Ok here is a new comparison.

I would appreciate your comments on those schools, the positive and negative points. Especially those who have accepted the offer from those school are very welcome to explain their reasons.

UPenn is an ivy league, located close to NY, so hopefully close to job market. However, it is in Philadephia - I dont know much about the city but I've heard there is not much to do in there, so people prefer to go to NYC during the week-ends - UPenn offers a chance to attend Wharton Program.

Chicago is def one of the best law schools, has a very small LLM Program, is in a city where many international law firms have offices, the reputation of the school and the faculty is very good.

Georgetown has a good specialized program (referring to Securities Program), far from NY, but maybe a program which is more adopted to the needs of the market -I'm not sure about their connections to the employers-

Fordham is in NYC, very well located, has a very good and tailored program in banking and finance (I'm not sure if it's better than BU's though, since BU has been offering this program over 20 years now!), however it is not ranked that high in law schools' lists and not that known world-wide.

What do you think about them?
Pls pls pls help me choose! I'm in hurry since I havent applied to some of them yet :)

Fordham's LLM program is very well known. They might only rank in the lower 30s or high 20s (??) in the US News ranking, but as far as their reputation over here in Europe goes, my impression has been that a LLM from Fordham is valued pretty highly. Considerung the location, I simply cannot push myself to like Fordham's as NYU's is just so much nicer. However, if NYU is no option and you want to be close to law firms, Fordham's probably the best to be in the middle of the job market.

Chicago has a very academic reputation. The one thing I don't like about Chicago is the location of the campus.

I have felt very comfortable talking to Georgetown reps. Everyone has been extremely kind. They are well know, but not nearly as prominent as UPenn and Chicago, and, at least in Europe, Fordham.

Finally, UPenn: Reputation equal to that of Chicago, Ivy League! I personally like Philadelphia from what I have seen. Is it really that boring? I don't see myself travelling to NYC for the weekend that much. Philly is a city of a few million, there's gotta be stuff to do, especially with UPenn, Temple, Drexel and Villanova students all over the place. Philly's proximity to NYC should make bar exam plans for the following summer much more realistic.

If you really want NYC, do Fordham, but if you want the national recognition for legal practice afterwards, I would choose UPenn. Yet, this is my "general" opinion as I don't know much about their specific banking law programs.

Good luck making your choice!

I think Penn and Chicago are difficult to compare to both Fordham and Georgetown (especially Georgetown). It has little to do with rankings, but rather with the goal of the programs. Of course, Fordham is ranked lower than the other three schools, but I am certain it is a great program, with the advantage of being in NYC. Georgetown's LLM programs seem less oriented to helping one prep for the Bar Exam (correct me if I'm wrong), which could weigh heavily on your decision. If you want to prep for the Bar and then return to your home country, I think Penn, Chicago or Fordham would be better choices. Between Penn and Chicago, you can't really say one is "better" than the other, since they are both among the best in the country. Best of luck to you. Wherever you end up, you'll unfortunately need a warm jacket.

Wherever you end up, you'll unfortunately need a warm jacket.

Chicago, easy choice. UPenn is the only one in the list that can compete academically with Chicago. And Chicago obviously eclipses Philadelphia as a city and as a cultural and social center of the US.

Really? I don't see it as such an easy decision. There are so many factors to consider: academia or praxis, the program itself (if you want law and economics, definitely Chicago), program/class size (nice and familiar class size in Chicago), campus/city/location (which is my main concern with U of C; I just didn't feel that comfortable when I was there, it' so far south of everything else), tuition , fin aid and scholarships (Fordham appears rather generous compared to the others from what I have heard)...

Let us know what you decided!

I agree with Spikee. You also should take into consideration the way the school functions. UChicago is particular, in that it has its own grading system (so does Penn it seems). It is also on the quarter system, which you may or may not like. If you are used to European schools, the quarter system will be different. There are so many great law schools out there, I find it pointless to deem one far superior to another.

First of all: UChicago is clearly the best Uni of those u have mentioned. It's reputation is better than that of NYU and UPenn. further, the LL.M. Program is one of the most selective if not the most selective ones in the U.S. Chicago is a nice city, too. So, if u can decide among those schools, pick chicago.

Then comes UPenn. But while Philly is a nice city, it is also not a dynamic one. Further, there are several areas that are quite dangerous. So, if u wanna go to a great Uni and do not care about the possibilities of the city u live in, UPenn is great. It's probably a more American city than NY or Boston.

Fordham has a good reputation in Europe, but not to compare with the ones mentioned above. It's advantage might be NYC. It's location in the city is amazing. i deem it to be better than NYU's, because it's in the middle of the city and therefore everything is good to reach. As a Columbia student who loves the Upper West side and lives there, I know what I am talking of.

Georgetown is a good Uni and if u wanna try to work close to the heartnof American politics, it is a good choice. But the LL.M is not that prestigious, unless u take a special one.

Wherever you end up, you'll unfortunately need a warm jacket.

:)) So true! I haven't considered applying to western schools, Berkeley and Stanford would be good options as well.. :)

Thank you for both of your comments.

I didn't know Fordham was recognized that much in Europe, if so, I am very pleased to hear that!


Be careful...fordham is ok, but not comparable to the usual suspects...also in europe....and nyc is very expensive...
I'll do some more research about them...

Hi MAB79,

Are you familiar with Georgetown Law's Securities and Financial Regulation LL.M. program? As of now, I'm currently deciding between that program and Penn Law.

Hi MAB79,

Are you familiar with Georgetown Law's Securities and Financial Regulation LL.M. program? As of now, I'm currently deciding between that program and Penn Law.

And do not consider an LLM if your intend is to work in the US. The market in NYC is still too low...even for Columbia Honor Grads.

Ok here is a new comparison.

I would appreciate your comments on those schools, the positive and negative points. Especially those who have accepted the offer from those school are very welcome to explain their reasons.

UPenn is an ivy league, located close to NY, so hopefully close to job market. However, it is in Philadephia - I dont know much about the city but I've heard there is not much to do in there, so people prefer to go to NYC during the week-ends - UPenn offers a chance to attend Wharton Program.

Chicago is def one of the best law schools, has a very small LLM Program, is in a city where many international law firms have offices, the reputation of the school and the faculty is very good.

Georgetown has a good specialized program (referring to Securities Program), far from NY, but maybe a program which is more adopted to the needs of the market -I'm not sure about their connections to the employers-

Fordham is in NYC, very well located, has a very good and tailored program in banking and finance (I'm not sure if it's better than BU's though, since BU has been offering this program over 20 years now!), however it is not ranked that high in law schools' lists and not that known world-wide.

What do you think about them?
Pls pls pls help me choose! I'm in hurry since I havent applies to some of them yet :)

As a Columbia student who loves the Upper West side and lives there, I know what I am talking of.

Hi

Well, according to my opinion, the Program is great but very, very intense and hard. I spent many hours studying till early in the morning. But you get a lot for it and the Professors are simply great.

I have a friend who's at UChicago as well as one at UPenn. Both programs are very good as well. However, UChicago's location seems to be a little bit of a problem (at least according to my friend). Upenn is good, too. But Philadelphia (although I like the city) is not NYC or Chicago and therefore the good places are very fast visited and it can get boring there (at least my friend says so). Also the crim rate in the surroundings is not the lowest.

To sum up: All three Universities are good (Chicago might be the most selective one) and you can't go wrong academically with all of them. I chose Columbia because it's in NYC, has the Ivy reputation of all the three (although it's no big difference) and I really wanted to be in a program with many students to buid up a network. Further, it is great that you are in classes with J.D's and are free to chose whatever class you like.

Regarding staying here after graduation: Unless you are from Brazil or mybe India or China or very specialized in an area of law that is needed, the job market still is not only bad but even worse. I have interviews from many law firms but not from U.S. law firms.

But I think that the law firms, when hiring, still try to get the best studenst from Harvard or Columbia. So, if you wanna have a small advantage against others, try to get into one of those...but remember: you are not a J.D and therefore, the chances aren't that good (see above).