Page 1 of 1

.

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:08 pm
by rtmallard30
.

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:16 pm
by jvincent11
Nobody can really answer that question but you. The schools are pretty much equal (7-13 all are for the most part), so you have to decide whether 60K is worth being closer to home. Without the family obligation Duke is easily the better option.

Also, this may not be the best time to go to law school...

best of luck with your situation

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:19 pm
by WearyCartographer
Full Disclosure: Duke Student. But yes, 60k is a ton of money to be turning down. Duke is by no means "way down south." It adds under two hours to a commute to DE (4 vs 6 hours). They are peer schools in almost every sense. Yes, it's a lot of debt either way, but 60k once you include interest probably necessitates another year or two of biglaw to pay off just that amount. If you really prefer Virginia, then do all you can to negotiate a scholarship - but with these choices you're definitely crazy to take Virginia.

FWIW, I'd say it'd be stupid not to take Virginia if you had 60k more at Virginia and were looking at a 4 hour commute home from Duke and 6 hour commute from Virginia.

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:20 pm
by de5igual
a flight from durham to delaware will probably be faster than driving from charlottesville and is unlikely to cost you $60K + interest

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:20 pm
by Icculus
jvincent11 wrote:Also, this may not be the best time to go to law school...
While 1L is not as bad as many people here make it (especially if you have worked a full time job) I think that your sitaution may make it very difficult.

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:29 pm
by fallingup
Negotiate for more money at Duke and negotiate for some kind of money at UVA.

Have you considered deferring your acceptances at either school until next fall, to take care of this family emergency? Your 1L year is so incredibly important.

Re: Am I crazy to turn down 60k at Duke for sticker at UVA

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:35 pm
by sabanist
jvincent11 wrote: Also, this may not be the best time to go to law school...
This is something to consider. If this family situation is going to last for the next 10+ years, okay, but if it's somewhat temporary, I'd be inclined to wait it out so I don't have to worry about getting THE phone call in the middle of finals week. It happened to me in undergrad, during a pretty easy semester, and I still barely made it out with my GPA intact. I can't imagine how much worse the stress would have been if my career had been resting on those exam results.
The extra bonus to waiting would be a potential retake to land you a full ride at UVA and make this decision much easier.

If that's irrelevant, then I don't think 2 hours of extra distance is worth giving up 60k for.

I'm sorry you're in this tough spot. I hope things get better for you.