Hi, so finally, this morning I got an e-mail from Michigan offering me a very generous fellowship (35K). So should I accept it or should I struggle to get a loan and go to Columbia? I really need to have other people's opinions, thanks for your help!

very hard choice indeed (I have not appplied to Michigan though) - Michigan minus: not Ivy league + you should consider how important NYC experience is for you personnally (which essentially determined my choice ...)

But I understood you were going there with your husband, or am I wrong?

No, I'm going alone... And the city is not the point for me. What I'm worrying about is whether choosing Michigan instead of Columbia will hadicap me in my job search.... Waht do you think about it?

I guess for countries like France (where prestige is everything- Columbia will be better perceived)


I was myself quite surprised by people's reaction at my admission (including US natives)- however, I am sincerely convinced of Michigan's "excellence"

Maria_Gri, I think 35K is a whole lot of money. Congratulations. The choice between the two law schools is difficult. In my opinion, it is good to have an LL.M. degree from one of the top ten law schools. I do not think, that it would make such a huge difference to have it from Michigan instead of Columbia. Below, you can find the links to the rankings of the us law schools (just in case you don't know both of them). I hope, it will help you to make your decission.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php

http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings/rankings03.html

I say go to Michigan!!! espectacular campus, very selective (50 LL.M's thats it...) great city, golf courses all around, near Canada (for those weekend trips). So wht its not an ivy league school... its very high in the ranking and for that matter neither is stanford nor yale...

I for one am admitted to Columbia and rejected by Michigan (thats rare I think).. If I were you, I would definitely go with Michigan since 35K is a huge scholarship amount (one of the best I have heard of) and I dont think there is a big difference between the 2.. Unless, of course you have no difficulties in terms of funding, which I assume is not the case..

Maria_Gri!
First of all, my warmest congratulations! As a fellow Easterm European, I am really proud of you and pleased for you!

It is a difficult choice, esp given the fact that Columbia, in my view, is a good place to study arbitration (prof Hans Smit is very well-known).

However, I have looked up Mich's web-site, and they do offer courses in international commercial arbitration and investment law as well. International investment law is taught by Steven Ratner who is very well known (though mostly for his writing in international human rights law).

I know two people who did their LLM at Mich: 1) a colleague 2) my academic adviser, who is probably the best-known professor in Russia in the field of international commercial arbitration (he studied there somewhere in the 60s!)
Both are quite pleased with their experience at UMich.

People who study at Michigan say the climate is a drawback, though :)

There is also a large Ukrainian community in the state of Michigan (in NY as well of course, but in Mich it might be more evident).

(By the way, I heard many Ukrainian students financed their studies for the LLM from special scholarships established for students of Ukrainian origin by Ukrainian immigrants to the US. I would investigate this possibility if I were you)

In short, I would go for UMich :)

I have been accepted to Columbia, which I believe is one of the best if not the best. However, if I had a $35K scholarship I would not hesitate and RUN to Michigan.

Maria_Gri, is it that they deduce 35K from the tuition? Or is it tuition waiver + 35K for expenses? (sounds unlikely though)

Oh, no, it's 35K deduced from the tuition :))) I have to pay my living expenses. But still they were very generous.
Thanks to the persons who gave their opinions, it's so kind of you and really helpful... But if this afternoon I was almost sure to go for Michigan, suddenly I have some doubts, I was in the most prestigious French law school, so I would like to do the same in the US....And smb has told me today that the big law firms are looking for a name, for a brand... But another person has told that a top student from Michigan will not have more difficulties to find a job than an average student from Columbia....
More intelligent thoughts are welcome!!!!!

So u found an American co-signor?

I think you should be very proud to get this scholarship. And I am sure you are not going to have problems to find a job if you choose Michigan (bien sur les cabinets Parisiens regardent la reputation d'une universite, mais je suppose que tu comptes rentrer ds un grand cabinet francais ou un cabinet americain et dans ce cas, crois moi, ils st tres au fait de la reputation des meilleures univ, dont Michigan et tes 35K ne peut que les impressionner-si tu as des doutes ou si tu tombes sur un ancien de Columbia pdt un entretien, tu pourrais tres bien lui dire que tu etais acceptee et lui expliquer les raisons de ton choix. Si tu veux travailler a NY, les americains st tres pragmatiques et ne peuvent te reprocher t'avoir choisi en fonction de ta scholaship-au contraire).

But I know it's a really difficult choice. Do you want to take the NY bar exam, then..and to work in NY...?

I would advise you to consider the variables that you do have control over and weigh those more heavily in your decision than variables that you cannot control, such as whether a particular employer will consider your school more prestigous or not. Michigan and Columbia are two top notch schools, and, at least in the U.S., if you go to a top firm you will find plenty of alumns from both schools. If you are in NYC, you will likely find more from Columbia, but it will be your personality and the rest of your CV that will distinguish you from other candidates. There is no way to know whether the hiring partner/committee with the final say over you appointment will favor one school over the other. That said, if you plan to work abroad and consider prestige the most important factor, it is clear that Columbia has more international prestige. NYC would be an incredible place to live and you would take in so much just being there. Ann Arbor is a great midwestern college town, however, and definitely has much to offer in terms of your overall "college" experience. It is cold, but really a neat place. If your tastes are more cosmopolitan, however, you may find it too small and stifling.
Can't give more advice without knowing your preferences. Best of luck on your decision. You really can't make a bad one.

Hi Maria_ Gri

Congrats on your schol , am sure u feel contended with a sense of achievement that ur efforts have been rewarded.I am an LLM 2006 aspirant and it will be of great help if u could give some information on how you went abt the scol at Michigan.
cheers

Zelda, yes, smb has agreed to cosign my loan, but he can't be really sure that he could get a 55K loan, as it's a pretty big sum.

Uto- yes, definitely, I wonna take the bar exam in NY. But as to the place where I would like to work - it can be NY, London, Paris, Moscow.. Frankly speaking, I don't have real preferences.
What school did you graduate from?

Ryan- thanks for your input. I realize that NY is a great place to live, but I can't say it's very important for me. It's really the question of the prestige, that's all.

Thanks to all!!! You are great for giving your time to help me!

Lawyer, oh, there is nothing special. You just have to complete one or two questions in the application for the LL.M. program, that's all.
I am very happy about getting this scholarship, but as you see, instead of feeling satisfied, I'm going crazy about Michigan vs Columbia case....

In France? Paris II

Uto, oh, me too :))
quelle année? quel DEA/ DESS?

Go to Michigan. Don't even think about it.