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Background: I am a non-traditional applicant who would rather not work until I am 90 to pay off all of my loans. Ideally I'd want to go into academia, but PI/government would be nice as well. I have no geographic preferences, and I think biglaw is likely to be allergic to my work experience and age. Also, I like all three schools.

I am now struggling with the prestige/cost trade-off. Opinions?

Duke is not worth $100k more than UT; rule that out if they make you pay sticker. UT places much better across the board than UIUC, although it's not a bad school. If you don't mind working in Illinois, I would say take the money and run. If you want Texas or a bit more portability, go to UT.

How old are you? What is your work experience? Would you do Biglaw if you could? Any idea what Duke's loan repayment plan is like?