Hi guys,

I thought I was all settled in my decision and sent in my deposit to UCLA, where I have been offered a 20k/yr scholarship. I have seen the school and liked it, and I'm fairly confident I'll want to live in Los Angeles for life (I think I'm going to be interested in practicing entertainment law, but that isn't definite yet.)

However, I just found out yesterday that I was admitted to Duke off the waitlist. I'm guessing that the cost will be at sticker, but I'm going to apply for merit aid for sure. (I won't qualify for need-based.) I'm from NJ and might want to end up back in New York to practice, which Duke would be better, but right now I would pick LA if there was a gun up to my head. I liked the idea of the school when I heard about it and when Dean Hoye came to my college to pitch the school, but I've never seen it and probably won't have time to - I'm a college senior and finals are right around the corner. Can anyone give me a compelling reason to pick Duke based on my situation?

Thanks!

#humblebrag

Also if your goal is NYC, and you can stomach Duke at sticker, Duke is the right answer. UCLA is a good option only if you want to be in Cali.

I would pick Duke. Doesn't sound like you are set on CA, and it will give you a lot more options. But you should use your UCLA offer to negotiate between schools. There is still money available off the waitlist, you just have to push for it.

NYC = Duke

LA = UCLA

Oh, and ask UCLA for more money with Duke acceptance.

The thing is - I think LA is definitely what I want - but I've never lived there (besides one summer college program thing during high school) and I don't know if I'll hate it. That's why I'm confused.

wat?

Sorry if that was unclear. I've always wanted to live in LA - that being said, having never lived there, there are a lot of things about it that scare me (most specifically, the traffic and being all the way across the country from my parents, who I'm very close with). I am worried that if I choose UCLA, I could hate it. Since UCLA will most likely get me a job in LA (if it gets me a job at all!), it's a little scary to potentially be stuck there and not even like it.

Why have you always wanted to live in LA? You just like the idea of it or what?

I visited every summer during my childhood and just sort of fell in love. I want to do entertainment law (ultimate life goal is to work in-house for a company like Disney or NBC-Universal), so LA makes the most sense. Plus, silly reason, but I hate winter and I would be ecstatic if I never had to deal with snow again. If it wasn't for the traffic and distance from childhood home, I think I'd move out there in a heartbeat.

It sounds like you're really into LA and entertainment law. With 60k this is an easy one for UCLA. If the cost was equal, this would be a lot harder of a decision

You probably shouldn't make any firm decisions until you know what (if any) scholarship $ you receive from Duke.

Increased CoL in L.A. vs. in Durham will easily eat up half of that scholarship, and UCLA has more expensive tuition (~$12,000 over 3 years). The difference in cost isn't as pronounced as is seems.

For the record, I was just able to raise my UCLA scholarship to 75k, if that changes anything at all. I am going to submit the Duke financial aid app today, and will post if I hear about anything.

Update bump.

As I mentioned, UCLA raised their offer to 75k. Duke offered me 45k. One more thing about me - I will not be taking on much debt, and thus don't need big law to suck my soul (/pay back loans). I would much rather take a 50 or so hour a week job that pays less than a biglaw job, though I would do it if big law was the only job I could get (though based on everything I've read, that seems unlikely.)

I'm still leaning towards wanting to practice in LA, but might be willing to end up in NY. Probably not anywhere else, though.

wouldn't duke be cheaper when COL is factored in?

More than likely, or at least close to equal. But if LA is my likely end goal, does Duke still seem like a better option?

nah

I think you should go to Duke. Going across the country for some vague notions of entertainment law is probably not the best idea in the long run. And Duke just has better employment prospects across the board.

Thanks for the input. Just so we're clear, I'm not going cross country for some vague notion of entertainment law - I think I want to live in LA anyway, and entertainment law would be a (possibly preferred) option if I'm already there. I do expect if I go to UCLA to do the entertainment law certificate, though, because that seems like one of their biggest strengths that I might as well take advantage of.

you need to take a year or 3 off, live in LA, decide if you like it, have a good time, and then reapply to law school.

i was in a similar situation. i just wanted to live in LA, not even for entertainment law in particular but my background, which would have made my non-legal aspirations much more attainable. ultimately i chose the top 14, because i realized after seeing other american cities that while LA is a better fit for me, settling for some other American cities isn't really too shabby, and the door isn't closed on LA. You just have backups if it doesn't pan out.

Ah, that'd be nice but since I have parents who are a) willing to help pay and b) probably wouldn't if i took time off, it's unfortunately not an option.

why? he already has solid options. you can tell if you'd like living in a place after a week, you don't need a year. that's absurd. then when he reapplies, does he need to live a year in every top 10 school?

LA has great weather, many superficial people, many cool people, a lot of art, good mexican food, no seasons.

NYC has mediocre to bad weather, many smart cool people, many freaks and dumb people, great deli food and pizza and a lot of annoying kids occupying the park.

take your choice.