Top Law Schools

I currently live in NY (going on 6 years now) and plan to work here after LS. Going for BigLaw, maybe with a clerkship beforehand.
Fordham gave me a little more money than Duke, but with the COL so much higher they really only come out to about $5,000 cheaper, if that.
The problem with Duke is moving - I just moved within the past year into a really amazing apartment here and throwing another thousand bucks at moving again is kind of depressing. The thing that really throws me off is having to get a car in Durham. That's a huge expense that's not factored into the student budget.
I also don't know that it's worth it to move for what amounts to 8 or 9 months a year. I hope to be coming back to NY for summers anyway, and would probably end up paying two rents since I wouldn't sublet out my Durham apt. I know 1L summer may not work out that way but I can dream for now. One step at a time!
On the other hand, I've been in NY for 6 years and will be for however long after school, so a three-year "break" seems kind of nice. I'm not likely to live in the South ever again, so it's a chance to do something new but then come back to my "real" life.
In terms of employment, Fordham places really well in NY, and a quick NALP search shows 100+ NY firms recruiting there, as opposed to fewer than 50 recruiting at Duke. But I feel like Duke would serve me better if I wanted to clerk or do anything other than NY BigLaw, ever.

So it comes down to Fordham, a good school and WAY more convenient, versus Duke, which is the better school and won't cost that much more.
And sorry for the long rambling. Ten points to anyone who actually read that crap.

Duke over Fordham. No brainer.

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although i think there is something to be said for not wanting to have to start all over again with new housing since you have a nice apartment now AND you will need a car down south. since you seem absolutely set on nyc anyway, why not just go with fordham? of course duke is a better school but in the end, if you get what you want out of fordham, then why go through all the trouble involved with going to duke

lshopeful3232 wrote:although i think there is something to be said for not wanting to have to start all over again with new housing since you have a nice apartment now AND you will need a car down south. since you seem absolutely set on nyc anyway, why not just go with fordham? of course duke is a better school but in the end, if you get what you want out of fordham, then why go through all the trouble involved with going to duke

Because the OP has a much greater chance of getting what she wants by attending duke over fordham. I made the same decision except with michigan, ite you have to go with the option that gives you the best career opportunities and fordham biglaw placement is nowhere close to duke placement.