Top Law Schools

So here's the situation:

-The schools you are considering
WUSTL, Duke

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.

WUSTL: full-ride scholarship (so essentially only have to pay living expenses and misc. costs) = 64k of debt over three years
Duke: 18k/yr scholarship = 171k over three years

-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings

don't really have any savings, so loans will be my go to source of financing

-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)

from Chicago. want to stay in Chicago

-Your general career goals

Biglaw firm in Chicago is ideal

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers

166/3.8X

-How many times you have taken the LSAT

Only once.


So, basically my main dilemma is this: Is the name recognition/prestige of Duke worth paying about $110k more over three years? If I want to practice in Chicago, is WUSTL better because it is in the Midwest? What are my relative chances of getting biglaw in Chicago from either of these places?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Please don't quote.

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I believe WUSTL is fine for Chicago, but I could be very wrong

I dunno how hard/easy it is to get Chicago from Duke...but as far as WUSTL, if you're top third here and have ties then u have a pretty good shot at Chicago. Better chances as you move up the class. That said, maybe more Chicago shops will go to Duke so that you could get screeners through the lottery even if your were median and be fine since u have ties. But i dunno what the situation is over at Duke.

Personally i'd go to Duke

thanks so much for the responses. Generally, what do people mean when they say "ties." I have lived in Chicago for my whole life, but I don't have any full time work experience since I'm a K-JD. Does that mean I have no "ties" or is the word used in the more personal sense (as in family presence, etc)?

Also, any idea about OCI at Duke and WUSTL from Chicago firms? Would I be pretty much on my own for finding a summer job/full employment in Chicago from Duke? Plus, are there other factors that I should be considering when trying to decide?

Sorry for so many questions and thanks again for the help.

work for a year, retake next fall, and attend Northwestern.

I think it's prudent to assume you'll be average at whichever school you attend. Median at WUSTL is not a great position to be in, especially if you're gunning for Chicago. However, a full ride at a decent school is a game changer. It will basically come down to your stomach for risk. I personally wouldn't attend WUSTL if I would only be happy working in Chicago. Good luck.

This is a pretty clear retake situation.

Go out and get some life experience. Law school will still be there in a year or two.

Duke's not a bad option, but I would absolutely retake anyway. 3-4 points could result in tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, more acceptances, and a year of work experience would make your app even stronger.

My first thought is sit out a cycle retake and re-apply, a jump into the 170s opens a ton of doors to you:
NU with money for sure
Decent shots (50%+) for Chicago, Penn, Columbia NYU.

Edit- I may be overstating the Chicago chances. Depends where in the 3.80-3.89 range that GPA is. 3.85 and under drops you to more like a 35-40% chance based on mylsn. Over 3.85 and you should have a good shot if you break into the 170s.

this is the only opportunity in your life where you can earn 100 grand by taking a stupid test one more time. Don't blow it.