Duke v. Mich v. NW v. UCLA Forum

[yenahsretnuh]

Hi guys, I am mulling over four options, financials are roughly equivalent after scholarships (see poll). I am committed to PI employment and utilizing each school's LRAP (have a couple years work experience in the field that will hopefully help me in that direction). I am from Southern California, attended undergraduate school in NY-- location (rural v. urban)/weather is more or less a non-issue. I would like to ultimately practice in California, but am not completely committed to that, and feel reasonably confident that any of these four options will allow me to practice in just about any state I would want. Michigan and UCLA of course have a slight edge in terms of PI, though I was not admitted into the Epstein program at UCLA. Duke is offering $10k additional for dual degree (JD/MA - East Asian Studies; not factored into the poll), which has some additional appeal given my background in China (but is not a hugely important factor). Northwestern has stood out to me from the start, given the fact that I have taken some time off since undergrad and there seemed to be a strong philosophical alignment, but the more I read up on them, the more concerned I am about the inclination of the majority of its student body toward private practice. Though the differences are minor, based on what I have researched, I would probably rank the LRAPs as follows; (1) Michigan; (2) Northwestern; (3) Duke; (4) UCLA. I have not visited any of these schools, and will unfortunately be unable to do so before deposit deadlines, but they all seem like fantastic options.

A second direction I could take is to wait and reapply next year. I scored a 172 on my third LSAT in December (my highest score by 6 points), causing my apps to not be reviewed until January (even though I submitted in November). I do not absolutely need to matriculate this year, but I would probably prefer NYU over these options; I was waitlisted there, and at a couple other reach schools (I could presumably ED there in the fall, or just apply in September RD). I am not sure to what extent my application being reviewed later in the process affected these decisions, as I still was admitted to the vast majority of my "target" schools (based on my scores). So, it seems there is a good chance that the decisions would not be all that different.

Any advice is much appreciated.

[bdole2]

Michigan. And I think your own post should tell you why.

[Nelson]

What's your GPA? A 172 should have gotten you NYU if you had applied early with a 3.5 or so or better. If you don't mind waiting a year it's worth a try since you aren't giving up big money.

[Revolver066]

Michigan. And I think your own post should tell you why.

I'd go Michigan, mostly because the costs are relatively equal, it has national reach and a good LRAP. If you wanted big law I'd say NW but since you want PI I'd lean towards Michigan.

[yenahsretnuh]

What's your GPA? A 172 should have gotten you NYU if you had applied early with a 3.5 or so or better. If you don't mind waiting a year it's worth a try since you aren't giving up big money.

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