between NYU and CLS also adding the factor that scholarship is prestigious. Also a practitioner in UK told me that job market is better for NYU alumni. I am kind of caught in between. Any suggestions?

hey
I am in a similar position (although still waiting for CLS's financial aid decision / and got 45k from NYU). It seems that NYU maintains institutionally an intense alumni network, so your London boss may be right. On the other hand, CLS admits fewer candidates, and therefore sounds much more elitist to Europeans...

45k is quite good congratulations. What are you specializing in? My London boss said that if I will continue professionally, NYU is a safe bet and that NYUs are preferred in the NY job market. But of course, academic wise, CLS's ranking is better. From my conversation with him, I also got the impression that the job finding department at NYU is much better than CLS's. So it might also have an impact on European job market as well. Financials are always a concern and CLS gave me nothing. Fingers crossed for your financial assistance!