Top Law Schools

Please do not quote.

Got off the Chicago wait list this week; looking for some initial thoughts here.

-The schools you are considering & total COA

Chicago - ~175kSo amazingly the scholly info just came in right after posting this and my figure for Chicago is now ~130k!
Duke - ~115k

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

Little bit of savings, mostly loans, but COL will be covered regardless of location.

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers 

17x, 3.3-3.5 (maxed out on LSAT takes)

Please do not quote.

.

Ooops - I did mean cost of living. I'll update the OP; thanks for catching that.

Good job on retaking. The difference of 60k justifies Chicago, IMO. 175k at Chicago is terrifying, to be sure, but 115k is to me a more bitter pill. I think most people will tell you Duke, but the extra 60k incurred by attending Chicago over the course of your life is meaningless. You'll probably practice law for 40 years, so you'll - after interest on the 60k difference - be paying something like 2k/year extra for that Chicago degree. Considering you're going to make a lot of money over those 40 years, that is an infinitesimal sum of money. The fact that you want to work in Chicago is another large factor as to why you should go to UC.

175k is a lot. But place in context the UC degree long-term, not just in your 20s or even 30s.

In a vacuum I'd say Duke, but give your desire to get back to the MidBest Chicago seems like the right choice here. Or, you know, get a job.

Thanks for the feedback guys -- weirdly, my scholarship notification just came through from Chicago so I've updated the numbers to reflect that. The poll also allows re-voting if anyone wants to switch their vote.

I was leaning Chicago for your goals before, and with the $$ now it's a no-brainer IMO. Congratulations!

If your goal is PI/Government, both Chicago and Duke have Loan Repayment Assistance Programs, which would allow you to enter directly into PI/Government Work. UChicago's seems a little more generous (IIRC from the spiel they gave at admitted students weekend they'll pay 100% of your required payments for ten years, after which your debt is forgiven by the government.)

It would be a good idea to get into contact with both UChicago and Duke about these programs if PI is your ultimate goal and to do reasearch into the Income Based Repayment plan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness offered by the Federal Government. Also, I know some loan program deadlines have come up/passed so that may be an issue you want to raise with UChicago about whether your debt will be dischargeable from this first year under the LRAP plan they mention.

Here's UChicago's info: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/financialaid/LRAP

Here's Duke's: https://law.duke.edu/admis/financial/lrap/

If you're going into Big Law and have connections in New York and Chicago, Duke would open up New York but not Chicago nearly as much. UChicago would probably also offer more connections to the Twin Cities due to location, but that's just conjecture on my part. What it boils down to is the $15k at 7% interest worth a better chance of Chicago to you if you go big law. (IMO this would be worth it)

Edited to reflect you're new COA numbers.

I think this is a pick'em decision. Your COL being covered is a major factor here, and it mitigates a lot of the pro-Duke rationale. If I were making my decision on this, I'd try to answer three questions:

1. Is the difference in career placement between the two worth 60k?

2. Would I rather live in Durham or Chicago for three years? (Obviously, these two locations are worlds apart.)

3. Do I line up with Chicago politically?*

* - This is only an issue because you're talking about wanting to transition to PI/Gov. Most of academia, legal academia included, leans left. Chicago leans definitively to the right. I doubt that this will impact your learning experience, but if you are looking to be hired/appointed by Dems, it will factor in. I did econ research during undergrad with a UChicago professor, and it has come up repeatedly during interviews since. (Worth noting that Chicago's alumni network is pretty moderate, though that places them to the right of the legal profession as a whole.)

.

Just posting again that the money has changed -- I can't edit the poll so sorry for the confusion..

Chicago is now ~130k
Duke is ~115k

For me, it's going to be Chicago, but I certainly would appreciate hearing other takes on the situation.

Thanks all!!

Congrats on Chi! Would've been awesome to have you at Duke, but I don't think anyone would advise you against Chi at that price. Enjoy it!

Yep. UChi at that price is a no-brainer. Congrats

Yeah, Chicago at +15k is an easy choice, unless you had your heart set on legal aid in NYC.

Thanks you guys!!

Congrats on Chicago!

Congrats on Chicago, totally worth it at that price differential.