This is about the same old (and hard) question: how to decide between two great offers

I was accepted at Stanford (Law, Science and Technology LL.M. Program) and at Columbia. If you were in this situation, which offer would you choose? And why?

Im bending over backwards to come to a clear decision, but I just cant Hope you guys can help me out Thanks!

Congratulations! What an amazing achievement.

I looked into Stanford at the time, but did not apply since I thought there was no way I would be admitted. I was however admitted to Columbia and intend to enroll there next fall.

If I had the choice I would without a doubt choose Stanford. The main reasons for me would be that they admit only a very limited number of people and therefore each LLM student is bound to get a lot more attention. Also I think it is wise for them to offer tailormade specializations, instead of the more traditional, general LLM´s.

I'm exactly in the same situation as Riddle. I think I will choose Stanford, but the fact that I'll be going with my wife and my little daughter favors California over NY.

Now, what would you think between Stanford and Harvard? Is Boston family friendly?

Good luck to all.

Thanks guys... This is of great help.

In a contest between Harvard and Stanford, I think Harvard has some advantage... It is more prestigious and well-known all over the world.

However, if you are taking your family with you, it is also important to consider the extreme cold of Bostons winter in contrast to the sunny California.

I'm exactly in the same situation as Riddle. I think I will choose Stanford, but the fact that I'll be going with my wife and my little daughter favors California over NY.

Now, what would you think between Stanford and Harvard? Is Boston family friendly?

Good luck to all.

Thank you Oldtimer. I am almost decided to go to Stanford (BTW, I was accepted at the LST program and my main area of practice is IP). New York is a great city, but my daughter will be one year and a half once the program starts, thus family friendly is a must.

My parents studied at Boston when my oldest brother was one year old, and that was 35+ years ago, so Harvard with a family is doable if I were accepted there. All seems to lean towards Stanford for me though, but Harvard is still a very powerful brand.

And yes, neighbours in Escondido Valley would be great!!!

Stanford is ranked 2nd in US News, ahead of Harvard. Did anyone realize that?

Among J.D. folks Stanford is valued more highly in terms of prestige due to to the school's high selectivity. Stanford can aford to replace letter grading with Honors/Pass grading (along with Yale and Harvard). Columbia could never adopt such a grading system because it is not selective enough and has a student body that is by far too large for that kind of system. Only HYS have this system because their prestige allows them to go with it.

SLS > CLS any day

Oldtimer and Riddle, since I also applied to Stanford and Columbia (not early review) could you guys please give us a little bit of your personal background so that we can understand the profile of admitted applicants? Toefl Score, Professional Experience, LORs etc. Much appreciated. Tks.

Stanford is definitely more competitive and hard to get in but it depends if you want to really get specialized or not.
If you want to work in IP, Stanford is the best option.
However, Columbia remains a very good option.

When it comes down to IP, I'd choose Stanford over Columbia with no hesitation. Congratulations on getting admitted into both!

Would you mind sharing your background info with us so we can get a sense of the type of candidates who get admitted into these schools in their IP programs please?

I have also applied to both schools, and I'm waiting for their responses.

I am a French-trained lawyer with mostly As and a few Bs, I lived and studied in California for a couple years, and thus was granted the TOEFL waiver. I studied Sciences as an undergrad for a couple of years in France before switching to law.