Top Law Schools

I've posted before and got great insider insights from TLSer. Now that I've narrowed down my choices and did some $ negotiation, I am still torn between Duke and Penn.

Scholarship: Duke (114k) v Penn (85k) - COL at Duke would be much lower, but I'll be getting a car at Duke but not Penn.

Want BigLaw in CA (no CA ties); warm weather contributes to my happiness (in which aspect Duke>Penn); BUT I prefer urban location (Penn>Duke)...

In terms of grading, Duke gives number GPA and Penn gives only letter no GPA. I don't know if that means anything, eg. would that make Duke more intense than Penn?

I havent negotiated with Duke yet, should I even try to ask for a raise in scholarship? I mean I've been advised that Penn is worth 30-40k more than Duke, but is it worth 50k more? (yes I realize this is a stupid question but it is a sincere one...)

THANK YOU!

I actually faced the same two options two years ago, with very similar money. I chose Penn, largely because of biglaw placement. 30k is a lot of money, but it wasn't enough to make up for the disparity in employment figures. Ultimately, that's really the important part of the decision. Weather is irrelevant--you're only there for 3 years. I think you have two great choices, and you won't go wrong with either. Personally, I have not regretted my decision.

Just saw the bit about whether Duke is worth it if you get more money. Maybe. Think about it this way. If you miss the biglaw boat, it's going to be hard to pay off either of them. To me, paying extra for a better chance at that outcome was worth it. More will be coming out of my paycheck in the short term, but I can live with that.

Cali is going to be hard from either school with no ties. I can't speak to Duke, but I know a few people who were able to pull that off from my class. I also know many who weren't. You are gambling if you rank Cali offices high on your OCI bidlist without ties. I sure wouldn't recommend it. If you have the grades, you might be able to do it successfully though. Almost everyone I know that is from Cali was able to get back to Cali if they wanted it, however.

Since neither school gives you a real leg up when it comes to getting a job in california, I would go Penn here for the better over biglaw placement statistics. This being said, either school is a fine decision at those scholarship amounts.