NW ranks better than USC,but the weather in LA is much better than Chicago. Besides, my husband is just in the waiting list of NW but admitted by USC. Which is the better choice for me while I've already been admitted by NW and USC?Can anyone give me some advice?

Why are you seeking an LL.M.? Are you planning to find work in the US or is it to enhance your employment opportunities back home. Where are you from?

I am from Taiwan and want to go back home after LLM in the US. I like to go out everyday therefore, I am not sure if I will get used to the cold weather in Chicago and stay in the apartment for a long time during the winter.

I also like to go out everyday and still i am going to Northwestern. Chicago is an amazing city and NU is way better than USC.

I'm studying at Northwestern now, and I call you the weather is better than I thought, although is still cloudy and cold most of the days...that being said, if weather is your main concern do not come to Chicago!!!! academics here is great, and I don't regret my decision yet... USC, on the other hand is very popular among Asian applicants, so you have to think whether it can be useful for your English to avoid such a great number of your fellow nationals (or other Chinese-speaking students)

If you would like to travel and explore throughout the year, I definitely recommend coming to Southern California. The temperature is between 20-35 C year round (almost never humid) and it only rains for about 20 days. If you look for work/life balance, it's hard to beat this part of SoCal. You can drive to Vegas in a couple of hours, be at the beach within minutes, go skiing at BigBear or Mammoth within 2-3h, Yosemite and other National parks are within driving distance. If you want to go to a "real" city, go on a weekend trip to San Francisco.

Now, I can't comment too much on academics, b/c I haven't studied at both, USC and NW, but I can tell you that the LLM program at SC is a lot of fun. You'll get paired up with a JD student and there are many events throughout the year that will make you feel part of the law school. Also, the school has a smaller body of students which makes it feel very intimate (there are about 600 JD students and 120 LLM student). There are great classes and not so great classes, but you will get this at any school. USC has special bar review classes just for LL.M. students that are being held in cooperation with BarBri at the school (for free). If you are planning to take the NY or CA bar, this is very helpful. Also, you have a staff of about 6 people who oversee the program and provide support to the LLM students.

One of my favorite parts about USC was the really strong community feeling in L.A. Most USC graduates stay in the area and they are very proud to be "Trojan." You go to the college football games and have about 90,000 people all wearing school colors and going nuts. Now, there might be an equivalent at NW, too, but this tightly knit Trojan community definitely is a great thing.

When making your choice, I recommend you consider the overall environment, which includes academics, school community and the city you'd be living it. L.A. definitely does not feel like a big city such as New York or Chicago and without a car, your quality of life will be considerably lower than in cities that are more concentrated and offer mass transit. However, the fact that L.A. is such a great mix of different towns makes it really cool, you have Hollywood with lots of clubs and bars, Santa Monica as a typical beach resort town, Beverly Hills as a really upscale city where you can spot celebrities and so on.

Good luck in making your decision!