Hey,

I have been accepted at Fordham, Georgetown and Washington University so far. I'm still waiting for Upenn, Cornell, and NYU to respond. But just in case I have to choose before these colleges make their decisions, which one shud I go for between the three? Plz give some personal opinions or advice. It'll be really appreciated.

Hey,

I have been accepted at Fordham, Georgetown and Washington University so far. I'm still waiting for Upenn, Cornell, and NYU to respond. But just in case I have to choose before these colleges make their decisions, which one shud I go for between the three? Plz give some personal opinions or advice. It'll be really appreciated.

I second the above-posters advice. For your area, I think G-Town offers the best academic experience/prospects.

I would only reconsider this if you got an admit from NYU. I've never heard UPENN's reputation discussed in relation to international economic and business law, but generally it would also be an option to consider.

I agree with the above posters - of the three universities you cite, Georgetown is the top ranking one and offers a great curriculum. I would be seriously stumped as to which courses to choose if I went there! I also agree with Medland, if you get an offer from NYU, that may be more attractive as NYU also has a broad curriculum but has received better rankings. I should quality this by saying that rankings shouldn't be the sole criteria for selecting a school, but in this case there is a very clear order between schools and is a bit more influential in the decision-making process.

Another one for Georgetown. Great school, vibrant environment and best place (right now) to hunt a job when your LLM is over...

Stagista11, have you undertaken an LLM at Georgetown? It sounded like you were speaking from personal experience so I was a bit curious.

I didn't realise that the market in DC was picking up.

I worked for my government in DC in 2008. I regret I didn't apply to GT for my LLM (I went to Northwestern), for it's really a great school, surrounded by federal agencies, law firms and every possible employer you may ever seek for. Professors are great, and the student body is truly diverse and international. I'd love to go back to DC, and this is why I strongly recommend GT for your master's degree

You're right about the location. DC is also a great place for NGOs, too (the World Bank being one example). That is why Columbia, NYU and Georgetown are so much more attractive in many ways than, say, Harvard, for me. I really like how it's possible to do an externship at the UN (if at Columbia) and at the World Bank (if at Georgetown) and get credit for it towards the degree.

How did you find Northwestern? It's such a shame I didn't really know anything about Northwestern at the time I made my applications - people from my country don't really apply there. People generally apply to a small selection of schools, the most popular US schools are Harvard, Columbia, NYU. I only know of one other person who applied to Georgetown (not just in my year, but generally speaking!). I kid you not, there is no NZ student ambassador for Georgetown. I will have to hassle some Aussies with my questions ;)

it's mostly a matter of what you rather study upon admission. Northwestern is home to the best corporate law courses you may find, while GT (along as CLS and NYU) is great for international law. To study IP or entertainment law you should head to California (Stanford and Berkeley), and so on.
Bearing that in mind, I still think you should go to GT

Just my personal opinion for your reference: GT
Reason 1: A top 14 really means something in the job market; Reason 2: GT's international economic law is undoubtedly listed in the top 3 in the world; Reason 3, not mentioning the center of Washington...

Just read this article. What do you guys have to say abt this? I am quoting part of the article here-

"2006 Rankings of American LL.M-Master of Law
This classification takes into account the following data: Selectivity of the Institution, Starting Salary and International image of the University established by a panel of international recruiters. Tin 2006 two US universities from the state of New York share the first place; Columbia and Cornell. Two other Ivy League institutions follow and Harvard, which is stable at the fifth place.

1) Columbia University (NY) & Cornell (NY)
3) NYU (NY)
4) University of Pennsylvania (PA)
5) Harvard University (MA)
6) Fordham (NY)
7) Tulane (LA)
8) Duke University (NC)
9) Vanderbilt (TN)
10) Cardozo Law School Yeshiva University (NY)
11) University of Chicago (IL)
12) Yale (CT)
13) American University (DC)
14) Pennsylvania State University (PA)
15) LSU (LA)
16) UCLA (CA)
17) University of Southern California (CA)
18) Washington University (MO)
19) Boston University (MA)
20) Georgetown Universtity*.

*Georgetown University is not recommended for bar examination as said in their documentation.

Your readers may contact us at:
American Universities Admission Program"

I am looking at the universities from the point of view of appearing for the Bar exam after my LLM.
So should I just look at the ranking and reputation of the university? Also as far as I am aware, foreign lawyers cannot give the Washington Bar exam right? And unless we appear for the Bar exam, we cannot practice anywhere in the US.. Unless thats not the case with in-house counsel jobs, but i am not sure of that..

I don't think you can put much weight on that AUAP ranking (the company that charges $2500 to apply to a few LLM's for you).

The fact that Yale is ranked below Tulane on a ranking that is supposedly based on "Selectivity of the Institution, Starting Salary and International image of the University" is just ridiculous.

Not to bash Tulane as I'm sure it is a highly selective, good university with graduates making good money, but I don't think any correct statistics could show Yale to be less selective, their graduates to have lower salaries, or the university to be of a worse international reputation than Tulane.

The fact that schools like Stanford and Berkeley don't even make the ranking list shows it even more.

yea.. that does make a lot of sense.. i was just concentrating on the G'town part.
HNS What do u have to say abt the other questions i have put up? can a foreign lawyer sit for the washington bar exam?

K!!: I have a colleague holding a LL.B. outside the U.S. and a LL.M. in George Washington University Law School (GW Law). He was admitted to take D.C. Bar. In addition, if you are admitted to practice law as an attorney-at-law or a patent attorney in your country, you are also eligible to take California Bar as a foreign attorney applicant without having completed a LL.M. program.

K!! When you say "Washington bar", is that supposed to be "the District of Columbia Bar" or "the Washington State Bar"? If you referred to the latter, I am sorry I have no idea.

Hi K!!

For ALL the information you can get and might want about eligibility of taking the bar and procedure thereof you may want to have a look at this: http://www.ncbex.org/fileadmin/mediafiles/downloads/Comp_Guide/2011_CompGuide.pdf

On page 14 and following pages you will find a chart of all state requirements plus supplemental notes. You will find information on the District of Columbia bar as well as that of Washington State.

But as pointed out before you can always sit the New York or California Bar Exam which should open practically all other states to you if you manage to pass the bar exam(s) that is (which is not as easy as one might think --> see here: http://www.nybarexam.org/Press/ExamStatsJUL10PassRates2005-2010.pdf for NY State or here: http://www.ncbex.org/fileadmin/mediafiles/downloads/Bar_Admissions/2009_Stats.pdf for an overview).

Happy reading. :)

Miss Chatterbox

PUTOU: I was talking abt D.C. only, not washington state.. thanks for the piece of information you have shared.. :)

Miss C: that was awesome.. Thanks a ton for the info and help.. :) :)