Top Law Schools

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100K is a lot of cash especially if you're cool with the Midwest and aren't dying to get big law. 80K is still a healthy chunk of change to pay off though.

I guess I say WUSTL here.

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gta wrote:

BigZuck wrote:80K is still a healthy chunk of change to pay off though.

I'm hoping the COA budgets are a little inflated--for both Duke as well as WUSTL. I'll be living as frugally as I can over the next three years in either spot.

For COL, STL is doable for 15-17k per year without a car, 17-19k with one.

But with interest on that and on your small amount of tuition and books everything, it's still gonna be 65k minimum. Working 2L and 3L in some paying capacity would be helpful though obviously.

Your stated preferences lead me to think Duke aint 100k better than WUSTL. (I have soon-to-be-attending-WUSTL bias, full disclosure).

Fiero85 wrote: Your stated preferences lead me to think Duke aint 100k better than WUSTL. (I have soon-to-be-attending-WUSTL bias, full disclosure).

This is a fair assesment.

Unless you're totally unwilling to work in NYC, I vote Duke. I don't think having no specific goals favors WUSTL. Having no goals favors Duke where your most likely outcome is quite a bit better. If you end up going for biglaw, which you probably will, you'll be happy to have the extra wiggle room.

I take it Northwestern wouldn't match Duke? NU gives you the midwest and much better placement than WUSTL.

Nelson wrote:Unless you're totally unwilling to work in NYC, I vote Duke. I don't think having no specific goals favors WUSTL. Having no goals favors Duke where your most likely outcome is quite a bit better. If you end up going for biglaw, which you probably will, you'll be happy to have the extra wiggle room.

I take it Northwestern wouldn't match Duke? NU gives you the midwest and much better placement than WUSTL.

True, if your main goal is Big Law litigation, which would make the most sense (idk what other kind of litigation is worth shooting for, anybody care to give a break down?) then Duke has significantly more grade ranges where you can make that happen. Even more so if you're going for DC.

He's also right that if the Midwest is a priority or significant preference, Northwestern has to be considered (it's a peer of Duke with much more of a Midwest focus), unless they refuse to play ball on price tag.

I for one am pretty debt averse, so I would prioritize a higher "floor" with the lower debt, over a higher "ceiling" with more room for worse grades at Duke.

Nelson wrote:Unless you're totally unwilling to work in NYC, I vote Duke. I don't think having no specific goals favors WUSTL. Having no goals favors Duke where your most likely outcome is quite a bit better. If you end up going for biglaw, which you probably will, you'll be happy to have the extra wiggle room.

I take it Northwestern wouldn't match Duke? NU gives you the midwest and much better placement than WUSTL.

I don't think NU is all that interested in matching Duke. The midwest schools are weird like that.

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I would choose WUSTL. I am at a lower ranked law school and turned down the same $ at Duke. When you calculate the cost difference you need to include the accrued interest on the loan and the forgone interest you would have received.

Going to WUSTL with no previous ties to midwest seems like you could be shortchanging your future

3L2014 wrote:Going to WUSTL with no previous ties to midwest seems like you could be shortchanging your future

..."Where I am from: Upper Midwest"...

I think taking Duke with 75k is completely justified here. It's a lot of debt, but that's a decent chunk off sticker esp. for a splitter. The best choice is taking a few years off, getting work experience, and reapplying (maybe for $$ at NU?), but I'm assuming you're not going to do that. You're a K-JD with no idea what kind of law you want to do. I would bet money that that means you're going to be gunning for a firm job at OCI with the rest of the class. The chances of you getting a job through that process are dramatically better at Duke than WUSTL.

Your modal outcome at Duke is NYC biglaw with 200k-ish in debt. Your path to that outcome is OCI. Your worst case scenario downside is magnified because you're going to have a lot of debt.

Your modal outcome at WUSTL is much more uncertain. You're more likely than not to fail to get a big firm job through OCI and end up pursuing mass mail/networking/etc. to get a small firm job, or gov't, or anything that will pay you to be a lawyer. You're going to be doing that with the comparative disadvantage of no work experience. Your best case scenario upside is magnified slightly by not having debt and you'll have more flexibility to pursue unconventional routes to employment (but not that much because even cost of living loans are still nothing to sneeze at).

Fiero85 wrote:

3L2014 wrote:Going to WUSTL with no previous ties to midwest seems like you could be shortchanging your future

..."Where I am from: Upper Midwest"...

Sorry, I was posting under the assumption you wanted DC--my bad.

This seems like a pretty easy call depending on your career goals. You say can go either way on a) biglaw b) DC c) the midwest. Well if you decide you want biglaw and/or DC, Duke for 180k is probably the answer. If you decide you want the midwest, and are okay without biglaw, then obviously WUSTL is the right call.

Also FWIW, I was a splitter a few cycles ago and WUSTL bumped me up in scholarships a couple times (2 or 3) just because I kept bugging them asking for more cash. So if you haven't sufficiently annoyed them, it might be worth trying again.

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Neither choice is great. Neither is terrible. It really is a close call depending on your goals. Think hard about whether you want to commit to biglaw and how much you value the possibility of being in DC. Also consider the risk of being median or below. At Duke, biglaw is still possible at median. Not so much at WUSTL, but since you're unsure about biglaw and the debt at WUSTL won't force you down that path, it may not be a concern. Below median at either and I'd rather be in the 80k boat with ties in the midwest. WUSTL is the low risk play with the same upside for biglaw if you're top 25%, the only huge advantage at Duke is access to DC and more security at median. Personally, I'd take WUSTL.

gta wrote:Shameless bump but I'm still struggling with this decision and would appreciate any additional perspectives.

I think the thread has spoken. Nelly said Duke, most everyone else said WUSTL. Now it's up to you bro.

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