Worst 3 Things about each T14

[SuicideNixon]

Nixon's LSN lists CLS as his #1 (waitlisted) & NYU as his #2 (Accepted). Gotta protect that ego somehow. 

meh, I think I am more than fair to Columbia. I think it's more prestigious. But the differences in clerkship placement is utterly insignificant. for comparison, Chicago has more than twice the number of SCOTUS clerks as Columbia with half the class size. what it comes down to is NYU: 1-2/year CLS: 1-2/year Michigan: 1-2/year UVa:1-2/year Boalt:0-1/year...I mean there's no real difference here. there are plenty of good reasons for choosing CLS over NYU. But two of the ones he's listed aren't good reasons. My mission here is to fight the heaping mound of BS that pre-laws feed to each other on this site.

but if columbia sent twice as many students to supreme court clerkships as nyu over the last 5 years, how is that not more than a negligible difference?

what would you consider good reasons for choosing columbia over nyu?

frankly, i don't really know what i want to get out of law school, so i feel a bit lost and i end up reading a lot of rankings, but i know that's not how i actually want to make my decision. i haven't visited yet, so hopefully that will help... but i just wish i could spend a few months at one school, go back in time, spend a few months at another, and then choose. that'd be perfect.

i'm a she, for the record.

Actually, NYU sent more students to SCOTUS over the last 5 years than CLS: 7 to 5. Over the last 15 years, Columbia has more 32-16.

The point was that chicago sends 4 times as many students per capita to SCOTUS than CLS but this still amounts to like 3-4 per year. Big deal. It should be obvious that at that point it's more about the individuals than the schools. It's not a reasonable proxy for clerkships in general. CLS and NYU send the same percentage of their class into clerkships.

it would be fine to choose CLS over NYU because Columbia is more prestigious. that prestige doesn't really translate into jobs or anything but it's fine to want prestige for its own sake. just like it would be fine to pick NYU for the Village or for social reasons. I think that there's a real difference between the two in prestige--there isn't for clerkships/jobs or anything.

[JParker]

Great thread.

[FreeJazz]

I visited Columbia in late december on one of there visitor days's and at the end of the day we had a forum with 3 or 4 of the law students. I asked them how do you go about getting judicial clerkships and how does Columbia help you to find them? They all stared at me with blank faces and 2 of them where 2L's, so regardless of their SCOTUS numbers that is not a good sign.

As for Harvard the worst thing about that place other then rejecting me is the dorms smell and are cramped.

[reutynwer]

I notice Stanford has been pretty much spared in this thread...anybody got any complaints about the west coast's highest ranked school?

[Cpac]

Cornell:
1. It's cold
2. It snows, a lot
3. They would put me in 100K+ debt

[bass]

Stanford:
1. It's on the west coast
2. It's not on the east coast
3. Stupid mascot

[THE BLUE SWEATER]

Virginia:
1)Expensive
2)Expensive
3)Expensive and no aid sent yet.

[pass36]

Michigan

1) Spring lasts for one week - hope you enjoy it.
2) People who shovel almost all the snow off their sidewalk, leaving only a quarter inch or so of smooth black death ice.
3) Two words: arctic zephyr.

[SuicideNixon]

I visited Columbia in late december on one of there visitor days's and at the end of the day we had a forum with 3 or 4 of the law students. I asked them how do you go about getting judicial clerkships and how does Columbia help you to find them? They all stared at me with blank faces and 2 of them where 2L's, so regardless of their SCOTUS numbers that is not a good sign.

As for Harvard the worst thing about that place other then rejecting me is the dorms smell and are cramped.

you don't start looking for clerkships until you are a 3L, and lots of people don't want them, so that might explain their reaction

[nanteiuga]

who in their right mind would pick the east coast over the west coast?  i just don't get it.  new haven v. palo alto would be easy for me.