UNC vs. Duke Forum

[transferror]

If you're looking at the Southern/DC schools, you should have gotten money at Vandy/GW if you were an admit at Duke. It should also be much easier to negotiate $$ with those schools since UNC is closer (though not quite) to a "peer school" with those two than Duke. I'd go that route.

EDIT: Apparently add W&L, W&M, and Emory...thanks USNWR

[tianziwansui]

I'm at UNC...I will say...I was shockingly surprised how little UNC did for me instate. I got 0 hits from places in NC and I am a NC native. 1L I worked at a US Attorney's Office (which I got through my undergrad) (big state school) and also at the big PD office in NC (which I got basically through my undergrad as well...had connections with the interviewer).

2L...I will be in Texas at a v100 and in SC at a big plaintiff's firm. Texas firms seemed way more impressed with me being at UNC than any NC firms did.

YMMV.

Furthermore...every recruiting event I went to...it seems as if the interviewer went to Duke. :Cue: UNC v. Duke joke. That gets really annoying.

[LSA2014]

Can you expand on the: "UNC is only good for NC jobs," thing a bit?

I realize it's definitely good to go to school where you want to work, internships are the best way to land a job, but I figured a school ranked #31 would have a little pull outside the state, no?

I'm making a similar choice, although I'm applying (possibly) for 2015. I'm getting a masters in public policy (a terminal professional degree) specializing in international relations and/or national security at Duke. I'm also considering adding a JD on to that, I can complete both in 4 years (normally it would be 5 to do them separate).

I thought UNC sounded like my best option. In-state tuition isn't bad, and my diagnostic LSAT score was slightly above their median, so I'm hoping I'll get decent aid. UNC seems ranked fairly high as far as law schools go. Would a JD from there not be competitive in applying for jobs at State, the DoJ, etc?

I know the employment market for lawyers is over-saturated, but those organizations also do hire a lot of legal analysts. Plus, I'll still be a Duke for two years, so I'll have networking opportunities there.

As to sticker prices on any of these schools, does anyone really pay that except for people from rich families? Outside of medicine where ROI is pretty much guaranteed it seems crazy to me to take out more than $30,000 in debt for any school.

I discovered this site like 10 days ago and feel like I've fallen into a parallel world were people don't work in order to study all day for a single test (and schools would rather they get 5 more right answers on that test than have work experience), taking on a quarter million dollars in debt isn't immediately consider insane, and schools will consider your freshmen year grade in "the history of rock and roll," from 2006 as part of your GPA, but not your grades in graduate level classes in law and policy analysis you took last year. Mind = blown

To what degree is this "you need X brand name" just part of the culture here and to what degree is it a real reflection of the employment market? I'm skeptical.

[tianziwansui]

Can you expand on the: "UNC is only good for NC jobs," thing a bit?

I realize it's definitely good to go to school where you want to work, internships are the best way to land a job, but I figured a school ranked #31 would have a little pull outside the state, no?

I'm making a similar choice, although I'm applying (possibly) for 2015. I'm getting a masters in public policy (a terminal professional degree) specializing in international relations and/or national security at Duke. I'm also considering adding a JD on to that, I can complete both in 4 years (normally it would be 5 to do them separate).

I thought UNC sounded like my best option. In-state tuition isn't bad, and my diagnostic LSAT score was slightly above their median, so I'm hoping I'll get decent aid. UNC seems ranked fairly high as far as law schools go. Would a JD from there not be competitive in applying for jobs at State, the DoJ, etc?

I know the employment market for lawyers is over-saturated, but those organizations also do hire a lot of legal analysts. Plus, I'll still be a Duke for two years, so I'll have networking opportunities there.

As to sticker prices on any of these schools, does anyone really pay that except for people from rich families? Outside of medicine where ROI is pretty much guaranteed it seems crazy to me to take out more than $30,000 in debt for any school.

I discovered this site like 10 days ago and feel like I've fallen into a parallel world were people don't work in order to study all day for a single test (and schools would rather they get 5 more right answers on that test than have work experience), taking on a quarter million dollars in debt isn't immediately consider insane, and schools will consider your freshmen year grade in "the history of rock and roll," from 2006 as part of your GPA, but not your grades in graduate level classes in law and policy analysis you took last year. Mind = blown

To what degree is this "you need X brand name" just part of the culture here and to what degree is it a real reflection of the employment market? I'm skeptical.

Law is just different. It's about perception. You as an individual can go anywhere and probably do anything. However, people on here are being cautious. Can you go to a lower ranked school and end up in big law or w/e or a great federal job? Yes, sure. It's possible. Is it likely? No. You'd have to be at the top of your class and that is just very very uncertain.

Better schools have better alumni connections. Typically, the people recruiting at OCI went to your school. The less people from your school in the areas you want to work=less firms you get a chance at having FaceTime with.

Can you get a job at State, DoJ with a UNC degree? Absolutely! You just have to be more on your game is all. That is all everyone is talking about. People who are median at UNC, unlike at Harvard, don't become law professors. Can you become a law professor with a UNC degree? Sure. Be at the top of your class etc.

Just understand certain schools carry more risk.