I just got an offer yesterday!

Havnt heard from the coll yet....really nervous now

join up the Facebook group guys! :)

@sudeshna_7 - there is no choice of specialisation for the NYU degree in the NYU@NUS program! :)

I applied to both the programs, NYU and NYU@NUS, and I am still waiting for a reply. Sent an email to NYU last and they replied that a decision on my file had not been taken yet.

Thanks Piergiuseppe..takes a load of my mind.

hello everyone.
i applied REALLY late, with special permission, and got an acceptance email yesterday (yet to get official letter). I'm still iffy about the program...it's very expensive and i probably will have to decline it for the SECOND time if i don't get a scholarship. :(

I got an offer on friday 17, I am also not sure if I will accept the offer, I am also waiting from the traditional LLM program in NYU. I wanted to know if the program is known in the U.S., as I want to apply after the program to a US law firm and fear the program is not well regarded. Does anyone know about the possibility of getting a job in the US after the program?

yes NYU@NUS students get access to the Annual NY job fairs that LLM students in the US participate in annually..For this batch, the Europeans and Latin Americans are highly sought after in NY and majority who applied got 5-7 interviews :)

As far as I am told, employers from the other side of the world like the NYU@NUS program as it means students in the program have experience in Asia which is valuable. :)

Cheers
G

Got my official offer letter, with the Deans Schol.
I'm now having second thoughts on this program because even with the deans schol it's gonna cost me like 40 grand. Could any current students help me to make a decision?
i would like to know about:
-the courses themselves: are they interesting? do they require a lot of work or is it a relatively chilled llm?
-how much free time do you get on average?
-are we allowed to take part time jobs in S'pore?
-what is the average student class like? Ages, nationalities, experience levels
-accommodation: i just did some cursory googling and wow the acco looks expensive...what has been your experience?
-how does the academic year work? do we get semester breaks?

I will help you out as best as I can:

-the courses themselves: are they interesting? do they require a lot of work or is it a relatively chilled llm?

Opinion: It depends on your selections. Some courses are basic American law courses to help you gain eligibility to sit the NY Bar while some area more heavy. I would say the NYU component requires lesser work (generally) because they offer subjects like contract law, corporations law, legal ethics. However, NYU also offers more advance subjects like International Tax, Securities Regulation, M&A etc. which would be new to some. Apparently they also only send the best professors of NYU down to Singapore.

As to whether it is chilled or not, it depends on the subjects you choose and how fast you intend to finish the LLM. Some students choose to do a condensed load to finish up by December whereas other choose to do a load that is lighter but it means they finish in April.

-how much free time do you get on average?

Opinion: It is difficult for me to gauge. Again depends on how much preparation you want to do before or after class. During NYU semesters (May to July) we have classes 4 days a week for 3.5 hours. If there are classes you really like, you can double-up for selected blocks and for those days you would have 7 hours of class. NUS classes are generally conducted once a week (3 hours) over 13 weeks (or 3 times a week (3 hours) over 3 weeks).

Again, depends on what subjects you are in and how much preparation you want to do.

-are we allowed to take part time jobs in S'pore?

Opinion: Yes, as far as I am aware the maximum is 16 hours due to visa restrictions.

-what is the average student class like? Ages, nationalities, experience levels

Opinion: 45 students, average age of 25-30. Majority from Europe, South America and India.

-accommodation: i just did some cursory googling and wow the acco looks expensive...what has been your experience?

Opinion: If you want to live in a condominium it would be $1,000 to $1,500 per month. If you live in public housing it would be $750 or so a month. If you choose to live in student accommodation (UTown or Evans Lodge) then it could be cheaper. Again, depends on choice.

-how does the academic year work? do we get semester breaks?

Opinion: May to July NYU semester, July to Nov NUS semester, December NYU semester, Jan to April NUS semester. The semester breaks are short 1 or 2 weeks. But students travel during the weekends of the NYU semester. Also, depends on how you choose classes, you can skip the second NYU semester or finish the NUS semesters earlier (e.g. choosing intensive courses which last for 6 weeks rather than 13 weeks or loading up more so you don't have to take a second NYU semester etc.).

Cheers
G

wow, that was a quick reply. thanks a lot G...got a much better idea about it now. I'm gonna have a good think about this over the weekend.

all the best! just let me know if you have further queries and I will try my best to help... :) What are your other options?

Cheers

Although I am quite happy and honored to be considered for NYU@NUS and an award, a though decision is ahead. I also got admitted to Cambridge today and, naturally, my applications to other US law schools (Stanford, Harvard, Yale) are still pending. In addition, according to my financial planning I would be able to rise more than 35k if attending a program starting in August (US) or September (Cambridge) (savings, stupid bonus rule according to which I will not get a bonus at my firm if leaving before July, cashed-out vacation, etc.) rather than in May. On the other side I think that the NYU@NUS LL.M. is a really terrific opportunity.

So, if anyone is up to sharing his opinion, Id be listening gratefully. What would you do?

Frontal, if i were you, i would go for Cambridge or the other US law schools, especially given the financial consequences of waiting till August. I think studying at one of those historic schools would be an experience which you would not get at the NYU@NUS degree.
Congrats :)

Hi Frontal. I had exactly the same struggles and tough decision to make as you seem to have it now. May I refer to my previous posting at this LL.M board last year when I was exactly in your position:

http://www.llm-guide.com/board/103981/0#post-103981

I will tell you what opinion on that topic is one year ( I got deferred admission) after my decision and I will add additional thoughts that are not reflected in my posting last year:

1. From a German perspective, the LL.M is much less important than in other countries. To get jobs in top law firms, courts positions, prosecutor, etc. it primary depends on your marks in the State Examination. Since I had great marks in my state examinations, I can get all this job already without pursuing any LL.M or PhD or somethins else.This is something to bear in mind when reading this posting.

2. However, 1) only applies if I wanna work in Germany or with a German employer that can value your marks ( in Swiss it might be similar (by the way, I am also Swiss, double-citizenship)). If you wanna work abroad, in international organisations, in other law jurisdictions, the "additional titles" may or probably do count. Bearing this in mind, it is no doubt that Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Stanford are above a NYU law degree. This is a fact you have to face and I know it tough to say "No" to these law schools if you are admitted.

3. If you wanna teach later, the law schools mentioned above are the place to go. If you read CV´s of (international) law professors, most of them graduated from on of these law schools. That doesn´t mean that if you choose the NYU@NUS closes the door for teaching, but it may be tougher.

4. However, if you see yourself (like I see myself) more as a "business lawyer" working in an international background with strong relation to Asia, NYU@NUS is the place to go. It is an old rule that you should always study in the place where you wanna work later. See it from a networking perspective, from the mere "experience perspective", and from a working experience perspective. If you wanna work closly related with SouthEast Asia later, you should definitely try to make an internship in Singapore or in another asian country after finishing the programme. There are those possibilities and if you are as good as your qualifications seem to be, it should not be a problem to find a internship or even job afterwards. (My law firm already offered me that I can stay in our Singapore office for some month after finishing the programme). If you see the asian market, there are like 2 hubs. One is "China". All big firms have a China desk and have a legal cousel for that area. The second "hub" is Southeast Asia, which include countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladsh, Philippines, etc. Most firms "serve" these countries from Singapore, since it is a stably place with a very good legal system, economic friendly, etc. Indonesia and Vietnam are countries with a huge potential and they are emerging nations that will become more and more important in the future. There will unavoidably be a demand for legal advice in that area and if an employer who is looking for someone in that area (in Germany and probably swiss too) is reading CV´s, what really counts is experience in that legal areas. If he reads "Cambridge" he knows that you can aim high and that you know how to act in a superior society, but does he know that you will be able to find solutions in that part of the world? Most probably not (again, bear in mind 1) when reading this).

5. The NYU@NUS programme is too new to make a well-founded statement how to evaluate it compared to other programmes. Will employers see it as a "plus" that you have two LL.M (if you explain the programme to them) or will they see it more as "strange programme", not really US. LL.M, who knows?? This is a risk everyone who opts for this programme takes. Everything that is a bit "out of order" and a big opportunity is linked with a risk at the same time. Are you willing to take that risk? That´s the question.

However, NYU is a top US Law School. Having NYU degree in your CV is, as I said, just slightly behind the other Law Schools mentioned. It also depends how you write it in your CV. You can just write (LL.M, New York University School of Law, 2012; LL.M, National University of Singapore 2013). Most people who read this will not even know that you did not the "normal" NYU programme and will be amazed that you even got two LL.M degrees).

To sum it up, in the end your decision should depend on your future goal with your job. Do you want to work connected with Asia, globally minded, NYU@NUS is the place to go. Do you work in a "normal good swiss law office" or become a legal teacher, you should go for Cambridge.

6. If we leave the career perspective aside, Singapore is way better than any other place. I was a legal trainee there before in a German law firm and it is such a great place, unbelievable. I have also been to Cambdridge before for a english course two month and it is nice too. But you really cannot compare it at all to Singapore. Cambridge is a small nice city where the university is everything. It has this calm, elitist mood, which is nice too. The weather often sucks, the girls are (okay, lets leave this out :-) and you are surrounded by very smart, but often very snobish people. I personally was offered a place at Peterhouse College which is the oldest and even most conversative College in Cambridge. I think after being there for one year, most of my friends here in Germany wouldn´t recognize me anymore.. (in a negative way).

In Singapore, you have awesome weather all the time, great parties, beautiful girls, lovely food, you can travel to those "clear blue water" beaches for little money every weekend if you want, and you can really dive into an experience you probably have never had ever before. I can just tell that my three month in Singapore have been the best in my life so far and I am very optimistic that now my best year in my life is lying ahead...

I would be delighted to have you in our programme. So, make your choice and let me/us now. If you have any further questions, you can also send me a private mail if you want.

Hope to see you in May.

Best,

Andreas

I want to add something. The "risk" of employers not evaluating the NYU@NUS as a real "NYU" degree is probably lowered by taking the NY Bar Exam. So if you are able to pass the NY Bar after you studied at NYU, who can doubt that you are really trained in the US? Thats why I will do the NY Bar as well.

Congrats to all those who have received the offers!

May I know for those who received their offers on 17th, when is the deadline to accept the offer?

i have a deadline of March 2nd.
so just a little over a week to make up my mind :S

i have a deadline of March 2nd.
so just a little over a week to make up my mind :S

still waiting for a reply. At this point I think I am out of the NYU@NUS Program.