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I have no idea what to do about whether to go to Duke or Georgetown. I have been offered the same amount in scholarship from both places. I need to give a decision by tomorrow. Any advice is more than welcome!

Duke because it's a smaller law school with lots of opportunities for dual degrees.

Georgetown because its in DC & is the largest law school in the country.

Without more information about your goals & interests, it's hard to offer tailored advice.

Duke is a pretty awesome place to go to school overall and like the other poster said, it's smaller (which is better in my opinion) and if you wanna get a joint JD/MBA, Fuqua is a great school itself with the type of culture you want in b-school.

Having gone to school in DC and Durham, it's true DC is a better city to live in but Durham isn't bad at all. You get to appreciate the type of atmosphere Durham has and DC is only a few hours away so you can go during weekends if you want to.

Best of all, it's a great feeling to have people say they hate Duke and not like you for going to Duke. Seriously it feels good b/c people are just stupid and have no idea have great Duke really is.

I had a similar decision and have chosen Duke. The visit was much more personal at Duke and I really liked the atmosphere. I got to meet with Dean Hoye and he was really cool. Plus, I found an apartment complex close by that has a lot of law students that seems really nice. It'll take some time to figure out the parts of Durham to avoid and the ones to go to, but DC would have the same challenges. That's why I'm going to Duke.

Additionally, if unhappy after your first year of law school, it's probably easier to transfer to Georgetown from Duke (transferring down) (transferring from small/medium to large) than the reverse.

Thanks for your help. My big issues are that Georgetown has on-campus housing for the first year and I would not have to deal with parking (and it would be a lot more convenient), whereas Duke does not have on-campus housing and I heard the parking is awful. Also, I am concerned about the class size at Georgetown and how it would impact job prospects vs Duke's class size.

arielvictorial wrote:Thanks for your help. My big issues are that Georgetown has on-campus housing for the first year and I would not have to deal with parking (and it would be a lot more convenient), whereas Duke does not have on-campus housing and I heard the parking is awful. Also, I am concerned about the class size at Georgetown and how it would impact job prospects vs Duke's class size.

Those are valid concerns. It's true that DC is great b/c you can walk or take metro everywhere. On-campus housing may seem great for 1L but after that you'll have to find your own place. Living in Durham is a lot less expensive and the types of housing you get find are a lot better in Durham. Parking near Duke Law is a pain if you get there late but you can always try to sneak into the green zone (which is one of the biggest lots which I think is shared by Law and Fuqua) or park at the Washington Duke (it's a hotel and golf course that's a 5-7 min walk to law school but you would have to sneak in there as well. Basically, parking can be a pain to a degree but there's going to be a spot somewhere as long as you're patient.

Duke degree is more portable in my opinion whereas Gtown kids are fighting for DC more than anywhere else with themselves, GW kids and all the other kids who want DC. DC is a pretty saturated market. I've heard kids in top 20% at Gtown can't get biglaw in DC b/c of the pure volume of graduates who flood DC. NC on the other hand is a little less of a hotspot and your competition is basically UNC.

Things like parking shouldn't be why you pick one school over another. In the end, I think you'll find Duke is a better option than Gtown for long term.

Also, in terms of things like food, Durham is actually overall better than DC. Pizza and chinese food are infinitely better in Durham as odd as that may sound, things like steakhouses/deli/sushi are similar enough and can't beat BBQ in NC. Depending on your fast food habit, Durham is way better than DC as well. Durham also has things like Whole Foods and other health conscious type of places if that's your thing. The only thing DC beats Durham in for food is ethnic foods along the lines of things like Ethiopian, Arab, etc.

ran12 wrote:can't beat BBQ in NC. .

Having lived in both Durham, NC as well as Kansas City, I cannot emphasize enough how false this is.

Food in Durham is pretty good but you're overselling it a little bit, I think.

ran12 wrote:can't beat BBQ in NC

I still don't understand NC BBQ. It just doesn't do it for me, at all. Gimme Texas or KC; you all can keep your vinegar.

Also, yeah, go to Duke.

Edit: Looks like I was beat to the punch on the NC BBQ thing.

What would be the total cost of attendance for you at each?

Also, where do you want to work and what states do you have ties to? Both are excellent for secondary markets, and so the issue is what major markets are targeting?

You wanted want to walk into OCI with the other thousand people median kids competing for the same jerbs.

ConfidenceMan2 wrote:

ran12 wrote:can't beat BBQ in NC. .

Having lived in both Durham, NC as well as Kansas City, I cannot emphasize enough how false this is.

Food in Durham is pretty good but you're overselling it a little bit, I think.

I meant compared to DC BBQ places. Sorry for any confusion. I do agree KC BBQ is better than NC.