I have no experiences to speak from, but sometimes I think people on these boards, and law school kids in general are too concerned with rank. Either way, your going to a top school. Chicago and NY are both great. Either way, you'll wind up with a good job. Perhaps you have a slightly better chance at one of those crazy competitive Big Law jobs from Cornell. But, I don't think you would be ruled out coming from U. Illinois. I don't know, a full ride to a pretty good school seems hard to pass up. Sure you could make a ton of money one day, but why would you want to count on that? I have a friend who graduated from Northwestern and is saddled with debt, and now says he feels "trapped" in corporate law so he can pay off his loans. Why not take the full ride, and then have a choice as to how you spend the rest of your life?