Top Law Schools

Duke $54,000/yr vs UNC Chapel Hill $22,000

I'll be paying with loans which my parents will co-sign.

I was born in North Carolina and have lived in the state my entire life, currently attending a public NC university.

Not entirely sure where I want to work to be honest, though I'd like to avoid New York. I've nothing against staying in North Carolina as long as I don't end up in some small town law firm dealing with divorces.

Not entirely sure on what field of law I would like to focus on either, though international law seems appealing. At some point I would like to enter into the political field, but not immediately after graduating.

I've yet to take the LSAT. On my last timed Preptest I got a 168, planning on taking it for real in September.
GPA=~3.4 because of a poor freshman year.

From what I have read, if I am accepted into Duke I should be offered sizable scholarships from UNC. However lets assume I am accepted to both and offered no scholarships. Which school would you guys suggest I attend given my aspirations(or lack thereof)?


Any help will be greatly appreciated!
-Elodin

Take the LSAT and apply before you start a choosing thread. Figure out exactly where you want to be and exactly what you want to do before you choose a law school.

Also, if you'll be financing law school through loans, I don't know why you'd need your parents to co-sign for you because of stafford/grad plus loans.

Until you have an LSAT score, this won't really matter. For all you know, you could end up with money at NU or Cornell vs. Duke at sticker vs. UNC full ride. If you're asking for sticker at UNC vs. sticker at Duke, I'd take Duke, but attending any school at full price is less than ideal, and usually not your best option. Duke will be the more portable degree, but I'm not sure HOW portable it would be since you're opposed to NYC and have ties to NC.

SteelPenguin wrote:Until you have an LSAT score, this won't really matter. For all you know, you could end up with money at NU or Cornell vs. Duke at sticker vs. UNC full ride.

Alternatively, he could end up with none of these options. That 3.4 is not going to do him any favors.

scottidsntknow wrote: Take the LSAT and apply before you start a choosing thread. Figure out exactly where you want to be and exactly what you want to do before you choose a law school...

SteelPenguin wrote:Until you have an LSAT score, this won't really matter...

I know I'm going about something that I shouldn't for some time, though I do have my reasons. I've known a few UNC Law grads and a couple Duke Law grads for many years. I'm more or less trying to decide which group I should spend more time with over the next few months trying to kiss ass before I ask them for letters of recommendation.

beachbum wrote: Alternatively, he could end up with none of these options. That 3.4 is not going to do him any favors.

I'm focusing pretty heavily on studying for the LSAT to try and overcome my low GPA. In two weeks I went from a 160 to a 168, so I'm hoping to regularly score above 170 on the Preptests by August.

[quote="Elodin"]
I know I'm going about something that I shouldn't for some time, though I do have my reasons. I've known a few UNC Law grads and a couple Duke Law grads for many years. I'm more or less trying to decide which group I should spend more time with over the next few months trying to kiss ass before I ask them for letters of recommendation.
This is completely unnecessary and not helpful. You need two LOR's from professors that know you well and will speak well about you, that's it.

scottidsntknow wrote: This is completely unnecessary and not helpful. You need two LOR's from professors that know you well and will speak well about you, that's it.

Unnecessary perhaps, but I thought having an alumni's recommendation would be helpful as the third optional letter of recommendation.

I know the two professors I will be asking, but I assumed a third letter from a non-educational individual would be helpful. Is this not the case?

Elodin wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote: This is completely unnecessary and not helpful. You need two LOR's from professors that know you well and will speak well about you, that's it.

Unnecessary perhaps, but I thought having an alumni's recommendation would be helpful as the third optional letter of recommendation.

I know the two professors I will be asking, but I assumed a third letter from a non-educational individual would be helpful. Is this not the case?

Two things are helpful: your GPA and your LSAT.

scottidsntknow wrote: Two things are helpful: your GPA and your LSAT.

For the lion's share of the process, sure. If the letters and essays were not considered, the schools would not ask for them. They may only help borderline candidates, but I may very well end up being a borderline candidate.

Elodin wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote: Two things are helpful: your GPA and your LSAT.

For the lion's share of the process, sure. If the letters and essays were not considered, the schools would not ask for them. They may only help borderline candidates, but I may very well end up being a borderline candidate.

Sure, it can help with borderline applicants. But instead of thinking about this:

Elodin wrote:I'm more or less trying to decide which group I should spend more time with over the next few months trying to kiss ass before I ask them for letters of recommendation

you should be focusing on getting the highest LSAT score that you can, which helps a lot more.

scottidsntknow wrote:you should be focusing on getting the highest LSAT score that you can, which helps a lot more.

Yup. A LOR (even from an alum, unless that alum is known personally to the school/donations office) is not going to move the needle. Your time would be much better spent studying for the LSAT.

And for what it's worth, don't count your chickens on the LSAT. TLS is replete with stories of people who were scoring 170+ on PTs, only to drop the ball on the real thing. Hell, I still remember a guy from my year who was consistently pulling 175+ in practice, only to land in the mid-160s on the real thing. Twice.

So study for the LSAT and get the score you need. If you can do that, the third LOR is not going to matter. And if you can't do that, the third LOR is again not going to matter.

beachbum wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:you should be focusing on getting the highest LSAT score that you can, which helps a lot more.

Yup. A LOR (even from an alum, unless that alum is known personally to the school/donations office) is not going to move the needle. Your time would be much better spent studying for the LSAT.

And for what it's worth, don't count your chickens on the LSAT. TLS is replete with stories of people who were scoring 170+ on PTs, only to drop the ball on the real thing. Hell, I still remember a guy from my year who was consistently pulling 175+ in practice, only to land in the mid-160s on the real thing. Twice.

So study for the LSAT and get the score you need. If you can do that, the third LOR is not going to matter. And if you can't do that, the third LOR is again not going to matter.

Post removed.

Why would you ever choose UNC over Duke if costs were equal? Don't be a fool

Elodin wrote:
I know I'm going about something that I shouldn't for some time, though I do have my reasons. I've known a few UNC Law grads and a couple Duke Law grads for many years. I'm more or less trying to decide which group I should spend more time with over the next few months trying to kiss ass before I ask them for letters of recommendation.

"I didn't teach this kid nor did I work with him, but as a Duke alumnus, I'd like to strongly recommend him" won't make a very good letter. Just get 2 letters from professors and work on your LSAT/GPA if possible. After that's all over with, THEN you can focus on your application. I've had an admissions member tell me that at least 80% of the LOCIs she sees are useless, and only about 5% really give the applicant ANY sort of boost at all.