Duke Law Class of 2012 Forum

[Bosque]

Woot! They gave me more money. Unfortunately they sent the letter home again. Anyone know if a scanned copy is sufficient to sign and mail in?

I'm a summer starter and the paper copy of my increased scholarship offer arrived after I mailed everything in. I printed out an emailed version of the letter and mailed that in. They haven't told me of any problems with it.

Good deal. Just wanted to make sure.

[prezidentv8]

Just to toss this out there, did anyone meet Bill Brown at the ASW?

I really want to take classes with this guy....the stuff sounds great....here are two of his that I thought were interesting:

http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/cour ... rse?id=339
http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/cour ... rse?id=342

Stats, game theory, economics, finance, and law.....awesome....!

Bill Brown is goddamn badass. I'm taking his Fixed Income and quant methods class this fall. Apparently his classes are not for the feint of heart but he is a serious player. Don't know if you read his bio but, Chem degree from MIT, Duke Law 1980, partner at Sidley Austin, banker at Morgan Stanley, managing director at Goldman Sachs, and now professor at Duke Law while simultaneously running two venture capital firms. He teaches amazing seminars and puts on almost weekly panels on the current financial crisis, and the panelists are rockstars. Last weeks guest, for instance, was the head of risk management at Goldman Sachs.

EDIT: I should also add that he's just a really cool dude. After one of his panels, he and i talked shop for like a half hour over a couple glasses of wine.

Not for the "feint of heart," eh? Bring it on, I say! I mean it seems fun anyway, so I might as well get my fill of challenge in a cool class.

[dmnshm]

so i just got an email from the financial aid office (confirming paperwork) and the lady casually mentioned the may 1st deposit...which i didn't know existed until that moment. what's the deal with it? (how much, binding?, etc.)

Quote: "Submission of this form does not bind you to attend. Only your seat deposit that's due May 1st will hold your seat."

confusion reigns

[dresq]

so i just got an email from the financial aid office (confirming paperwork) and the lady casually mentioned the may 1st deposit...which i didn't know existed until that moment. what's the deal with it? (how much, binding?, etc.)

Quote: "Submission of this form does not bind you to attend. Only your seat deposit that's due May 1st will hold your seat."

confusion reigns

They're referring to the seat deposit mentioned near the end of your acceptance letter. They also included an accept/decline form with your initial acceptance materials which states the terms of the deposit. You fill that out and submit it with your $500 check. If you lost that form, there is a link to a pdf version of it on the admitted student website on the "Enrolling at Duke" section and under the heading "Important Materials." The terms are basically as follows:

In order to enroll in the 2009 entering class, a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 must be received in the Admissions Office by the date indicated in your acceptance letter. Please write your name and LSAC # or birthdate (mm/dd) on the check or money order made payable to Duke Law School. We are unable to accept payment via credit card. The non-refundable enrollment deposit will be credited toward your first semester tuition. Please note that the submission of your tuition deposit indicates that you intend to enroll at Duke Law School. If you submit your tuition deposit to Duke, you must withdraw from all other law schools to which you have been admitted.

Basically, you have to withdraw from all other schools to which you've already been accepted, but it doesn't make you pull out of waitlists or commit to attend law school. If you get in off a waitlist and change school, or if you decide not to go to school at all, you just forfeit the $500. Just can't put down multiple deposits, basically. If you do attend, it goes towards tuition, and you don't lose anything.

[bartlet4america]

Looks like I'll probably be joining you guys (still waiting to hear from a bunch of schools though). Although Duke was never on my radar until recently, I'm pretty excited about the choice!

[dresq]

Looks like I'll probably be joining you guys (still waiting to hear from a bunch of schools though). Although Duke was never on my radar until recently, I'm pretty excited about the choice!

Welcome! Let us know when it's official. We'll be glad to have you.

[dresq]

I'm curious as to why people here chose Duke (especially given the bad rep it gets on this site, and in light of the other offers some of you no doubt had). Maybe our reasoning can help current and future TLSers look past some of the blatant anti-Duke vibes around here. I'll start.

Things I like:

• Placement stats for are frequently among the top schools (including their largest markets, NYC, DC, and CA).
• Love the location for high QOL, low COL, ease of transportation (assuming you have a car), great restaurants/bars/live music venues, warm weather, proximity to great mountains & beaches, etc.
• Scholarship was very competitive, especially in net terms.
• Great experience at the ASD, especially interactions with the students, administrators and faculty. My conversations with Bill Brown, Arti Rai, and the career services folks particularly come to mind.
• New facilities and library are impressive.
• Reputation for IP/patent law & proximity to RTP.
• Small class size lends to closer relationships with faculty and administrators (who are the ones who go to bat for you when you need to find a job).
• Actual collaboration and interdisciplinary environment beyond just letting you take classes in other departments. The faculty actually does great joint research with researchers from other departments.
• They actually published their job placement statistics in detail, including the firms and PI jobs of the most recent classes. This is not only nice to look over, but it also provides a degree of transparency I can really appreciate on a more philosophical level.
• There are more grad students than undergrads at Duke.
• Ease with which students can tailor thier own academic programs after 1L or even design new seminar classes.

Things I don't like:

• Small class size means a small social network initially. I already live in the area, so this doesn't bother me. I could see how this might put off some people, though.
• Duke basketball, but maybe I'm a little biased

I could make very good arguments for a few other schools that I agonized over (namely UVA, Penn, and Berkeley), but in the end the analysis for Duke won out.

[bartlet4america]

Why do you think Duke gets such a bad rep on this site?

These are the reasons I am leaning towards it:
- QOL and COL - same as Dresq said
- small class size
- beautiful campus
- weather (Im from SoCal)
- good international programs - study abroad etc
- scholarship was very competitive

[dresq]

Why do you think Duke gets such a bad rep on this site?

These are the reasons I am leaning towards it:
- QOL and COL - same as Dresq said
- small class size
- beautiful campus
- weather (Im from SoCal)
- good international programs - study abroad etc
- scholarship was very competitive

From posts I've read:

• Ranking is currently 12 (so clearly it must be worse than every other school currently ranked higher )
• Anti-south bias from those who (incorrectly) think it's all rednecks and racists down here. (It's actually a VERY liberal area, full of hippies, gays, and activists, OH MY!)
• Anti-Durham bias from hearsay about crime. The crime is isolated and easily avoidable. The funny part is that this criticism often come from people headed to big cities, where crime is much worse.
• People who think living in a big city is the bee's knees and small cities/college towns are crap.
• Hatred of Duke basketball (which I sympathize with).
• A misconception that the law school is somehow as preppy/fratty as the UG population.

[dmnshm]

so i just got an email from the financial aid office (confirming paperwork) and the lady casually mentioned the may 1st deposit...which i didn't know existed until that moment. what's the deal with it? (how much, binding?, etc.)

Quote: "Submission of this form does not bind you to attend. Only your seat deposit that's due May 1st will hold your seat."

confusion reigns

They're referring to the seat deposit mentioned near the end of your acceptance letter. They also included an accept/decline form with your initial acceptance materials which states the terms of the deposit. You fill that out and submit it with your $500 check. If you lost that form, there is a link to a pdf version of it on the admitted student website on the "Enrolling at Duke" section and under the heading "Important Materials." The terms are basically as follows:

In order to enroll in the 2009 entering class, a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 must be received in the Admissions Office by the date indicated in your acceptance letter. Please write your name and LSAC # or birthdate (mm/dd) on the check or money order made payable to Duke Law School. We are unable to accept payment via credit card. The non-refundable enrollment deposit will be credited toward your first semester tuition. Please note that the submission of your tuition deposit indicates that you intend to enroll at Duke Law School. If you submit your tuition deposit to Duke, you must withdraw from all other law schools to which you have been admitted.

Basically, you have to withdraw from all other schools to which you've already been accepted, but it doesn't make you pull out of waitlists or commit to attend law school. If you get in off a waitlist and change school, or if you decide not to go to school at all, you just forfeit the $500. Just can't put down multiple deposits, basically. If you do attend, it goes towards tuition, and you don't lose anything.

Uhh...yeah, I already paid the deposit, it was due on April 1st for me accourding to my letter. So what's the deal with the May 1st thing? Or is this a bureaucracy mix-up?

[dresq]

so i just got an email from the financial aid office (confirming paperwork) and the lady casually mentioned the may 1st deposit...which i didn't know existed until that moment. what's the deal with it? (how much, binding?, etc.)

Quote: "Submission of this form does not bind you to attend. Only your seat deposit that's due May 1st will hold your seat."

confusion reigns

They're referring to the seat deposit mentioned near the end of your acceptance letter. They also included an accept/decline form with your initial acceptance materials which states the terms of the deposit. You fill that out and submit it with your $500 check. If you lost that form, there is a link to a pdf version of it on the admitted student website on the "Enrolling at Duke" section and under the heading "Important Materials." The terms are basically as follows:

In order to enroll in the 2009 entering class, a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 must be received in the Admissions Office by the date indicated in your acceptance letter. Please write your name and LSAC # or birthdate (mm/dd) on the check or money order made payable to Duke Law School. We are unable to accept payment via credit card. The non-refundable enrollment deposit will be credited toward your first semester tuition. Please note that the submission of your tuition deposit indicates that you intend to enroll at Duke Law School. If you submit your tuition deposit to Duke, you must withdraw from all other law schools to which you have been admitted.

Basically, you have to withdraw from all other schools to which you've already been accepted, but it doesn't make you pull out of waitlists or commit to attend law school. If you get in off a waitlist and change school, or if you decide not to go to school at all, you just forfeit the $500. Just can't put down multiple deposits, basically. If you do attend, it goes towards tuition, and you don't lose anything.

Uhh...yeah, I already paid the deposit, it was due on April 1st for me accourding to my letter. So what's the deal with the May 1st thing? Or is this a bureaucracy mix-up?

Weird. Bureaurcracy mix-up, I'd assume. May 1st was my deadline (maybe the most common deadline?). If you're a summer starter, maybe it has something to do with that. Probably got a generic response. It wasn't clear from your post that you'd already put down your seat deposit. Sorry... I misunderstood what you were asking. So... cue the generic response: just call, and ask what's up. I'm sure you're fine.

[dmnshm]

so i just got an email from the financial aid office (confirming paperwork) and the lady casually mentioned the may 1st deposit...which i didn't know existed until that moment. what's the deal with it? (how much, binding?, etc.)

Quote: "Submission of this form does not bind you to attend. Only your seat deposit that's due May 1st will hold your seat."

confusion reigns

They're referring to the seat deposit mentioned near the end of your acceptance letter. They also included an accept/decline form with your initial acceptance materials which states the terms of the deposit. You fill that out and submit it with your $500 check. If you lost that form, there is a link to a pdf version of it on the admitted student website on the "Enrolling at Duke" section and under the heading "Important Materials." The terms are basically as follows:

In order to enroll in the 2009 entering class, a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 must be received in the Admissions Office by the date indicated in your acceptance letter. Please write your name and LSAC # or birthdate (mm/dd) on the check or money order made payable to Duke Law School. We are unable to accept payment via credit card. The non-refundable enrollment deposit will be credited toward your first semester tuition. Please note that the submission of your tuition deposit indicates that you intend to enroll at Duke Law School. If you submit your tuition deposit to Duke, you must withdraw from all other law schools to which you have been admitted.

Basically, you have to withdraw from all other schools to which you've already been accepted, but it doesn't make you pull out of waitlists or commit to attend law school. If you get in off a waitlist and change school, or if you decide not to go to school at all, you just forfeit the $500. Just can't put down multiple deposits, basically. If you do attend, it goes towards tuition, and you don't lose anything.

Uhh...yeah, I already paid the deposit, it was due on April 1st for me accourding to my letter. So what's the deal with the May 1st thing? Or is this a bureaucracy mix-up?

Weird. Bureaurcracy mix-up, I'd assume. May 1st was my deadline (maybe the most common deadline?). If you're a summer starter, maybe it has something to do with that. Probably got a generic response. It wasn't clear from your post that you'd already put down your seat deposit. Sorry... I misunderstood what you were asking. So... cue the generic response: just call, and ask what's up. I'm sure you're fine.

yeah, i'm a summer starter. sorry, i guess i wasn't very clear in the original message ...i'm just hoping there isn't some second deposit. esp. since i'm overseas, and it is a little difficult to call the office.

[Bosque]

Weird. Bureaurcracy mix-up, I'd assume. May 1st was my deadline (maybe the most common deadline?). If you're a summer starter, maybe it has something to do with that. Probably got a generic response. It wasn't clear from your post that you'd already put down your seat deposit. Sorry... I misunderstood what you were asking. So... cue the generic response: just call, and ask what's up. I'm sure you're fine.

yeah, i'm a summer starter. sorry, i guess i wasn't very clear in the original message ...i'm just hoping there isn't some second deposit. esp. since i'm overseas, and it is a little difficult to call the office.

Pretty sure there is a second deposit. Chances are you have to put that one down on the 1st, while we put our second deposit down later.

I would figure out some way to get it to them.

[dmnshm]

Damn. The only thing is, I haven't received anything official from them telling me about this deadline; just that throwaway line in the email.

I guess I'll get in touch with them and find out what the deal is...although another seat deposit seems unnecessary since we will be forking over 14k in tuition pretty soon anyways...

[aer]

I'm a fellow summer start and have only heard about the April 1st deadline. I hope that there isn't a second one that they just didn't tell us about.

EDIT: I just checked the website and it only mentions one deposit.

[Bosque]

I dunno then.

By the way, Dresq, I noticed I am not in the list on the front page. Thanks for your vote of confidence about my pending Stanford application, but I think you can go ahead and put me on there. If Stanford lets me in, we can always take it down later.

[frissle]

10!!

[Bosque]

Yup. Not that anyone in here had any doubt.

Number 8 once they get our class information.

[prezidentv8]

We're in the top 10 guys!

[chadstew55]

We're in the top 10 guys!

heck yeah!

[aer]

Hell yeah!!!

[Bosque]

We are all up way too late. I have not been able to get to sleep before three for the last week. What are all of your excuses?

[aer]

I slept in too late this morning and am now wide awake.

[chadstew55]

We are all up way too late. I have not been able to get to sleep before three for the last week. What are all of your excuses?

I was waiting for the rankings. I now have to write a paper for tomorrow.

[Bosque]

We are all up way too late. I have not been able to get to sleep before three for the last week. What are all of your excuses?

I was waiting for the rankings. I now have to write a paper for tomorrow.

Good deal. I had a presentation I was going to work on tonight, but it ain't until tuesday. So, I think I am just going to turn in and get it done tomorrow.