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Duke: $$$
UChi: $

Are chances for BL *that* substantially different between the two? Spoke to a number of attys at a big DC firm, and they said to take UChi without hesitation.

Obviously UChi's BL + FC are great, but Duke's no slouch either from the numbers I've seen.

Essentially, my main concern is the looming recession. Job security is obviously important and looking for a school that offers substantial protection from the downturn is key for me.

URM AA male
Ivy Master's (with substantial debt)

Possibly starting at Duke ($$$) next fall and a little nervous about it. With the COVID recession affecting SA slots for potentially the next 2 years, and the legal market for possibly longer:

How far does the Duke name insulate its BL-aspiring grads from market downturns?

Assuming you're at median, with market ties, and interview well, is BL practically a lock somewhere (at least)?

I realize this is somewhat subjective and I've seen the school's BL employment numbers from just after the 2008 recession. Yet recently, Duke seems to have done really well in BL + FC placement.

FWIW, AA male who's also considering UChi ($).

Every recession is different. That said, if you pulled the numbers that you're citing directly from Law School Transparency or the underlying ABA reports, no anecdote on here will or should supercede that data.

I'm not exactly sure on numbers but I'd take Duke if you are seeing it for pretty cheap. You'll get Biglaw as a Duke AA grad. It's a great school. UChi is great, no doubt, but idk if it is 100k better than Duke. I can see picking it but I would 100% take Duke in your shoes. Unless you're transfixed on Chitown, I think Duke is absolutely fine. If you were aiming for academia bar none I'd say maybe UChi, but since you're going for generic biglaw, I'd go to Durham. I think others will disagree with me, and I'm pretty debt-averse. Again, I'd take Duke unless you were dead set on Chicago or Academia, and I think Duke can still place in Chicago as well if you are from there/ want to be there.
Best of luck.

modernoblomov wrote:Possibly starting at Duke ($$$) next fall and a little nervous about it. With the COVID recession affecting SA slots for potentially the next 2 years, and the legal market for possibly longer:

How far does the Duke name insulate its BL-aspiring grads from market downturns?

Assuming you're at median, with market ties, and interview well, is BL practically a lock somewhere (at least)?

I realize this is somewhat subjective and I've seen the school's BL employment numbers from just after the 2008 recession. Yet recently, Duke seems to have done really well in BL + FC placement.

FWIW, AA male who's also considering UChi ($).

AA male fifth year associate. I’d probably take Duke with the money. Nothing is guaranteed but you stand as good of a chance as anyone else. I have little basis for this, but my hunch is that firms care less about diversity in a bad economy. So, I wouldn’t bank on anything there. You’re going to have to perform.

I wouldn’t go to a higher ranked school and take out the debt. It’s not worth it. Worst case you graduate without a job, work your way for a year or two, or maybe even less, then break into biglaw as a lateral.

Duke is probably the better choice here but it does depend on

- your specific goals (geographical preference? A particular type of biglaw practice?)
- the actual cost differential
- how much preexisting debt you're carrying (if it's substantial, then you should try especially hard not to pile on more debt).

Chicago has stronger biglaw placement, but not so much stronger that you'll be patting yourself on the back if a recession hits (i.e. if things get bad enough that diverse Duke grads with decent grades are feeling the heat, then Chicago's probably not a sure thing either). You'd need a concrete reason to pay an extra hundred grand for it.

Idk if I'm an optimist or just plain dumb, but I'd think you'd have a lock. Seriously. Unless the economy just really hits the fan, I cannot foresee you being totally locked out unless you straight up fail classes. Say you are from KC, with ties etc., and you are enrolled at Duke. You will get biglaw back in KC. Sure, you may need to mass mail firms in the area- you may even be struck by some kind of 'midlaw'. Obliviously, you'd have these opts or better from UChi, but the price difference is what makes that key. If this is a 30k difference, then choose UChi. If this is a 100k difference, I'd go Duke here. I commented in your other thread (or I think that I did), but I think you've got nothing to fear being a median grad from Duke and it is your best option.

UChi URM (not AA) grad- second dollar sign seals the deal here. Assuming that's about 100k in COA difference, for generic biglaw goals UChi isn't worth it. Biggest advantages would be 1. clerkship chances 2. Chicago biglaw placement 3. outside outside shot at academia is a little higher, but nothing about your situation seems to value that stuff at 100k. Enjoy Duke! Seconding what everyone else says about you being relatively secure Biglaw-wise. Work hard 1L, apply far and wide to 1L diversity SAs, and it's really really unlikely you won't end up in Biglaw after you graduate.

Is this all hypothetical? You just made a thread asking what your chances were less than two weeks ago.

Would you mind specifying the actual approximate level of debt you're looking at at both schools? $ / $$$ can mean many things.

if you want the Midwest choose uchi unless your total student debt load can’t be managed even with 2-3 years in biglaw. if that’s the case what about mich or northwestern? duke is good for ny and dc but I don’t see a ton of alumni in the Midwest or West Coast.

If you want the south choose duke.

239840 wrote:Is this all hypothetical? You just made a thread asking what your chances were less than two weeks ago.

Not hypothetical. I'm in at both. I was asking what my chances were for HYS as I was considering reapplying next year.

Delano wrote:Would you mind specifying the actual approximate level of debt you're looking at at both schools? $ / $$$ can mean many things.

It's about a $100k difference between the two before interest.