Duke ($120k) vs. USC (full $) vs. Cornell (full $) Forum

[seansj1]

Hey everyone. So I have a week to make a decision on where to attend next year, and I think I've narrowed it down to these three: Duke with a $120,000 scholarship, USC with a full tuition scholarship, or Cornell with $2,000 short of full tuition. I also got into Harvard with no aid, but I don't think I want to turn down the money from these other schools. I've always lived in Southern California and my number one goal is to continue to do so. So for that reason USC seems like a good option. I've heard that Cornell doesn't place well in California and would probably give me no advantage over USC unless I want to work somewhere else. Duke also seems like a good option since it is a top 10 school and sends most of its students to the major markets (NY, DC, CA), but will it provide me with enough of a benefit to justify paying roughly a years worth of tuition? Any thoughts? Really any information on Duke will be very helpful, especially coming from current students.

[FluffMonster]

I can attest to how great the culture is here at Duke. Plus, we don't get 9 months of snow. With that being said, what is the COA for these three schools? I gave up 30k more at Cornell, but that's probably pushing it.

[03152016]

how is cornell giving out so many full rides/near-full rides this cycle
their 509 lists exactly 0 students on full scholly, and only 9.9% in the half-to-full category

anyways, op, considering you want to stay in CA, what did you get from boalt and sls?

also hi jules long time

[kevgogators]

I've always lived in Southern California and my number one goal is to continue to do so. .

USC for free makes the most sense here.

[Lavitz]

how is cornell giving out so many full rides/near-full rides this cycle
their 509 lists exactly 0 students on full scholly, and only 9.9% in the half-to-full category

New Dean turned on the money machine.

I've always lived in Southern California and my number one goal is to continue to do so. .

USC for free makes the most sense here.

I think so too. Duke's CA placement doesn't seem any different than Cornell's. And OP doesn't seem to want to work anywhere else.

[seansj1]

how is cornell giving out so many full rides/near-full rides this cycle
their 509 lists exactly 0 students on full scholly, and only 9.9% in the half-to-full category

anyways, op, considering you want to stay in CA, what did you get from boalt and sls?

also hi jules long time

Waitlisted yesterday by Stanford and I got no money from Boalt.

[03152016]

what are your numbers?

crazy you got 0 from boalt

did you apply for the matching scholly program

[seansj1]

what are your numbers?

crazy you got 0 from boalt

did you apply for the matching scholly program

176 LSAT, 3.88 GPA

I know, I have no idea why I got nothing from Boalt. I did the matching scholarship app for what I got from Duke.

[PeanutsNJam]

Lol the poll isn't helping you much. Do you want biglaw

[03152016]

see this is why we ask for numbers in the sticky

in a search for 174-178/3.84-3.92 over the last 2 cycles, avg aid at columbia for those who got it was $140k
and you should be competitive for a dillard (uva) or levy (penn)
there should be lots of $$$ offers in the t14
what else did you get?

it's not that cornell full ride isn't great
it just isn't great for your goals

[pancakes3]

Wow. Condolences, OP. Your stats are spectacular. No UCLA? You should wait to hear what Boalt says. They might be yield protecting bc you've got HLS stats. Maybe indicating interest will get them to open up their wallets...

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

This doesn't add up. You should attend S or UCLA/Berkeley for free. I can't understand how you get no $ from Boalt or why S is not on the table. Given your options, I'm not sure what to recommend. I think H is the most likely to get you back to So Cal, but with no aid its insane. I guess I would choose whichever you like better between Duke/Cornell. I think the best answer is to sit out a year and reapply.

[Big Dog]

I think the best answer is to sit out a year and reapply.

Concur. Add that to your poll, and let us change our earlier votes.

btw: have someone like spivey review your essay and reapply early.

[CanadianWolf]

Stanford or Berkeley. It would be interesting to know how waitlisted applicants fare when reapplying to Stanford in the next cycle.

USC is a reasonable option on a full tuition scholarship for one seeking to remain in SoCal.

Among your current choices, it's between USC & Duke.

Is UCLA an option for you ?

P.S. If you want, I'll offer a critique on your law school PS. Just PM it to me.

[downbeat14]

OP u should def reapply w those numbers. Something went wrong or you applied late or lots of yp/bad luck. When did you submit?? Was your PS strong and did admissions interviews go well?

[cron1834]

what are your numbers?

crazy you got 0 from boalt

did you apply for the matching scholly program

176 LSAT, 3.88 GPA

I know, I have no idea why I got nothing from Boalt. I did the matching scholarship app for what I got from Duke.

WTF, why is Berkeley so ridiculous? I'm biased b/c they waitlisted me despite being over both medians with ties, but still. How does this person not get a good offer? Nothing they do makes sense to me.

[seansj1]

I didn't apply to UVA (didn't get a fee waiver til January) and I got wait listed at Penn. I got a full ride to UCLA but their deadline was the 17th and they wouldn't extend it. Plus I would rather go to USC for personal reasons.
Stanford for free or even close to that will never be an option...like Harvard they don't give merit based aid.
Thanks for the advice, but I'm not going to reapply. Other than being screwed by Penn and Boalt I do have some pretty good options.
I submitted in late November and the first couple days of December. I think I had a fairly strong personal statement (at least for someone who hasn't had to overcome any real adversity in his life), and the interviews all went well other than Cornell, which apparently didn't matter. The schools that didn't make good offers-Stanford, Penn, and Boalt- are actually the only ones that did not offer an interview.

[pancakes3]

It would be a damn shame if you ended up at USC, even with a full ride, with your numbers.

[Rigo]

Yikes. It pains me that you're going to USC with a 176/3.88, but because of your strong georgraphic preference, I'd go USC here.

[PoopNpants]

Going to USC with your stats would be absolutely mind-bottling

[pancakes3]

It's almost as sad that you missed out on a Dillard bc of a fee waiver.

[03152016]

op what are your goals, specifically?

pi gunner? academia? low-paying small firm? high-paying big firm?

[seansj1]

op what are your goals, specifically?

pi gunner? academia? low-paying small firm? high-paying big firm?

Ultimately, my goal is to work in sports or entertainment, so staying in LA makes some sense because of that. On the other hand, most people get into one of those fields by working at a large firm first, so I guess you could say that's my current goal. Simply put, in the short term I'm going for money and in the long term I'd really like to get into sports law or even something more on the business side of sports.
I'm 100% not interested in academia or the public sector.

[03152016]

are you debt-financing

if so, are you fully debt-financing outside of schollys, or are parents helping you with some expenses

[seansj1]

are you debt-financing

if so, are you fully debt-financing outside of schollys, or are parents helping you with some expenses

I'm currently debt free and I have enough leftover in my college fund to cover 2 or 3 years of living expenses. I'd most likely take out loans to pay for any tuition expenses I might have. My preference switches every day, but right now I think I'm leaning toward Duke. I'm hoping they might increase my scholarship offer again since the decision deadline has now passed (I got an extension), so I just emailed the financial aid director.