Hey, guys, I really hope you would share your thoughts because my head's gonna explode soon.

I'd like to study with the emphasis on legal theory eventually aiming at legal academia (will have to do a JSD afterwards).

CLS is CLS. But it seems to specialize mostly in int'l law and business.

Chicago is a small program in an environment close to professors. They are also offering me 20k.

NYU's faculty seems to be ranked higher in legal theory than all the other. NYU tends to enroll its own students for the JSD. NYU's JSD program is tempting, because they give 20k to students each year. I wouldn't be able to afford jsd programs at other schools.

Oxford is Oxford. Haven't heard from them about the money yet though. Its con is that there are only 4 courses, that's a bit too narrow for me.

I would really, really appreciate your insights!

P.S. also accepted to Berkeley, Georgetown, UPenn and Michigan, but they don't seem to be able to compete with the above four.

Well, I personally wouldn't exclude Penn from your considerations so easily. I suppose it depends on what focus you want to take it but Penn has 2-3 of the most renowned acting (as opposed to emeriti) profs emphasizing in legal theory and philosophy. I am not trying to make your decision even harder of course, just throwing in my 2 cents :)

As from the schools you just mentioned, I would go to Chicago. The fin aid is great and Chicago holds pretty much the same leverage with CLS and NYU. Of course if you feel confident about the JSD and doing it at NYU exclusively then I suppose your decision would come down to those two schools.

Thanks for the input.

I am quite confident about doing it in NYU, because I just don't have the money. However..

There are two main consideration for NYU. The faculty and the JSD. The second consideration is fully based on the premise that I will get into NYU JSD. But I really have no idea about my chances. So it might be just one consideration for NYU.

Oh I just realized you threw Oxford in there too. If not being in the US isn't a factor for you then Oxford is one of the greatest places to study legal theory at (I have personal experience in this with my statement obviously carrying the necessary bias). The masters program does have a very limitted number of modules however if not at this level I would definitely consider it for a PhD. That said, Oxford would accept you automatically if you had done their masters and received a distinction or pretty high merit. Perhaps that's something to also consider.

I would be ok with not being in the US if it eventually brings me into US academia. But I'm not sure, because much has to do with networking.

And also in Oxford you can take only 4 courses, so my knowledge would be quite narrow. US universities offer a greater number, and that's an issue for me. I come from Russia, where nothing is taught about western legal theory of 20th century, and our own is primarily remnants of bolshevistic crap. I need the broadness before I go into detail.

The Oxford BCL/MJur is usually said to be one of the most demanding programs also as regards one's workload. This should mean that the "only" 4 courses you will have to take might cover both broadness and detail in a way that should keep you busy throughout the whole year. I don't think you will get less broadness due to the at first glance small number of courses. And, also important: learning legal theory means learning certain ways of thinking and particularly how these ways of thought work together or against each other. This isn't something you will learn by hopping from one introductory course to the other.

oxford is perhaps THE best place in the world to do jurisprudence and legal theory. were i in your shoes i'd go for the bcl in a heartbeat. like others have said, don't be dissuaded by 'only' four courses. you will be v v v busy indeed. also the bcl is the only llm course in the world to offer small group supervisions, nothing to sneer at. good luck with your decision anyhow!

http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/lawsch.asp