Which would you pick (Duke, UT, UIUC)

[masochist]

Background: I am a non-traditional applicant who would rather not work until I am 90 to pay off all of my loans. Ideally I'd want to go into academia, but PI/government would be nice as well. I have no geographic preferences, and I think biglaw is likely to be allergic to my work experience and age. Also, I like all three schools.

I am now struggling with the prestige/cost trade-off. Opinions?

[duckmoney]

Duke is not worth $100k more than UT; rule that out if they make you pay sticker. UT places much better across the board than UIUC, although it's not a bad school. If you don't mind working in Illinois, I would say take the money and run. If you want Texas or a bit more portability, go to UT.

[KMaine]

How old are you? What is your work experience? Would you do Biglaw if you could? Any idea what Duke's loan repayment plan is like?