Trip to New York City
Last week, Ben and I took a road trip up to New York City. It was awesome. I wanted to go up to visit the schools — Columbia and NYU — but I’ve also wanted to go up and see Chethan for a while now.
I don’t really have too much to say about the trip that Chethan didn’t already cover. Suffice to say that we had a lot of fun together, and C’s friends seem like a fun bunch. It was great to hang out and just chill, and since none of us was that serious about doing the tourist circuit, we were able to relax and have fun. I mainly enjoy experiencing places as most people would — just walking around the town, riding the subway, eating at the corner pizza place, and so on — so this trip did not disappoint. Make no mistake though, Chethan’s room is tiny, as it most housing in Manhattan.
As for my school visits, I was not disappointed. I spent about a half day at Columbia, toured their beautiful campus, toured around the law school (which is outside the campus), and sat in on a class. The self-tour was a bit limited, and I left feeling the place was a lot smaller that it probably really is. The class discussion was a lot more interesting and animated than at Carolina; the students seemed to take things seriously, but still had time to crack jokes with the prof. No socratic method — people were volunteering answers, for the most part.
I spent a whole day at NYU at an admitted students’ day. They had events planned for us all day. I sat in on another class there and got the same basic outlook as the class at Columbia — the students were interested, and the atmosphere was laid back. I met a lot of potential fellow classmates as well. I probably got a much better view of NYU because it was an organized event, but I really liked the vibe, both of the school, and the Greenwich Village area in general.
Right now I’m leaning towards NYU (the fact that other schools haven’t gotten back to me makes this a lot easier to say…) The general idea I get both from my visits and from talking to people involved in law is that NYU, as the underdog, is seriously committed to continuously improving. That’s not to say that a school like Columbia isn’t top notch, but Columbia has a name and a prestige that has a long Ivy pedigree, and I feel like that leads to a slightly different attitude. That aside, NYU has a focus and a strong reputation for public interest, and that’s the area I’m seriously looking towards. The fact that I loved Greenwich Village doesn’t hurt. Until I send my deposit in though, everything is up in the air.
I’ll post some pictures soon. I didn’t take too many though, so don’t get too excited.