Duke (60k) or UCLA (120k) or Vanderbilt (80k)? Forum

[BigZuck]

OP why isn't Cornell an option here? They should be the happy middle ground in price between UCLA and Duke.

[framboozer]

Go to California - enjoy the weather for three years and then come back to the Northeast. You still have to take out some loans for COL but it will be much better than servicing 120k on PI salary - that's going to hurt.

It's 72 degrees in Durham today. OP can enjoy both the weather, significantly cheaper CoL and increased job prospects while forgoing the LA traffic.

[Master Tofu]

With interest he will probably be at least 110K in debt at UCLA. You are confident enough in UCLAs LRAP and east coast placement for the OP to take that gamble?

Duke is justifiable if the loan forgiveness programs work out. I am not in PI so I don't know the nuances there - OP, you should look into that.

I guess I just don't understand the basis for saying Duke will give the OP better job prospects in PI. To me, it seems like blind deference to rank. Cost-benefit analysis is a thing.

[BigZuck]

With interest he will probably be at least 110K in debt at UCLA. You are confident enough in UCLAs LRAP and east coast placement for the OP to take that gamble?

Duke is justifiable if the loan forgiveness programs work out. I am not in PI so I don't know the nuances there - OP, you should look into that.

I guess I just don't understand the basis for saying Duke will give the OP better job prospects in PI. To me, it seems like blind deference to rank. Cost-benefit analysis is a thing.

I'm operating on the assumption that the OP will probably not get PI straight out of school either because they decise they don't want it or because they can't get it. I think the OP would be wise to do the same.

[Ti Malice]

OP, everyone is telling you to attend Duke for the East Coast - you should challenge them to give you compelling reasons why Duke would place 120k better than UCLA in public interest work in NYC/DC.

Who on this thread said Duke placed $120K better than UCLA?

I am not taking the bait.

The "bait" of asking you to back up your own statement? That's cute.

[Big Dog]

Since you want to end up in NY or DC, you should not go with UCLA (despite the money), because it won't get you there.

Exactly. UCLA places great in SoCal, and if you wanted to do PI on the left coast, UCLA would be a no-brainer. But your goal is east coast; thus, Duke is the no-brainer.

btw: state residency is easy to obtain for a grad student, so your cost to UCLA would drop as a 2L and 3L, but your need-based aid would probably decline as well.

[Master Tofu]

OP, everyone is telling you to attend Duke for the East Coast - you should challenge them to give you compelling reasons why Duke would place 120k better than UCLA in public interest work in NYC/DC.

Who on this thread said Duke placed $120K better than UCLA?

I am not taking the bait.

The "bait" of asking you to back up your own statement? That's cute.

Ok, I was comparing UCLA money to Duke sticker, fine. The point is if you're telling OP to take on more debt, you should be able to justify it.

[AnaMariana42]

OP why isn't Cornell an option here? They should be the happy middle ground in price between UCLA and Duke.

Somewhat embarrassingly, I didn't apply to Cornell. When I started the application cycle I was less than bullish on where my numbers would get me and other than the usual Hail Mary at Harvard, I didn't think I had much of a shot at t14. I expanded my list as the cycle went on but I was still trying to limit my t14 apps because honestly I thought it was wasted application fees. I wound up doing pretty well on lower T14 (except for Berkeley) and getting waitlisted on upper T14, so I guess all I can say was I was a bit less than confident/misinformed.

Thanks for all the input, guys. I'm still heavily leaning Duke because I think they're a much better fit for my interests, academically ... I'll try to negotiate with them a bit, but barring that at this point I'm really leaning on the superior employment numbers as the justification for taking on somewhat more debt. While I'm not anti-California, per se, I really don't want to get tied down there in terms of job prospects, which I'm afraid might happen at UCLA.