Hi guys, i needed some advice. I have a contract in england with a top firm and am looking to do something with my time before it starts. I have an offer from UCLA in Business Law and an offer from BU in American Law that comes with a $10k scholarship. Never been to LA. Been to boston and liked it. Have close friends at both locations. Would really appreciate your thoughts on this one. thanks.

bizlawyer
i am in similar situation , got offers from ucla and bu (20K) but leaning towards bu considering the tution assistance. whats ur deadline to reply to ucla and bu?

i think BU deadline is end of the month, ucla is 18th of this month. I am considering the BU option, not only b/c of the assistance but also the fact that on ur cv u can put 'scholarship' or 'scholarship student', which automatically is an impresser. then again, as an institution, UCLA is pretty good. where are you from jack if you dont mind me asking; american? british?

Businesslawyer, you should also consider the fact that LA is VERY far from home. Boston is but a quick flight. Also, what are you trying to get out of the LL.M? Consider the advantages of knowing Boston, or L.A. for that matter, for your future goals, business or otherwise.

Having lived in both places, I can say that Boston is closer to NYC, Washington, Europe. I may be wrong, but that alone is worth it in the long run for business.
There is one thing though, you can't beat L.A. weather, and UCLA is a beautiful place.

I'm trying to get 3 things from an llm. 1- my law firms has offices in NY, with lawyers who graduated from all over the states, so maybe position myself in a better position for a transfer to an American office after doing the NY bar or something, or being more marketable for applying later on in life to work for an American law firm in London, 2- during practice, like many lawyers, I want to write articles and contribute to academia, and 3- later on in life, I would like to teach, much later on after years of practical experience though. I hear u about the distance though. Never been as far as LA, but distance doesn't phase me, it'll mean I get a small weekend break in NY everytime I'm travelling home :-) but I'm still torn between the two offers. Both hve classes I would love, all international business related and corporate etc, but as an institution is UCLA better than BU?

u making me confuse, uncertain! i thought i've already made my decision

As far as being far, I don't mean just physical distance. I mean L.A. is practically the other side of the world for you, so take that into consideration if you are going to try to keep in touch with people back home, office-wise or personal. that can have a big toll on you that you might not have considered. Of course there are ways around that, but it does become lonely in L.A.
As for UCLA or BU being a better school, I really can't opine. Business law is also different from American Law. I think you might find american law LL.M a bit empty if you are looking for a more business type program. American Law is more for those who want to take the NY (or other) Bar with foreign degrees, or those that want a more general sense of american law.
As far as your #2 and #3 go, I really can't say, I am equally ignorant on both journal or other academic writing possibilities in either school, and have no idea which would prepare you best for future teaching.
as for #1, I still think Boston is better. L.A. (city) is in a little sphere of its own, in many ways it seems detached from the world. I can't say that about the UCLA program, I am not familiar enough to say that. But being on the East coast will generate more networking, will keep you closer to the NY offices.

that's my two cents, for what it's worth

One last thing - the cost of living in these two cities is roughly the same (It's not London, but it's not cheap!!!). A small apartment costs about the same near BU as it does near UCLA. that said, without your 10k scholarship, L.A. becomes that much more expensive.

i hear you, thank you for your input, i really appreciate it. i can understand the idea of networking opportunities. I have friends in both locations so being lonely i dont know if i'll suffer from that, but the time difference is 7hrs in comparison with 5 hrs from boston so keeping in touch with family could be limited. about the degree types, with all honesty, i think its just a title. the courses that i would want to do at both institutions are practically all the same- the american law llm kind of says just pick from our huuuge JD and upper classes choices, which u can tailor to be business orientated. even at BU with an american llm, u can have an international business practice concentration.

Honestly, you have a pretty tough choice. The only real advantage to BU is the networking thing, and even that isn't all that much better because while Boston is close to NY, it isn't NY.
This might be the perfect opportunity for you to go somewhere you've never been, experience California for all that is great about it. Like I said earlier, you can't beat the weather, and that does have a big impact on your life... you might not always want to go to class when it's sunny and 70, but it's like that everyday in LA, so you know the weekend will be the same and you can go to the beach. In Boston, the 70 degree days become a distant memory in January. (plus in boston, even in the summer the beach is cold!)

Honestly, I loved living in LA and I loved living in Boston. It seems to me that you have a pretty solid future regardless of where you chose, so now might be the time to go to L.A. and have a different experience than you might get when you go back to the "real world" and will certainly be in NY and Boston more often than you might get to go to L.A.
Your 10k might be the decider here. If that's not such an issue for you, I'd say go to L.A. there is a reason why so many people love it there...

living cost in la is higher than boston, i just checked housing options and apartment rents. its too high near the campus area in westwood and other places.. i think boston looks manageable to me

My thoughts. I was pretty much in the same boat (UCLA vs BU $$$). I decided to go to Boston. Let's face it: 1) UCLA is better ranked, 2) has a big plus on campus and on the weather side (I've been there couple f years ago), and 3) is a small program. However, for me BU has more advantages on its side. First, since I'm from Germany US rankings aren't really important in terms of career prospects. What matters is that you spent a year in the US, improved your legal english skills, and got an idea of a common law legal system. Second, money definitely is an important point. With $15k or $20k more in my pocket I could have flights to sunny Florida every single weekend, or to have a condo in Boston that really rocks, or simply to reduce my debts when I'm back home ... Third, BU is a good university. It's not top notch but good enough to expect an excellent education. Student life in Boston is vibrant, having in mind that with BU, Harvard, MIT, BC, Northeastern you'll live in an extremely academic environment. Moreover, for personal reasons I love the idea that home is only a direct 7hrs flight (instead of a 12hrs flight to LA). Being in a relationship $$$ matters also in terms of costs of travel. Also, you should keep in mind that you probably will need a car in LA, whereas public transportation in Boston is excellent. Having said all this, BU is the perfect choice for me. But if money wouldn't matter things would be different. Then I'd prefer UCLA because of the sunny and relaxed way of living.