UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Penn ($), Columbia (sticker) Forum

[dissonance1848]

beachbum's advice sensible, OP. It's a personal choice between Duke and Penn, although I would still lean towards Penn (beacuse of the slight advantage in biglaw placement). After all, there is nothing wrong with slightly more options. But hey, its your call. Good luck!

[achilles]

Thanks again to everybody.

It looks like unless Columbia offers some last minute funding to change the calculus, the choice is between Penn and Duke.

+1 and I really liked Duke's ASW. After the Duke ASW I would be confident attending Duke. However, since we did not get a chance to visit Penn's ASW, we are not comparing apples to apples when looking at the two schools. Which is unfortunate. If possible, I would like to get a better feeling for Penn's ASW. Did any members of TLS attend the Penn ASW? Would you be willing to share your experiences? Looking specifically at:

- Organization of events and overall sense of "welcome".
- Interaction with professors. Did professors actively participate in ASW? Did they want to give advice and learn about students, or did they talk mainly about themselves and their research?
- Current students. Did they seem happy? Stressed? Collegial? How did they describe their 1L year?
- Did the opportunities to socialize include +1s? My +1 felt very included during the Duke ASW. Would this be the case at Penn?
- Housing. We were very impressed by the housing at Duke, but did not get a chance to see housing at Penn. What would the quality and cost be for 1 bedrooms at Penn?

I realize these questions are fairly specific. We would appreciate any insights and personal experiences.

Thanks!

Hey you should check out the Penn ASW thread for answers. Reviews start around page 6. The Stig and law_monkey put up some detailed reviews, and dulcatis posted pics.

I personally liked the professor I had lunch with. She teaches 1L Property and Legal History. She was pretty laid back, talked about her kids, and we had good chats about my major, the interdisciplinary programs and baseball. She made an effort to meet everyone at the table. I'm pretty biased though since I'm committed there. But I loved all the students and prospective students I met there. Students seemed pretty happy, with a work hard, party hard mentality (as demonstrated at the drinking events). I was definitely impressed by students on the panels too. I also met a few +1s who seemed to fit in just fine. I didn't even know they were +1s until they told me. Although I did see a girl with her parents... And can't really comment on the 1 bedrooms

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 8&t=147253

[LettuceBeefRealTea]

i had to make a similar decision, and i thought i would share my experience. i am from california and am in the NE for undergrad. i left pretty excited for something different, but i was ready to come back after the first winter. if i was making this decision, i would go to duke.

the money is good.
the weather is different without being soul crushing.
the degree transfers well.
you guys had a good gut feeling.
class size is really important to me.

besides, duke is all around cool. despite having made some awesome friends and memories where i am at, i kind of wish that i had matriculated there instead of trading up for rankings further north. it fucking snowed yesterday. what the hell kind of sun/god forsaken land gets snow in april? i play sports, hang outdoors, hike, etc. a lot, so it might affect me more than it would you.

[ahduth]

If you did want UCLA, make them give you more money.

[writingbuff]

Achilles, thanks for pointing me to the Penn ASW thread. Got some good input over there. RealTea thank you for your input. The weather factor is something to consider. Sounds like you're more outdoor-sy than me, though! While I enjoy going outdoors, I am also perfectly happy staying inside all day. Sometimes I think California is wasted on me!

I lived overseas for a while in a country with "real" weather (horrible humidity and very cold winters). But being able to happily sit inside when the weather was crappy, I was completely fine.

This thread has been super helpful for our decision! We welcome more input and thank everyone who has taken the time to respond.