HELP!!! Duke Law 2011 or WUSTL 2010?? Forum

[Informative]

Duke. WUSTL's employment statistics are horrendous compared to Duke. Additionally, the type of law firms that WUSTL places into usually do not pay the big coastal salaries (160k) and yet the school costs just as much as BC/BU/GW. So you graduate with the same debt yet end up making less money.

[romothesavior]

Duke. WUSTL's employment statistics are horrendous compared to Duke. Additionally, the type of law firms that WUSTL places into usually do not pay the big coastal salaries (160k) and yet the school costs just as much as BC/BU/GW. So you graduate with the same debt yet end up making less money.

You also live in areas with far lower COL. 100k in a mid-sized MW city is well over 200k in NYC. I'd take a St. Louis/Indianapolis/Kansas City mid/biglaw salary over a New York firm in a heartbeat.

Also, did you read the title of the thread? WUSTL 2010 THIS THREAD IS DEAD PEOPLE

[Aqualibrium]

Duke. WUSTL's employment statistics are horrendous compared to Duke. Additionally, the type of law firms that WUSTL places into usually do not pay the big coastal salaries (160k) and yet the school costs just as much as BC/BU/GW. So you graduate with the same debt yet end up making less money.

You also live in areas with far lower COL. 100k in a mid-sized MW city is well over 200k in NYC. I'd take a St. Louis/Indianapolis/Kansas City mid/biglaw salary over a New York firm in a heartbeat.

Also, did you read the title of the thread? WUSTL 2010 THIS THREAD IS DEAD PEOPLE

100k in a midsized city is well over 160k in NY, but isn't a 160k loan debt a 160k loan debt no matter where you are?

[Informative]

^ Exactly. That was my point. The debt doesn't fluctuate just because you moved to the middle of nowhere. And you have to take salary compression into account at these middle market firms in Kansas city, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, etc. At first year, the difference between a NY and middle american biglaw associate is usually 160k to 125k. However, after three years, the difference is often 200k to 135k. It gets significantly worse after year four.

While New York is expensive, you could still make 160k in Boston or LA or DC. They have higher COLs, but not NYC COL, and you are still going to be making significantly more than some firm in the midwest.