Spending 2K to visit law schools- worth it? Forum

[ticklemesilly]

So deciding between Michigan and Duke but living in Europe now. Got Duke deadline extended so have until 04/30 to decide. I'm undecided as of now.

Is it worth 2K (cost of last minute flights + rental car + hotel rooms) to choose? If not I'm going to go to Duke because of the weather (not sure where I want to work in the future, so alumni location is not a factor I can use to decide)?

[rinkrat19]

Not unless $2000 is nbd to you. It's not worth $2000 of credit card debt, or worth depleting your savings.

[ILoveYou]

Yeah that's way too much to be worth it. Visiting schools can really help you get a feel for their particulars, the city, etc. if the visits are pretty cheap, but in this case nah.

[BasilHallward]

We don't have a whole lot of information here, but given that, go with Duke. Slam dunk unless you are withholding useful info.

[swampman]

Yeah, visiting is not incredibly useful. Assuming equal cost of attendance absolutely go to Duke. Michigan's employment numbers are relatively bad and getting worse, while Duke is looking very solid.

[rpupkin]

This is, of course, a personal decision. Have you ever visited either of these places? I don't mean the law schools specifically; I mean Durham and Ann Arbor.

Personally, I would not commit to spending three years of my adult life somewhere without ever having visited the place. I'm not saying it's wrong for you (or anyone else) to do so, but that's just me. So, yeah, it would be worth it to me to spend a couple thousand to take a trip and visit the two cities.

[Cobretti]

I think if the cost of attending both schools is just about even and this visit would only serve to decide your personal preference at equal cost, maybe not. But if you're leaning Duke for weather and its going to cost you 50k more than Michigan, I'd absolutely spend 2k to make sure you really have such a strong personal preference that its worth extra $$ to attend a peer school.

[ManoftheHour]

No.

[ticklemesilly]

I think if the cost of attending both schools is just about even and this visit would only serve to decide your personal preference at equal cost, maybe not. But if you're leaning Duke for weather and its going to cost you 50k more than Michigan, I'd absolutely spend 2k to make sure you really have such a strong personal preference that its worth extra $$ to attend a peer school.

I've got a 75K scholarship to both schools after negotiating with Duke to match Michigan's offer.

[ticklemesilly]

This is, of course, a personal decision. Have you ever visited either of these places? I don't mean the law schools specifically; I mean Durham and Ann Arbor.

Personally, I would not commit to spending three years of my adult life somewhere without ever having visited the place. I'm not saying it's wrong for you (or anyone else) to do so, but that's just me. So, yeah, it would be worth it to me to spend a couple thousand to take a trip and visit the two cities.

That's what I'm worried about. It's a significant amount of time but I'm having trouble deciding if the 2K is worth it.....

[banjo]

Poke around on Google Streetview and watch Youtube videos of the town/campus.

[Moneytrees]

It's tough to say. It totally depends on the individual. I would probably wouldn't spend that much just to visit a school.

Also, see if they offer a stipend to defray the cost of a visit.

[blsingindisguise]

No.

[Nomo]

This places are very different. Ann Arbor is a midwestern college town that's built for entertaining undergraduate and graduate students. There are plenty of people who aren't in school, but the campus culture dominates the area, and the downtown really merges into the University. Duke is a southern town that's part of a larger metro region. The campus is separated from downtown by a freeway and there really isn't much of a campus culture. Lot's of people live in Durham's suburbs and commute in to Duke or out to the research triangle park.

I don't think you'll need to visit to figure out which atmosphere you prefer.

[cron1834]

No.

[downbeat14]

.

[Hand]

Go to Duke, where the weather is better, and spend your cash on seeing a little more of Europe

[k5220]

If you're concerned about Michigan's weather, I don't think visiting now in the spring would give you a very good idea of how bad the weather gets. If you have hesitations about the people/atmosphere/neighborhood at Duke though, visiting might be a good idea. You could try communicating with their admissions office to see if they dedicate any money to funding stipends for visiting students- although I doubt they'd be willing to cover all the costs, they might be able to help a little. If you generally understand what you're getting yourself into though from previous experiences in similar locations, that might not be necessary. It's probably a judgment call you have to make based on how comfortable you feel now and what the money's worth to you.

[Br3v]

If you want to go ha e a vacation sure, but I don't really think it's that big of a deal to commit to a school you've never been to. You're there to get a job.

[rpupkin]

If you want to go ha e a vacation sure, but I don't really think it's that big of a deal to commit to a school you've never been to. You're there to get a job.

It's three years of your adult life. Plus, you'll have a lot more time to enjoy your surroundings compared to when you have an actual job.

I agree with the poster who wrote that you can't get a sense of the weather based on a single visit. That's not why you should go. And I think it's utterly pointless to sit in on a class or anything like that. But there's something to be said for hanging out in the town for a couple of days, walking around the neighborhoods, and experiencing the nightlife. This is not something you can really get a sense of by using google earth.

[Br3v]

If you want to go ha e a vacation sure, but I don't really think it's that big of a deal to commit to a school you've never been to. You're there to get a job.

It's three years of your adult life. Plus, you'll have a lot more time to enjoy your surroundings compared to when you have an actual job.

I agree with the poster who wrote that you can't get a sense of the weather based on a single visit. That's not why you should go. And I think it's utterly pointless to sit in on a class or anything like that. But there's something to be said for hanging out in the town for a couple of days, walking around the neighborhoods, and experiencing the nightlife. This is not something you can really get a sense of by using google earth.

We are disagreeing in another thread so maybe it's just that, but idk this seems like bad advice. Part of "adult life" is making career decisions on more than "experiencing the nightlife." I know that's stretching what you said, but I don't really think the "cool-ness" factor of the town should be a factor at all. Your not deciding between like moving to Siberia or something. Your going to school to get a job. You can have fun anywhere.

If you have like family or a SO in a given area then that's a different story. But decidin between one random town and another?

[fisheatbananas]

As people before me have said, it depends if 2k is worth a lot or nothing to you. Also depends on your personality. How easily adaptable are you to moving and how picky are you about where you live? Duke and Michigan have some national reputation and mobility so you'll probably be able to land a job in a different region of the US if you don't like where you went to school, but you will have to live there for at least 3 years of law school

[starry eyed]

Michigan and North Carolina are different enough to know what you would prefer without having to spend 2k to explore. go to duke

[rpupkin]

If you want to go ha e a vacation sure, but I don't really think it's that big of a deal to commit to a school you've never been to. You're there to get a job.

It's three years of your adult life. Plus, you'll have a lot more time to enjoy your surroundings compared to when you have an actual job.

I agree with the poster who wrote that you can't get a sense of the weather based on a single visit. That's not why you should go. And I think it's utterly pointless to sit in on a class or anything like that. But there's something to be said for hanging out in the town for a couple of days, walking around the neighborhoods, and experiencing the nightlife. This is not something you can really get a sense of by using google earth.

We are disagreeing in another thread so maybe it's just that, but idk this seems like bad advice.

I don't know who you are and I don't know what other thread you're talking about. I just used your post as a departure point to contribute my perspective. This has nothing to do with you personally--you could be a bot for all I know.

[Br3v]

If you want to go ha e a vacation sure, but I don't really think it's that big of a deal to commit to a school you've never been to. You're there to get a job.

It's three years of your adult life. Plus, you'll have a lot more time to enjoy your surroundings compared to when you have an actual job.

I agree with the poster who wrote that you can't get a sense of the weather based on a single visit. That's not why you should go. And I think it's utterly pointless to sit in on a class or anything like that. But there's something to be said for hanging out in the town for a couple of days, walking around the neighborhoods, and experiencing the nightlife. This is not something you can really get a sense of by using google earth.

We are disagreeing in another thread so maybe it's just that, but idk this seems like bad advice.

I don't know who you are and I don't know what other thread you're talking about. I just used your post as a departure point to contribute my perspective. This has nothing to do with you personally--you could be a bot for all I know.

I meant that I may have been more quick to call you out, not you me