Duke vs. Michigan (same COA) Forum

[rabbles]

I hear this is a common dilemma: choosing between Duke and Michigan

Details:
Same cost of attendance at both schools with the same amount of aid
From San Francisco Bay Area and would eventually want to come back here
Interested in environmental law/public interest work after graduation
Been to both schools to visit and liked Durham and the things to do around it more than Ann Arbor (coming from norcal, I like the the outdoors and mild weather)
But I've heard from people that Michigan will place better on the west coast if that's where I want to be eventually.

So I guess it really comes down to:
Which school is better for what areas I'm interested in
Which school will get me back to CA in the future -- and are there stats to prove this?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts any of you might have!!

[Helmholtz]

Michigan, no question.

[D-hops]

Michigan, no question.

+1

[im_blue]

For CA, the clear choice is Michigan.

[fwaam]

Eh, either school can get you to CA. I'd go with the one you'd rather spend three years at.

[Helmholtz]

Which school will get me back to CA in the future -- and are there stats to prove this?

Over the last six years, Duke has had less than an average of 20 students (8-9% of graduates) head to California. This is the best depiction I could find of Michigan:



They used to have exact numbers on how much of the class went to California (I think it was between 15-20%). Michigan has historically done very well in California and has an extremely impressive reputation in the state. It would not surprise me if Michigan alums outnumber Duke alums in CA by four or five times.

[prezidentv8]

Duke 1L attempting to go back to California here.

Something like 10% of our alums are in California, so 20 a year sounds about right. We're a small school so I don't think we're going to have massive numbers out there, which may be an issue, but we do have a solid number.

You can get to California from here without a problem, just as much as you can from any other T14, especially if you're from the Bay Area. I think there is a self-selection issue in that we get (relatively) a lot of folks that want to go to DC and New York. But California is a very available market.

For enviro stuff, you may want to look into the JD/MEM...I hear good things, although I have no first hand knowledge of that program. I hear the Enviro School is solid though.

And again - personal preferences are key. You gotta be happy where you are.


Can't go wrong either way though.