UNL vs. Duquesne with $$ Forum

[El Chupacabra]

Duquesne offered a 2/3 scholarship, contingent on being in the top half of the class, and nothing from UNL and will be paying out of state tuition. Though trying to leverage something out of UNL.

Pittsburgh native, wouldn't mind practicing anywhere in the U.S... with the exception of Alabama. Leaning towards environmental/construction law or Intellectual Property law.

If I went to Duquesne, I'd be close to family, which would translate into a lot of free stuff - food, apartment, etc. At UNL, I'd have a good friend whom I would live with, cutting down costs in an already cheap city.

With UNL, I might get some better job prospects, but I'd also have more debt; with Duquesne, I would have little debt since I would only have to pay for tuition.

[84Sunbird2000]

Well, you don't have ANY preference for where you'd like to live and practice? Without that info, I think I'd still lean Duquesne. UNL is really underrated, but with the areas these schools place into and the areas of law you are interested in, debt will be a very important consideration. From what I can calculate, DU would be about 60k cheaper. (i.e. 42k cheaper tuition over three years and I guessed 6k savings per year living at home versus sharing a cheap apartment in Lincoln). Top Half at Duquesne doesn't seem too hard, but I guess I'd ask them what percent of students receiving such awards keep them after 1L.

Duquesne places way above T4 in Pittsburgh and metro (as I'm sure you know), so I don't think that you'll be in bad shape either way. Then again I'm biased for Pittsburgh, which I think is the coolest city in America.

[chaoticpoppet]

UNL if you like corn. DU if you like pierogies.

[El Chupacabra]

Thanks, I was kind of leaning towards Duquesne because of the scholarship. If I can succesfully leverage a scholarship at UNL, do you think it would be worth it to go there?

And really, I can see myself in the plain states as easily as being in Pittsburgh. It wouldn't really make that much of a difference to me.

[twopoodles]

UNL not only has a better reputation and better job prospects, but it is a much smaller school meaning you would be in a less competitive, more personal environment. Did you visit the schools? I actually chose UNL with a scholarship over Iowa without, because I felt confident I could get the job I wanted with either and I felt really comfortable at UNL. They have parking! And outlets! Seriously, it matters.

[El Chupacabra]

Well, ONU is trying to make things interesting. They're offering me nearly a full scholarship. Though, once I factor in living expenses, it seems like I would come out with as much debt as I would if I were to attend Duquesne and be able to keep their scholarship.

[Slimpee]

I visited UNL over the winter and was impressed with the school. The facilities are nice (although it's on the east campus away from the stadium, undergrads, etc. which can be a good or bad thing...) but more importantly, UNL is the big dog in NE and is well-respected in the surrounding states as well. It was pretty cool being in the "governors room" where they have busts of the several NE governors that have gone to UNL, which is pretty cool.

I say UNL