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Where should I go next fall? / Northwestern or UC Irvine ($30k) for California BigLaw?
« on: February 28, 2012, 03:55:35 PM »
Hey everyone,
I've been accepted to both schools and would like some advice on which would be a better choice for either getting a BigLaw job outright in CA or getting a fellowship and then a BigLaw job in CA.
So far I've gathered the following:
Northwestern
Pro: T-14 status, high USNWR ranking in the "when lawyers do the judging" category, high NLJ 250 placement rate, experienced and cooperative student body
Con: Chicago is cold, NU is expensive, I'm not sure about clerkships or how difficult it would be to get into a great Cali firm from this Illinois school
UC Irvine
Pro: amazing clerkship placement stats (Dean Chemerinsky has made it a focus of his tenure), small and supportive student body, individual attention and support from faculty and administration, location in California, significantly cheaper
Con: unranked. They aspire to be a top-20 school among UCLA, USC, etc. and have been composing their student body, faculty, and collecting various claims to fame that make this appear believable, but the risk is there. Don't know about BigLaw placement.
Thanks!
I've been accepted to both schools and would like some advice on which would be a better choice for either getting a BigLaw job outright in CA or getting a fellowship and then a BigLaw job in CA.
So far I've gathered the following:
Northwestern
Pro: T-14 status, high USNWR ranking in the "when lawyers do the judging" category, high NLJ 250 placement rate, experienced and cooperative student body
Con: Chicago is cold, NU is expensive, I'm not sure about clerkships or how difficult it would be to get into a great Cali firm from this Illinois school
UC Irvine
Pro: amazing clerkship placement stats (Dean Chemerinsky has made it a focus of his tenure), small and supportive student body, individual attention and support from faculty and administration, location in California, significantly cheaper
Con: unranked. They aspire to be a top-20 school among UCLA, USC, etc. and have been composing their student body, faculty, and collecting various claims to fame that make this appear believable, but the risk is there. Don't know about BigLaw placement.
Thanks!