Columbia vs. Chicago ($).....Help!

[shhhhfollowme]

I have been spying on this board for awhile and finally made an account today. 

I've been admitted to Columbia, which I had my heart set on, until UChicago offered me 66k.  I think I'd be stupid not to consider it. Reasons why I prefer Columbia:

1. Less freezing than Chicago (for me coldness = sadness, I'm from Southern California)
2. I have an itch to live in New York (I love bagels)
3. I'm attracted to the larger class size (I love people)
4. I want to eventually go into entertainment law, and NYC seems like the place to be (I'm not willing to go to law school in Los Angeles)  Columbia seems like it would open up a few doors in this arena, although I don't know much about UChicago and entertainment.

On the other hand, 66,000 plus the somewhat insane cost of living in New York is a steep price to pay for bagels and a few more degrees of warmth.  Although, the housing costs at Columbia are quite reasonable.  But geez, it would be nice to have half of my tuition paid.

Thoughts?

P.S. I'm gonna head out to visit UChicago ASAP.

[heartbreaker]

I would suggest leveraging the Chicago offer with Columbia for more money. I'd be shocked if Chicago gave you $66K and CLS gave you nothing.

If you want to do entertainment law, you really should go to CLS. The opportunities would be unmatched at Chicago, IMO.

[BikePilot]

Sounds like Columbia would be a better fit for you. For me I'd take Chicago over Columbia as it suits me much better (but I don't care much about bagles, NYC, entertainment law or a few degrees:). Whether its worth the price difference is a hard choice. I'd wait a bit, let CLS know about your $$ offer and see if anything better comes up.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

What is entertainment law?  Representing artists in contractual disputes?  (Lamley v. Watkins, Chicago Coliseum, Restatement 45 and revocation . . . we did read many artist contracts in Ks)  Copyright issues?  (That sounds more like soft IP practice.)  I'm not sure what else would fit in here.  Maybe some Criminal work if you represent Axel Rose or Dennis Rodman?

I would imagine that to break into such a niche field, you would need great grades more than a school with a specialist or two.  Nobody is going to care that you took some random Entertainment Law class as a 2L.  (Sorry.)  We have Sports Law here and I don't think it gave anyone a leg up into breaking into sports agency work.  All it does is show some demonstrated interest, but that's not hard to show, regardless.

Also, international law kinda blows.  I'm in Public International and most of the cases I've skimmed deal with jurisdiction and treaties.  It's not exactly models and bottles.

ETA: I did some research instead of reading for Crim.  This firm does a lot of entertainment law:

http://www.loeb.com/entertainmentandmediapractice/

Like Bosco said, I would be careful in thinking that this is at all glamorous.  Judging by this webpage, it's a lot of union disputes, soft IP, and tax work.  Granted, your clients may be Woody Allen and Bozo the Clown, but I would be wary of thinking that this field interests you enough, as a 0L, to pick a school based on it.

Also, this firm has hired numerous associates who were not on LR or even honors at my school.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

Whoops, you may be right.  The main partner in their Entertainment Law group went to CLS, but he was Fiske and on LR, so be careful.  You don't want to set yourself goals that are too high.  Nobody should come to law school with the expectation that they'll clerk on the 9th circuit or something.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

i'm also deciding between these schools and some others.  i always just lurk here but i stopped in to say one thing.  there are lots of helpful posters from your school on this site and you are not one of them.  if your purpose is to troll for your school you should stop now.  you fail horribly every time and make your school look bad

Do you have any tips?  I don't see what was so unhelpful about my previous two posts.  I gave the OP a good example of a firm that practices entertainment law, and thoughts about what it may entail.  I don't think it would have helped him to rationalize ambitions instead of trying to dissect what he wants to do.  If you like trolls and enablers, I suggest sticking to Top Law Schools.

Your viewpoint could be "right" on some level, but I think you'll feel differently about my posts when you get to law school.  To modify a Mary Oliver quote, I write for a 0L who's like myself.  I can't cater my advice to every poster, but I think I've made a good effort to help those who are like me in the sense that they want to do as well as possible.

Finally, I'm not a troll.  My school places well, but I've acknowledged the merits of other schools in this and dozens of other posts.  As someone who wants to clerk, I know that Chicago does well, as do UVa, SLS, Yale, Harvard, and Michigan.

If you come to Chicago, no hard feelings -- I'll be happy to give you old outlines and exams.

[Private David Lewis]

  at Wally. 

To "sh...followme," come to Columbia.  It sounds like you have more reasons for wanting to come here, and Manhattan (even Morningside Heights) is more fun than the south side of Chicago.  As others have said, send an email to the CLS financial aid person with a scanned copy of your offer from Chicago.  Tell him/her that CLS has always been your first choice, and give him/her a couple personal reasons why you want to go here.  Also, if you've been to any admitted student days, mention that, as it shows your interest in the school.  Then say that financial considerations are obviously part of your decision, $66 thousand is a lot of money, etc.  You won't get $66K, but you'll get SOMETHING (unless CLS is really struggling to pay out merit money this year because of the economy or whatever).  Even if this doesn't work (which it probably will), I would still recommend coming here. 

(This is all assuming you have at least been to Morningside Heights and/or Columbia and/or U of Chicago, as comparing schools in person is more instructive than anything people on an internet board can tell you). 

[shhhhfollowme]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!  It's really helpful.

Officious interM.-

Entertainment law does, in fact, exist.  If you want a concrete explanation, imagine what the TV/film/music industry would be like if they did not have access to lawyers who specialized in their field. It has less to do with good grades and more to do with having a good degree and some networking, which Columbia does fairly well through a student run group geared towards those interested in entertainment law.  I appreciate your advice, but it came of a little bit condescending.  Also, I am a "she." I do know a teeny tiny bit about the industry that I want to go into, and even if I don't, I certainly deserve a respectful answer.

And yes, I do set my goals extremely high.

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

My final decision was between these two schools (there's a thread about this somewhere).

As someone who also has an interest in entertainment law, I think being in NYC is a bonus, considering the externships available and the fact that you can start making these important connections as soon as you start school.

Like you, I think that CLS's size is optimal...not too big, not too small.

I doubt CLS will match, but they'd probably give you something (also, CLS hasn't even sent out their financial offers yet...they should be going out soon).

[shhhhfollowme]

Thanks everyone...I'm waiting waiting waiting to see if CLS will offer me some $$.  It's crazy because law schools don't give you much time to decide on this stuff..........