Hi,

I have offers from UVA and NU. Which is better and what is the rationale behind your opinion?

It really depends on what you're looking for and what your focus is. I may be biased because I am a Bachelor alumnus, but I would pick UVA. NU has more highly ranked specialty programmes (i.e. trial advocacy, international law, etc.) but is lower ranked overall (12 to UVA's 8). However, if you plan on working in IL or to get a job during the school year you will be competing with the University of Chicago students over there (which is ranked at number 4). UVA is the highest-ranked school in the state, with the following one being William and Mary but I believe they are in the mid-20s lower-30s as far as overall rankings.

Price wise, it's pretty much the same, even if you are in-state for UVA the price difference is about one thousand dollars between in and out of state. However, the biggest discrepancy is their projected employment rating. US News puts UVA at a 93% while NU is at a 73%. Granted, this also applies to JD, but something worth considering regardless I would think. NU, however, does have a smaller student body and a better student-faculty ratio. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your reply.

I do have some follow up questions if you don't mind.

1. I am an International student looking to work long term in the US after the LLM course. For this, which college would you pick and why?

2. I am interested in corporate business law. I have worked as in house corporate counsel for close to 8 years and would like to pursue my career in the same after the LLM.

3. You mentioned the smaller student body and a better student-faculty ratio for NU. However I was under the impression that UVA has a class size of only 50 whereas NU has close to 200 all LLMs combined. Can you elaborate on this?