Even Sky is not the Limit

Tanya with her hands on her mouth

This post comes after a long hiatus but at an extremely gratifying moment for me- My elder daughter, Tanya, finally selected her law school that she likes to attend for the class of 2023 and the honor goes to NYU school of law, New York.

To recapitulate, she was offered confirmed admission to these law schools:

• Columbia
• UPenn
• NYU
• University of Michigan
• University of California, Berkley
• University of Virgina

View of NYU Law School

All these schools perhaps rank in the top 10 law schools in US. After myriad back & forth, pros & cons, she finally concluded NYU as her choice. Based on what I heard from her, it appears her decision to pick NYU was mostly based on her current thinking of pursuing career in public interest. NYU seems to provide the most expanded support system for pursuing public interest in the field of law out of the schools that she was admitted to. 

All this was the culmination of more than last 18 months of arduous work where she aced the LSAT while teaching part time to aspiring LSAT students. Filing copious applications for different law school can be nerve wracking to say the least and can burn you out. Similarly, deciding on your law school could be equally grueling if you have the good fortune of having option of choosing amongst different law schools.

As a parent, I could not be more delighted of the incessant hard work that she put in to pursue her future aspirations. Though not of any momentous consequence but still it is important to note that she is now destined to pursue the craft of her great grandfather who was an eminent lawyer in Patna, India.

However, after she made her school selection and deposited the money to accept the offer of NYU, she called me yesterday. She was a bit worried that she left the Ivy League school of Columbia and UPenn in favor of NYU. While listening to her concern, I reminded her that if she continues to be satisfied with her own research and data that the public interest program of NYU has a higher ranking than the corresponding courses in UPenn and Columbia then she should not be worried. I also suggested her to stop thinking of what others may think of her choice of law school because majority of her acquaintance may have only paltry understanding of what goes into such a decision process.

Tanya at age 7 on the left with her sister

I personally think that Tanya will get a world class law education in any of the schools that offered her admission. NYU will be as good a school as the rest of the schools that has extended her admission. It is not where she goes but what she does in her school will define what she can accomplish in her career ahead. My best wishes and prayers will always be with her to lead and live a meaningful and accomplished life.