Duke Law c/o 2018 Forum

[Ris19]

Just got 25k/year. I'm pretty happy about it!

[ithrowds]

Are there any apartment complexes or areas in general where a lot of law students choose to live? I have no idea about the Durham area, haven't even ever visited and am trying to get some sort of clue regarding housing. Thanks!

[Serett]

Are there any apartment complexes or areas in general where a lot of law students choose to live? I have no idea about the Durham area, haven't even ever visited and am trying to get some sort of clue regarding housing. Thanks!

http://dukelawdenovo.com/

Pinnacle Ridge is where the plurality, if not majority, of 1Ls tend to live, but there are some people all over. It's difficult to live more than a 10-12-minute drive from Duke in Durham.

[wonka]

I love Duke but I so wish Durham & the campus area were more walkable. Having to drive everywhere is a huge check in the cons column for me...

[ithrowds]

Are there any apartment complexes or areas in general where a lot of law students choose to live? I have no idea about the Durham area, haven't even ever visited and am trying to get some sort of clue regarding housing. Thanks!

http://dukelawdenovo.com/

Pinnacle Ridge is where the plurality, if not majority, of 1Ls tend to live, but there are some people all over. It's difficult to live more than a 10-12-minute drive from Duke in Durham.

Thank you! Also, is public transportation non existent in Durham? I've heard there are buses but it seems like nearly everyone says you'll pretty much need a car.

[GreenEggs]

I love Duke but I so wish Durham & the campus area were more walkable. Having to drive everywhere is a huge check in the cons column for me...

This was/is my main problem with Duke and Durham in general. It's literally the most car required law school of the T-14.

[Serett]

Are there any apartment complexes or areas in general where a lot of law students choose to live? I have no idea about the Durham area, haven't even ever visited and am trying to get some sort of clue regarding housing. Thanks!

http://dukelawdenovo.com/

Pinnacle Ridge is where the plurality, if not majority, of 1Ls tend to live, but there are some people all over. It's difficult to live more than a 10-12-minute drive from Duke in Durham.

Thank you! Also, is public transportation non existent in Durham? I've heard there are buses but it seems like nearly everyone says you'll pretty much need a car.

There are buses, but that is the conventional wisdom. I have a car and haven't used the buses, so I can't really say how they are. My impression would be that they're probably fine for getting around the campus and downtown area but are of limited utility as you move out from there. I also don't know how late routes run, as a result. There are some apartment buildings near enough to campus and downtown that you could plausibly walk, bike, and bus your way around, and I do know at least one person who doesn't own a car, and the experience has been fine for him. It depends on what you value. I like the freedom of being able to drive to Southpoint or to see a movie at my leisure, or to go to Chapel Hill, or Raleigh, etc.

I, personally, wouldn't want to be without a car (although I didn't come here from a major city and have owned a car as my chief means of transportation since age 16, so this is the norm for me), but some people certainly do manage.

[strugglebus]

I love Duke but I so wish Durham & the campus area were more walkable. Having to drive everywhere is a huge check in the cons column for me...

This was/is my main problem with Duke and Durham in general. It's literally the most car required law school of the T-14.

After visiting a bunch of car-unfriendly schools, getting Duke's ASW schedule with all the info about driving/shuttling to events was a bit jarring. But I like driving/having a car, so I don't mind unless parking's a nightmare.

[radio1nowhere]

It's interesting to hear that driving is a negative for some. Here I was grumbling about the car unfriendliness of other schools; like, what am I going to do with my trusty Accord for three years?!

[wonka]

It's interesting to hear that driving is a negative for some. Here I was grumbling about the car unfriendliness of other schools; like, what am I going to do with my trusty Accord for three years?!

I'm persnickety about it. I love my car and will want to have it around for grocery shopping and the freedom to get out of town when I want to, but day-to-day I love being able to walk to class/restaurants/friends. I'm so much happier when I'm forced to interact with the world outside my bubble. Maybe it's a psychological barrier but being forced to drive makes me feel isolated and makes general life seem more difficult.

[ticklemesilly]

How's Duke with the negotiating. Bracing myself for some negotiation after a sub-par scholarship interview last week.

[Serett]

I love Duke but I so wish Durham & the campus area were more walkable. Having to drive everywhere is a huge check in the cons column for me...

This was/is my main problem with Duke and Durham in general. It's literally the most car required law school of the T-14.

After visiting a bunch of car-unfriendly schools, getting Duke's ASW schedule with all the info about driving/shuttling to events was a bit jarring. But I like driving/having a car, so I don't mind unless parking's a nightmare.

About that...

You'll hear some negative things about parking, and it can be irritating (but with some caveats).

First-year student park in either the Blue Zone or the Green Zone (most often the Green Zone, as it's cheaper and really no less convenient). There are multiple lots under each umbrella (and the earlier you get there, the closer you'll be), but for me, this usually means having a 10-12 minute walk from my parking lot to the law school. This isn't terrible (in undergrad, it took me that long to walk from my house off-campus to the edge of campus, in Upper Midwest weather, and students generally didn't even have the option of parking passes), and for most people it's only for the first year (upper-level students can get the Chem Lot, which is just across the street from the law school), but it's still an inconvenience, time-wise and if you're transporting books. Thankfully, after 5 PM and on weekends, you do get to park in the Law Lot.

Additionally, basketball and football make campus a nightmare to drive around and supplant your claim to the parking lots. It's not actually as bad as people make it sound, but it seems like it if you don't know what you're doing (so if you know you're coming to Duke, remember this post, because you'll need it). If you need to come to school during any of these times, you want to come in through Erwin Road onto Towerview, turn left at the 4-way stop signs near the Chem Lot, and the lot you get to park in instead is on the left. I think it's actually even closer to the law school than where I normally park, so it's not actually bad if you know what you're doing. I've only ever not been able to park here once, and that was for the Duke-UNC home, nighttime football game (so keep that in mind).

Outside of campus, Durham, itself, is extraordinarily easy to park in--often for free, and including downtown. That's markedly different from any large city and was even better than the comparably-sized city from which I came.

[Brady199]

It seems to me like there's a common split this year between full ride and 30k/yr. Has anyone gotten a first offer between those two points?

I got 40/year. Reckoned that was very generous for an international.

[strugglebus]

I love Duke but I so wish Durham & the campus area were more walkable. Having to drive everywhere is a huge check in the cons column for me...

This was/is my main problem with Duke and Durham in general. It's literally the most car required law school of the T-14.

After visiting a bunch of car-unfriendly schools, getting Duke's ASW schedule with all the info about driving/shuttling to events was a bit jarring. But I like driving/having a car, so I don't mind unless parking's a nightmare.

About that...

You'll hear some negative things about parking, and it can be irritating (but with some caveats).

First-year student park in either the Blue Zone or the Green Zone (most often the Green Zone, as it's cheaper and really no less convenient). There are multiple lots under each umbrella (and the earlier you get there, the closer you'll be), but for me, this usually means having a 10-12 minute walk from my parking lot to the law school. This isn't terrible (in undergrad, it took me that long to walk from my house off-campus to the edge of campus, in Upper Midwest weather, and students generally didn't even have the option of parking passes), and for most people it's only for the first year (upper-level students can get the Chem Lot, which is just across the street from the law school), but it's still an inconvenience, time-wise and if you're transporting books. Thankfully, after 5 PM and on weekends, you do get to park in the Law Lot.

Additionally, basketball and football make campus a nightmare to drive around and supplant your claim to the parking lots. It's not actually as bad as people make it sound, but it seems like it if you don't know what you're doing (so if you know you're coming to Duke, remember this post, because you'll need it). If you need to come to school during any of these times, you want to come in through Erwin Road onto Towerview, turn left at the 4-way stop signs near the Chem Lot, and the lot you get to park in instead is on the left. I think it's actually even closer to the law school than where I normally park, so it's not actually bad if you know what you're doing. I've only ever not been able to park here once, and that was for the Duke-UNC home, nighttime football game (so keep that in mind).

Outside of campus, Durham, itself, is extraordinarily easy to park in--often for free, and including downtown. That's markedly different from any large city and was even better than the comparably-sized city from which I came.

This is incredibly helpful, thanks!!

[owlinentertainment]

How are people getting to Duke from the airport for ASW?

[motoman92]

How are people getting to Duke from the airport for ASW?

I'm taking a cab. It's less than 20 min away!

[idissent]

You can also check to see if your hotel has a free shuttle!

[bobleman300]

I go to Duke for undergrad so I can help provide some tips.

RDU to Duke is only about 20 min and should be max $35 by cab, but some are cheaper than others. I would suggest Charlene's.

Duke as a university is HUGE, and therefore we rely a lot on buses. Law students mostly drive to campus, but if you live close to East Campus, you can walk to campus and bus to the law school.

Rent in Durham is almost laughably low. I live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, two story town house on the main street of durham right next to campus and it is $530 per person. Even the nicest fully furnished apartment complexes that professors live in are about $1200 a month max. Food is also cheap and so is gas and alcohol.

Hotels mostly have free shuttles to Duke. The Millennium hotel definitely does. The other hotels should be a 4 minute uber ride from campus. Uber is really big and easy here.

[bobleman300]

Also just to put into scale how large Duke is...
We are the 2nd largest campus in the country. 8600 acres, which means we are about 10 times the size of central park, or about 3 times the size of big schools like UMich or Penn St.

ASW has some events that are on parts of campus that arent at the law school. We have a system of buses that runs all throughout campus so that you dont actually need to drive anywhere on campus, just to the one event downtown.

[ticklemesilly]

Posted this on the other thread too but supposedly my scholarship info was sent out two days ago. When should I expect it to arrive.

For those who are still waiting and curious, I interviewed a week ago.

[ithrowds]

Had my scholarship interview in early march, decision mailed on 3/20. Still waiting - but to be fair I'm in California.

[fra]

According to status checker mine was mailed over a week ago. I still haven't gotten it and I'm like one state away from NC. Either they used the slowest mailing service ever or they express mailed it straight into a trash can.

[rbwlaw]

So frustrating that Duke doesn't email scholarship letter then follow up with mailed copy as most schools do. No idea why with that internet thing being available. Can't believe that letters are actually "mailed" on date indicated on status checker given long delays people seem to be experiencing in actually getting the letter. Maybe they were put in the "outbox" for that day, picked up by an intern the next day and mailed the following. Curious if anyone who has actually received their scholarship letter looked at postmark date to see how it compared to date of statues checker "mailed" date. The wait continues.....

[jewelledhunter]

Has anyone tried negotiating scholarships, especially with non-T14 schools (thinking of UCLA and UT)?

[Redynsje]

Scholarship info finally arrived in the mail! I interviewed the first week in March.