Questions for former/current Cornell or Duke students Forum

[seansj1]

So I think I'm deciding between Cornell with a just short of a full tuition scholarship ($177k) and Duke with $120k. I'm hoping that Duke will increase my scholarship again to be more comparable to the offer from Cornell, but it seems unlikely. Other relevant options are USC with a full ride (I'm from Southern California and my goal is to return a few years if not immediately after law school) and Stanford with no aid (assuming I get accepted from the wait list and do not have to remove myself after committing to another school).
I'm mostly concerned about the prospects for interviewing and hopefully getting a job with a CA firm at Cornell or Duke OCI. If anyone has any comments (preferably from personal experience) that would be great. Working in NY or DC for a few years after school would not be a deal breaker but is far from ideal, although significant salary differences would likely impact my choice more than location if I end up being able to choose among the major markets.

I'm also wondering what life is like at these two schools. I sort of have an idea about Duke from an undergrad I know there and my knowledge of Duke sports, but I know nothing about Cornell. I'm a huge sports fan, especially football, so missing out on that at Cornell is something I'd be pretty disappointed about. Then again, paying an extra $55k for a better sports environment that I'd probably hardly get to take advantage of anyways is obviously a huge waste. So if anyone can tell me what its like living in Ithaca or Durham and what people do for fun around there that would be great. Any comments on the general campus vibe would be appreciated as well. I unfortunately blew my opportunity to visit either of these schools.

Thanks everyone!

[ticklemesilly]

So I think I'm deciding between Cornell with a just short of a full tuition scholarship ($177k) and Duke with $120k. I'm hoping that Duke will increase my scholarship again to be more comparable to the offer from Cornell, but it seems unlikely. Other relevant options are USC with a full ride (I'm from Southern California and my goal is to return a few years if not immediately after law school) and Stanford with no aid (assuming I get accepted from the wait list and do not have to remove myself after committing to another school).
I'm mostly concerned about the prospects for interviewing and hopefully getting a job with a CA firm at Cornell or Duke OCI. If anyone has any comments (preferably from personal experience) that would be great. Working in NY or DC for a few years after school would not be a deal breaker but is far from ideal, although significant salary differences would likely impact my choice more than location if I end up being able to choose among the major markets.

I'm also wondering what life is like at these two schools. I sort of have an idea about Duke from an undergrad I know there and my knowledge of Duke sports, but I know nothing about Cornell. I'm a huge sports fan, especially football, so missing out on that at Cornell is something I'd be pretty disappointed about. Then again, paying an extra $55k for a better sports environment that I'd probably hardly get to take advantage of anyways is obviously a huge waste. So if anyone can tell me what its like living in Ithaca or Durham and what people do for fun around there that would be great. Any comments on the general campus vibe would be appreciated as well. I unfortunately blew my opportunity to visit either of these schools.

Thanks everyone!

For CA the choice should be easy- Cornell at basically full ride or USC. From what I hear in CA: Stanford>Berkeley>T14>UCLA>USC

So I would choose Cornell if I were you but both are quite good choices. Congrats on the offers. Maybe you can get USC to give you a tuition stipend using your Cornell offer.