Top Law Schools

As this cycle comes to a close, I have narrowed my options down to three schools: Duke, Vanderbilt, and USC (still waiting on NYU/Columbia, but would not attend at sticker). I would love to get your opinions on what would be the best choice for me.

Full COA:

Duke -- 150K
Vanderbilt -- 130K
USC -- 115K

I will be financing law school with loans.

I am from Southern California and would like to live and work in CA when I graduate (SD, LA, SF). This isn't a necessary condition, but it would be ideal since I am comfortable here and all of my friends/family are here. I would also consider living in NYC/Boston/Chicago, but I have no ties to the South. It's difficult for me to tell if, despite its location and alumni pull, going to USC is an advantage for me because of my Biglaw aspirations. After all, USC's job placement is pretty scary in general. I also don't know how difficult it would be to return to CA from Duke/Vandy.

I would love to get into sports/entertainment law, but I understand how much of a niche this is and that the best way to get into that area is to first be a good lawyer in general. I want to be a lawyer regardless of whether I can break into that area or not. My ultimate goal is to get into a Biglaw corporate group to gain experience, and then to move in-house or to a smaller firm (surprising, I know!)

Numbers wise, I have a 3.5/172 and I have taken the LSAT once.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Vandy is out for sure I think.

I'm not thrilled with the costs of attendance, ideally USC would be cheaper and you would go there IMO. But that's tough as a splitter.

I'll say Duke. Definitely be open to NYC big law, that'll be your best bet for big law. By CA should still be possible depending on grades.

Vandy student here. Probably wouldn't go here if you want SoCal. Not saying you can't get it, but either of your other two options are much better for that goal.

Personally I think Duke is worth $35k more in your situation just to have the piece of mind that you'll likely end up with something in NYC if SoCal doesn't work out.

agree Vandy is out. Any others? Northwestern? Michigan?

Otherwise, if you are ok with NYC, then Dook.

Either retake or duke. I don't love it at that much, but it's definitely the best option you have

Big Dog wrote:agree Vandy is out. Any others? Northwestern? Michigan?

Otherwise, if you are ok with NYC, then Dook.

Thanks for the response. Only other one is Cornell, which gave me a really low $ offer. I ended up with a mountain (9) of waitlists for the rest of the T14.

Agreed with others. Duke is the best option here. Hopefully you can negotiate some more though or get off some waitlists with cash. That 172 might be more valuable to schools as we get closer to deposit deadlines.