The law school itself has a very small endowment. Precisely how much is hard to say, but Levy says it's about 67% the size of UVa's (per capita) and about 20% the size of HLS's (per capita).creedbratton wrote:the school does have great resources (just compare endowments across schools, Duke's is right up there with most of them). but I think that the real key is their small class size. they can afford to be more generous because they have fewer people to hand money out to in the first placeWhatCouldHaveBeen wrote:Sorry if this makes me a troll since I'm a WLer (but hopeful!) but this seems like the right place to ask :
What's up with Duke's amazing % of students who get some form of scholarship/merit/need aid/grants/etc., whatever you wanna call it? I saw 85% in one place and 84% and 86% in another. Below is one comparison from another thread, I think it's a year old but you get the point. I've also heard anecdotally that it's quite common for even those getting in off PR and WL to get some $$ at duke (and of course I'm hoping that's the case given that's my personal situation!!).
In short, why is Duke so awesome? Are they filthy rich? Do they give out smaller amounts to more people? I'm dying to know why this is the case, and I also think it's interesting this isn't more vocally mentioned in general when Duke law comes up. This seems to me an amazing selling point and a great reflection on Duke Law overall.
(Note: I think the below is a year old, would love updates # if anyone has them)
Students Receiving Grants
1. Duke 85.3%
2. Michigan 71.9%
3. Chicago 64.3%
4. Yale 57.6%
5. Berkeley 57.6%
6. Stanford 53.6%
7. Penn 48.6%
8. Cornell 47.7%
9. Harvard 47.5%
10. Columbia 45.7%
11. Northwestern 39.7%
12. UVA 37.2%
13. NYU 37.1%
14. Georgetown 33.2%
I'm guessing they must get subsidized by the broader university. Or maybe David Rubenstein.
ETA: Small class size is a double-edged sword, financial aid-wise. While it does mean that you have fewer people to give scholarships, you also have fewer people paying full tuition. Often, money for scholarships comes from students paying full tuition. I think it's less often the case that schools dip substantially into their endowments to provide scholarships.
