Which ones better? Why?

I chose Columbia for its reputation in the Corporate Law field and because the LLM program is smaller, but NYU has an excellent reputation as well.

What if both NYU and Columbia both convey an acceptance... what would you go with Miki?

Columbia without any doubt!
And for the record that is what I am actually doing (accepting Columbia without even waiting for NYU decisions)

I concur.. I have been admitted to Columbia too and will be doing the same thing. So guess we'll be seeing each other in August.

Miki just out of sheer curiosity.. Would u know how many ppl are admitted in the Early Review at CLS? Would it be prestigious being picked up by CLS in an Early Review or even otherwise..?

No idea....
In my opinion, being picked up by CLS in an Early Review is anyway prestigious: the risk for CLS with the Early Review admissions is to not have enough seats for valuable candidates in the regular cycle, therefore, with the Early Review they seek for candidates with very strong applications (that do not leave any doubt to CLS).
Just remember that the acceptance rate of CLS is around 12% so you should be proud of your admission.

See you in August!
Miki

Which ones better? Why?

The US News ranking does not take into account the LL.M. program... is just useful for J.D. and for general overview of the Law School. Columbia's 12% rate of acceptance is for J.D.
Secondly, the 85% of LL.M. who get a job offer get it in NY so, as life experience, it may be better to study in other city...

Sorry, I am repeating a question I asked elsewhere but thought this post was more relevant.. (lawad - pl excuse, I did have your comment..)

I have Columbia early review offer without any fin aid, and NYU@NUS with $35000 award, but at Singapore.

I am still confused as to which one to accept, I prefer Columbia, but it means that I need additional $50K. Is it worth it to spend that extra money?

I am not keen on entering the bar in US, my field is corporate, finance, banking, contracts, securitisation, 2 yrs work experience in India. I am open to work anywhere in the world - UK, US, Europe, Singapore --(well, almost anywhere).

To Rej: thank you for your information but I was just exchanging some thoughts with lawadd08 whether choose Columbia or NYU, since we both wanted to do our LL.M. in NYC.

To indiangirl: I would accept Columbia, I have as well five years of experience in the Finance and Capital Markets Law and Columbia is one of the best in this sector. On the other side, of course, the money is important and $ 35000 it's a lot of money. In addition, I've heard that the NYU program in Singapore is not bad. So at the end it's up to you, follow your instinct.

Having talked to friends who have studied in both schools, I could say NYU and CLS are magnificent and the choice between one is hard and subtle. However, at least in Brazil, I dare to say Columbia has the edge over NYU for its smaller program as well as general reputation.

Just my humble opinion.

Hi everyone,

I have been accepted to the LLM program at Columbia and also applied to NYU, Harvard, Yale and Georgetown. Up to the moment, I have no doubt that I prefer to study at Columbia, rather than NYU or Georgetown, even though I also applied to those Universities and believe they are extraordinary academical institutions.

But, do you think Columbia would still be a better option than Harvard or Yale?

Returning to the initial discusion, I believe there are other arguments helpful in order to take a decision between NYU and Columbia. One of them is this: Columbia is an Ivy League university. That simple fact contributes to enjoy superior possibilities of professional and academical development for the LLM graduates, over graduates from other universities. As you all know, Ivy League graduates form a certain kind of club, which is immediatedly asociated with excellence. 80% of what is worth of this LLM is networking, and I believe Columbia is over NYU in that aspect.

I believe NYU would have to be the first choice only if the applicant is absolutely intereseted in studies relative to global law. I think that having been granted a loan or scholarship at NYU shouldn`t be decisive to choose NYU. The costs and loans shall be rapidly paid in a short period of time if you stay working in NYCity for some time after your studies.

Finally, I think we should be in touch. I`m a Colombian lawyer with interests in political theory, criminal law, international relations, corporate law, and house music.

My msn is encisocamilo@hotmail.com

Thanks, Miki, Camilo for the comments.

I think I will give up the 35K of NYU@NUS, and keep Columbia. I will also wait for the Harvard and Cambridge results. (Camilo - in my opinion, Harvard does win over Columbia - at least for the brand value, I think Cambridge also.)

Hope I am making a sensible decision!!!

I think you made the right decision, if it match your expectations.

I don't know if Harvard is better than Columbia, for sure not in my field of interest (i.e., securities and finance) in which Columbia is regarded as the top Law School.
As to Yale, it is for sure the best Law School in the U.S. but only if you are intersted in pursuing an academic carreer, otherwise it is wiser to go to Columbia or Harvard.

Indiangirl, good choice. About Harvard, I agree with Miki`s argument about the superiority of other universities over Harvard in many legal fields. In my respect, Columbia is far beyond Harvard in several aspects. Anyway, it is not a simple decision, due to the prestige that Harvard has in countries like mine, where common people doesn`t even know Columbia exists.

Finally, for the ones interested I created today a Facebook group named "Columbia LLM 2008 2009", so we can get in touch and get to know better.

Thank camilo for setting up the group. There is also a group for Columbia students at lawyrs (http://www.lawyrs.net/llmguide/30/) with 9 members so far (there are two groups for NYU students as well: http://www.lawyrs.net/llmguide/33/ for NYU and http://www.lawyrs.net/llmguide/35/ for NYU@NUS).

As far as the choice between Columbia and NYU@NUS is concerned, I would say that Columbia will surely open more doors in the U.S. and Europe. NYU@NUS is not the same as NYU in NYC. It will be considered an Asian program mainly designed for people who want to work in Asia.

I totally agree with you!

I concur too!

Thank you guys.. at least it makes me feel better.

Dear Camilo,

I disagree in many things that you said. I am not so sure that Columbia is really better than NYU, as you state as an undeniable truth.

First, if you are really concerned about Political theory, you wouldnt chose Columbia. At this moment NYU has the best body of Professors in this area. Jeremy Waldron, Ronald Dworkin, David Garland, John Ferejohn, Carol Gilligan, Liam Murphy, Thomas Nagel, Akhil Amar and David Richards are just few names that you have the opportunity to attend classes at NYU. In the other hand, Columbia staff is completely disgusting in this field. Joseph Raz is the only star at Columbia. NYU is amazing in this field, and probably has the best staff in the World concerning Political, Moral and Legal Philosophy. Just to have an idea, Jeremy Waldron, who was a Columbia Professor until 2006 and who is probably the most prominent expert in political philosophy in the U.S., refused an offer to teach at Harvard. If you are concerning about networking in this field, I am absolutely sure that you have better opportunities at NYU. You should check the schedule of classes of both Universities in this field to have an idea of what I am talking about.

Second, NYU has been the number 1 for many years in Taxation and International Law. NYU is considered the only place that you can learn Taxation the U.S. All the best professors in this field are teaching at NYU. The ITP Program is without doubt the most prestigious LL.M. degree of New York City. Sometimes is more difficult to be accepted in this Program than to be admitted in Harvard or Yale. Last year, for example, there were more than 250 applicants to just 15 slots. ITP candidates have 4 job fairs all over the academic year. They normally receive the best job offers of the market. Moreover, concerning International Law, NYU is the only place that you have the opportunity to have classes with Weiler, Kingsbury and Alston. They are the best in this field and there is no doubt that NYU is the leading University in the U.S.

Third, in the last few years many of the most well-known Professors of the U.S. have joined the NYU faculty. NYU has been very aggressive in hiring top Law Professors. They have invested a lot of money to appoint a more qualified body. For example, Waldron, Issacharof and Estlund, all very well-known Professors, left Columbia to NYU in 2006. Ferejohn left Stanford to NYU this year. What is said in the academic forum is that NYU is going to achieve the third position in the U.S. ranking in the next few years. Columbia has not been able to maintain the same level.

In conclusion, I am sure that if your interest is Corporate Law, the right choice is Columbia. Columbia is better than NYU in some fields, it is true. I also know that a brand name is very important, and I would not refuse a Harvard, Yale or Stanford offer in order to accept NYU. I can tell you without any doubt, Harvard is better than Columbia in almost all fields and you are going to have more prestigious if you receive a degree in Massachusetts. But when choosing between NYU and Columbia, you should take into consideration a number of factors, and I do not think that a brand name is the most important in this case. NYU is getting better each year, and Columbia worst. Make sure to not make a decision based solely in the fact that Columbia is Ivy League (remember that Brown University is also a member), in the future you will regret about it.

I hope have contributed to this debate, which was mislead in my opinion. I am interested in political theory and eletronic music too, but I prefer John Digweed rather than Tiesto.

Best Regards.