NYU Students/Grads Taking Questions

[cavalier1138]

ITT, encounter the rarest of forum posters: the elusive NYU student. Outside their natural habitat of [Insert Protest Here], NYU students are sometimes willing to answer questions before retreating into the dense underbrush of Washington Square Park.

[brut]

checking in

[sorence]

checking in!

[Kümmel]

checking in

Are you the real brut?

[sittykitty]

Checking in

[Gorrest_Fump]

Did any of you find it difficult to secure a spot in your desired clinic? I worry that the large number of students interested in PI might translate into a competitive environment when it comes to obtaining clinical experience.

[cavalier1138]

Did any of you find it difficult to secure a spot in your desired clinic? I worry that the large number of students interested in PI might translate into a competitive environment when it comes to obtaining clinical experience.

Some of the clinics (Global Justice and EJW are the two that immediately spring to mind) can be competitive due to limited slots. But as long as you aren't only gunning for one of those, you'll have the chance to get experience. If I remember correctly, both SDNY and EDNY clinics had additional slots after the first round of clinic assignments this year. No one in my section who applied for more than one clinic ended up with nothing.

ETA: And just to clarify, most people I know got assigned to their top choice.

[Gorrest_Fump]

Did any of you find it difficult to secure a spot in your desired clinic? I worry that the large number of students interested in PI might translate into a competitive environment when it comes to obtaining clinical experience.

Some of the clinics (Global Justice and EJW are the two that immediately spring to mind) can be competitive due to limited slots. But as long as you aren't only gunning for one of those, you'll have the chance to get experience. If I remember correctly, both SDNY and EDNY clinics had additional slots after the first round of clinic assignments this year. No one in my section who applied for more than one clinic ended up with nothing.

ETA: And just to clarify, most people I know got assigned to their top choice.

Thanks!

[brut]

Did any of you find it difficult to secure a spot in your desired clinic? I worry that the large number of students interested in PI might translate into a competitive environment when it comes to obtaining clinical experience.

agree w/ cav. and if you don't get in, let the prof know you're interested. people may drop, slots may open. i got into one clinic through talking to prof, outside of the usual process for applying

[Quintus]

Hi all,

NYU seems to be eeking out a victory over Berkeley for me--help me confirm my intuition!

Does NYU live up to the hype of being focused on the academics of law?

I just got the viewbook yesterday and many of the people profiled were doing really cool stuff w.r.t. administrative law and statutory interpretation in & out of government. That's basically my dream path, broadly defined, and I'm curious how well the school actually supports it in terms of how you're indoctrinated to think about the law.

What made you choose NYU outside of financial factors?
Where did you pass up for NYU?
What's something you wish you had known about the school before you accepted your offer?

Thanks!

[cavalier1138]

I just got the viewbook yesterday and many of the people profiled were doing really cool stuff w.r.t. administrative law and statutory interpretation in & out of government. That's basically my dream path, broadly defined, and I'm curious how well the school actually supports it in terms of how you're indoctrinated to think about the law.

That's kind of a weird way of phrasing your goals. What do you actually want to do with your degree?

But to answer your question: NYU teaches you the same way that literally any other law school will teach you. It's entirely professor-dependent, and we have just as many law and economics professors as the next school. The problem is that academic style/"rigor" isn't really something to consider when looking at a school. Focus on which school is setting you up for the job you want. If that's academia, then NYU is going to hold its own against most schools that aren't HYS.

What made you choose NYU outside of financial factors?
Where did you pass up for NYU?
What's something you wish you had known about the school before you accepted your offer?

-Strong public service career support and academic year opportunities.
-A few peer schools, but it mostly came down to money.
-Even though PILC (the center that helps with PI careers) is great, there's an institutional bias against anyone who even thinks about prosecution as a viable career path. It's totally doable, and there are lots of resources. But the only government counselor is kind of separate from the rest of the advising group.

[Quintus]

That's kind of a weird way of phrasing your goals. What do you actually want to do with your degree?

I bring up my point about rigor because I know a couple people who chose NYU over Harvard/Columbia/Chicago based on its reputation as a school that develops theoretical frameworks that support the public interest. But you're right, it is weird. Basically I am going to law school because I want to work adjacent to administrative rulemaking--whether I'm helping write the rules or challenging them. I'm withholding judgment on a specific practice area until I get more exposure in law school, but I've had experience with admin rulemaking from a couple of perspectives and find it extremely cool.

thank you for your feedback!

[cavalier1138]

That's kind of a weird way of phrasing your goals. What do you actually want to do with your degree?

I bring up my point about rigor because I know a couple people who chose NYU over Harvard/Columbia/Chicago based on its reputation as a school that develops theoretical frameworks that support the public interest. But you're right, it is weird. Basically I am going to law school because I want to work adjacent to administrative rulemaking--whether I'm helping write the rules or challenging them. I'm withholding judgment on a specific practice area until I get more exposure in law school, but I've had experience with admin rulemaking from a couple of perspectives and find it extremely cool.

thank you for your feedback!

I mean, you can definitely get the education and opportunities you need to work as a legal adviser at an agency from NYU. You'll be in a decent position to get hired at an agency for you 1L summer. DC firms are reachable from NYU. And there's a DC clinic specifically focused on admin law.

I'm not sure that there's any group out there (actually, now that I think about it, I'm sure there's some 3-person libertarian cabal that does exactly this) that just exists to challenge every rule it sees, so it sounds like you should be focusing on government work and potentially on the few years of firm work that will be needed to get into some agencies.

[sorence]

What made you choose NYU outside of financial factors?
Where did you pass up for NYU?
What's something you wish you had known about the school before you accepted your offer?

Just to add another perspective:
- I knew that NYU would offer me some of the best PI opportunities out there, so it's where I wanted to be. Both the resources available to graduates (e.g., LRAP) as well as the variety/quality of clinics to participate in while in school were huge draws.
- Nothing substantial, a few peer schools with minimal/low scholarships. I was a super splitter aiming for NYU, so when I got in I withdraw from all other waitlists and committed.
- Nothing comes to mind, although I'd second cavalier's input on the anti-prosecutor trend. tbh I was dead-set on NYU from the day I contemplated law school, so when it came down to accepting my offer there wasn't much more to consider.

[Gorrest_Fump]

I just got the viewbook yesterday and many of the people profiled were doing really cool stuff w.r.t. administrative law and statutory interpretation in & out of government. That's basically my dream path, broadly defined, and I'm curious how well the school actually supports it in terms of how you're indoctrinated to think about the law.

That's kind of a weird way of phrasing your goals. What do you actually want to do with your degree?

But to answer your question: NYU teaches you the same way that literally any other law school will teach you. It's entirely professor-dependent, and we have just as many law and economics professors as the next school. The problem is that academic style/"rigor" isn't really something to consider when looking at a school. Focus on which school is setting you up for the job you want. If that's academia, then NYU is going to hold its own against most schools that aren't HYS.

What made you choose NYU outside of financial factors?
Where did you pass up for NYU?
What's something you wish you had known about the school before you accepted your offer?

-Strong public service career support and academic year opportunities.
-A few peer schools, but it mostly came down to money.
-Even though PILC (the center that helps with PI careers) is great, there's an institutional bias against anyone who even thinks about prosecution as a viable career path. It's totally doable, and there are lots of resources. But the only government counselor is kind of separate from the rest of the advising group.

Do you think that the RTK folks will count an applicant's interest in prosecution work against him/her? I'd like to think I gave a pretty compelling reason for wanting to be a prosecutor in my RTK essay and am now wondering if I might have offended NYU's sensibilities.

[Tsuga]

If anyone is pursuing or going into union-side labor or plaintiff-side employment law, I'd love to hear about what your experience has been like at NYU.

[Echos Myron]

How does NYU place into PI positions outside of NYC? Do students have trouble getting to DC and Chicago?

[avymlkqpdxh]

How does NYU do in CA? Would it be insane to go to NYU over Berkeley with the goal of CA (with ties)?

[cavalier1138]

How does NYU place into PI positions outside of NYC? Do students have trouble getting to DC and Chicago?

How does NYU do in CA? Would it be insane to go to NYU over Berkeley with the goal of CA (with ties)?

NYU places very well outside of NYC. DC and California are completely doable. Chicago might require some ties, but that's the nature of most secondary markets.

[cavalier1138]

Do you think that the RTK folks will count an applicant's interest in prosecution work against him/her? I'd like to think I gave a pretty compelling reason for wanting to be a prosecutor in my RTK essay and am now wondering if I might have offended NYU's sensibilities.

PM'd you.

[sorence]

How does NYU do in CA? Would it be insane to go to NYU over Berkeley with the goal of CA (with ties)?

I felt comfortable enough with NYU's placement in CA to choose it knowing full well I'd likely be hopping back to the west coast ASAP. It's completely doable, especially if you have ties to the region. Ties are definitely not necessary though- I know a handful of people who are angling for CA sans-ties and none of them are worried.

[RSolano]

Did anyone choose NYU over Columbia? If so I'd be interested to know what your decision process was like, what you think the major differences are, and how happy you've been with your decision. Thanks!

[girlworm]

can anyone weigh in their experience living in the dorms vs living off campus? i'll probably commute from brooklyn to save money but i'm worried it'll limit my access to campus life.

how was your experience with need-based fin aid at NYU? my (wealthy) parents aren't paying for law school, but i'm in my early 20s so i have to report their info for aid. am i just totally out of luck here?

[cavalier1138]

can anyone weigh in their experience living in the dorms vs living off campus? i'll probably commute from brooklyn to save money but i'm worried it'll limit my access to campus life.

how was your experience with need-based fin aid at NYU? my (wealthy) parents aren't paying for law school, but i'm in my early 20s so i have to report their info for aid. am i just totally out of luck here?

Living off-campus doesn't limit your access to social events very much. Most events happen during the week, so you'll already be on campus.

And as far as I know, NYU doesn't formally separate need and merit aid. So I don't know if anyone would be able to definitively speak to cutoffs. That said, need-based aid is extremely rare outside of HYS, so it's a bit of a moot point. You should focus on merit aid, because that's likely to be your only real source of scholarship funding.

[CarpeDiem18]

Hi Everyone! I'm attending an NYU admitted student/alumni reception this week at a hotel in San Francisco. I'm wondering what attire is appropriate. Should I wear a suit, or are these events more casual?Thanks in advance!