I am an Irish-trained lawyer and have applied to a number of US Law Schools to study for an LL.M. I was accepted by both Georgetown Law and Columbia and was wondering which to attend.

Being a foreigner, I would welcome any views that people may have as to the respective merits of each Law School, the LL.Ms offered therein or whether the two schools are on a par.

Many thanks,

Mick.

Overall, Columbia is better. It has better faculty, better student body, and is more prestigious. N.Y. is bigger and livelier than Washington, but the question is: Which one would you prefer? Georgetown might be better for international law, though.

Georgetown - cheaper than living in NY and cutting edge in many areas.

Thank you tmalmine and coco.

I have actually decided to go with Georgetown so thanks for your assistance - much appreciated.

Rgds,

Mick.

Well, Mick, could you tell us why you choose Georgetown finally? As the columbia sounds more prestigious than georgetown, oh?

I chose Georgetown for a number of reasons. The courses on offer for international law appear more interesting to me personally, the faculty are excellent, the location is preferable and I am starting work in the World Bank in DC when I complete my studies so it will be beneficial to be close to the WB while studying.

It wasn't an easy decision, but prestige isn't everything!!

Besides, Georgetown's not so bad surely?!?

Does someone know how Columbia is viewed in the International field?

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this blog. So be nice! I've been admitted to the LL.M. program at Columbia and the LL.M. (Tax) at NYU and was rejected from Harvard and Yale. I understand that I was quite close to being admitted to Harvard, and I'm on the wait list for Yale. I was wondering this: would it be unwise to defer Columbia for a year, and re-apply to Harvard and Yale next year. If I'm admitted to Harvard or Yale then great, and if I'm not, then Columbia it is.

I am aware that Columbia is an excellent instution and just as good as Harvard, but to be honest, I have had my heart set on Harvard for a long time. I should note that my ultimate career goal is to be a politician in Canada, country where I am from. I am not very concerned about getting a job as I already have a good one in Toronto, and am only concerned about program prestige and recognition among the masses.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your input.

If you're only concerned about prestige, Harvard is surely the best. Do you really think it would help you in politics. In Finland at least, Harvard degree would be considered snobbish and people would take you to be out of touch with "ordinary citizens". I know very little about Canadian politics, but perhaps you should ask someone (who is not a lawyer) how they would feel about Harvard-trained-lawyer-cum-politician. If you have a good job now, and always wanted to go to Harvard, perhaps you decline Columbia and reapply to Harvard next year.

If we look at the top leaders today around the world, only extremely tiny slice of them graduated from Harvard and Yale. Think about this, does a 9 months LL.M program at Harvard/Yale make big difference on your way to a leadship in your homeland? I think time is the top factor you may need to consider. Maybe a LL.M does not make any sense to you in the way of political professiona. More worse, Harvard/ Yale degree may make you feel like you are and must be the top person in your homeland, but actually, maybe it is matter at all.

Query man,

If you would like to follow in Ignatieff's footsteps then perhaps it is worth waiting for Harvard ;-)....

To tell you the truth, I don't think Harvard will give you any more of an edge than any other top 5-10 school won't give you.

I am also Canadian, having studied at Queen's and UBC, and will attend NYU to study International Law next year. I have had some peripheral involvement in politics, and am currently working in Calgary at a firm that has some very active politicians and I can honestly say that a succesful politician isnt necessarily the one with the most recognized degree, but the one that is able to sell his/her credentials the best. Having said that, it is easier to sell Harvard than some other schools, but I think that selling a degree from a top five school is any more or less difficult. For example, one could easily sell NYU as "the best school for international law".

From the perspective of an individual who is a prospective politician, objectively, I would think that a Columbia degree is still impressive to the average citizen or even politician. It will help to accomplish the objective of making you appear more qualified and educated than most others in similar shoes. That is all you can hope for, even from a Harvard degree.

What area do you want to study in anyway? This may be a relevant consideration. Looking at Ignatieff, it should be noted the fact that he taught at Harvard, UBC, U of T and Cambridge and has published many notable books are almost more noteworthy than the fact that he has a Harvard degree. I don't think that he would be at any disadvantage if you kept his CV the same with the exception of replacing Harvard with NYU or Harvard.

Something else you may want to consider if you decide to defer your LLM studies and re-apply next year is to apply to English schools as well. You should look at how many current world leaders have English degrees (i.e. Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and U of L). Of course, there are probably more Canadian PMs with UK graduate degrees than US graduate degrees (the most well-known example being Trudeau as an LSE grad).

Hope the above helps you in your decision.

To Mick:

I sent you a P.M.

Cindy

Hi Mick and veryone,

I haven't applied yet but will be doing so this October and I wondered if anyone had some tips on how best to enhance my chances of getting into schools like Harvard, Georgetown, NYU, Columbia, U Penn, Chicago and Michigan.
I'm at the LSE with ok but not stellar grades, the taking the bar exams and qualifying as a barrister next year. I have v. strong recommendations from internationally renowned professors.

Mick, you're working at the world Bank soi I'm assuming you have crazy hot grades (a first?), but any tips/ comments on my chances would be really welcome.

Also - who gives financiual aid to int students?
What are my chances of getting taken on by a US firm afterwards?

Cheers,