Top Law Schools

My goal is biglaw in DC after graduation, I know it's not an easy market to get into and many recommend not banking on cracking this market upon graduation. But I have strong ties to DC, went to undergrad in DC and solid work experience in DC (think banking, consulting, accounting). Not really worried about choosing a school based on what practice I am interested in, but I am interested in antitrust, securities, and private equity.

If DC doesn't pan out I would like to be in the southeast, Atlanta or Miami. I really do not want to end up in NYC post grad but am willing to suck it up and spend 3 years at NYU (yes I know, many people would kill for 3 years in the West Village). Although I currently live in DC I am not a huge fan of Georgetown mostly because of the size and the commercial feel.


I've narrowed down my options to the following schools and listed them in order of my current preference:

Total COA: (My SO will be working and and she will be able to cover living expenses, she works from home and will be able to move to any of these locations)

UVA: 106k
duke: 93k
NYU: 118k
Georgetown: 77k
UT: 68k

Waitlisted at Chicago, Harvard
Held at Columbia

I will be riding out these waitlists but I will have to make a decision in the next couple of weeks with the expectation that I am not getting into any of these. I am currently leaning towards UVA because of the ties to DC and the south and I also like that the students seem to be the people I would like to spend the little free time I'll have with. FYI: I am between the age of 21 - 23, even though my SO is coming with me we are still looking to have a decent social experience.

Would like to hear everyone's thoughts based on COA and with my goal of DC or southeast post grad.

Duke, UVA would work but not worth the extra money since they're peers

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MistakenGenius wrote:

Mack.Hambleton wrote:Duke, UVA would work but not worth the extra money since they're peers

This. They are both very similar schools and offer similar chances in DC. No way is UVA worth that much more.

Thanks for the responses. So you don't think UVA is worth 13k more than Duke?

Gtown for 77k isn't too bad

3mc wrote:

MistakenGenius wrote:

Mack.Hambleton wrote:Duke, UVA would work but not worth the extra money since they're peers

This. They are both very similar schools and offer similar chances in DC. No way is UVA worth that much more.

Thanks for the responses. So you don't think UVA is worth 13k more than Duke?

I honestly think that if you visited both and really felt UVA more than Duke, 13k is justifiable (I'm sure others on here will disagree). Otherwise, I imagine your outcomes would be similar.

(Also, let's be real, Durham's kind of gross.)

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