Hi everyone,

I was recently admitted to both Columbia (no grant) and Chicago (15k scholarship) for the 2022-2023 LLM programme. I am considering accepting one of the two with my current preference being Columbia for the following reasons:

1) NYC (!)
2) Ivy League
3) I want to focus on capital markets and financial regulation for which Columbia seems to have a better reputation. My end goal would be to find employment in BigLaw in London after my LL.M.
4) More practical than Chicago which has more of an academic focus. This is not my first LL.M. so I am looking for a very practical course of study.
5) I aim to take the NY bar in July so already being in NYC can be convenient

On the other hand Chicago has a smaller class size and the city is less expensive (sadly not as interesting as NYC though!). However, I am fortunate enough to say that the cost is not a problem for me at any of the two schools.

Considering the above, I think I will be accepting Columbia's offer but I would be really interested to read your views about this.

Go for Columbia without a doubt. Columbia does have a better LLM program for your chosen field of study, and also you plan on taking the NY bar. You are going to make more NYC connections in Columbia than in UChicago (obviously).
Congratulations, and I'd say just accept Columbia's offer and go with it!

Thank you!  In any case, you can't go wrong with any of them. Both are fantastic schools. I just accepted Columbia's offer. It would be nice to hear more views also!

[Edited by CLS23 on Mar 19, 2022]