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Unless you're dead set on NYC, no. Long term stats show that MVPBDNC are largely peers.

Dook is definitely the right answer. I don't think that the 15% gap has been sustained of a long period, historically I think it's been a lot narrower.

Back in the day (2009), the gap was as narrow as 1%. It seems to have been consistently >10% since the economy collapsed though.

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 2443758843

Don't forget these numbers are for graduating 3Ls, so they trail SA hiring by a solid 2 years.

I have to agree with everyone else so far. Duke, UVA, and Penn are basically peer schools so it makes sense to follow the money. Even if you say Penn is slightly better, I don't think it's $60k better.

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It sounds like you really don't want to go to Duke/live in the south. So you might as well cross Duke and UVA off the list. I guess hope that Penn gives you money, or else retake and hope for better results next cycle.

People have told you the objective calculus between your 3 options. If "not living in the south" for 3 years is worth $60,000 to you, then go for it.

The research triangle is fairly liberal, or so I'm told.

Duke is probably the right call here for anyone who is not set on NYC or Philly. That being said, as another poster already mentioned, if you dislike the South so much that you would pay $60K not to go there, UPenn it is.

Right, but we don't know why OP doesn't like the south, or which parts of the south OP has visited. "The south" is an incredibly broad term; Durham and Charlottesville aren't exactly Mississippi. But if OP is opposed to the south in general (for reasons unknown), then it's gotta be Penn, or I guess UCLA with a hefty scholarship.

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Dude hasn't even gotten off the WL at Penn or UVA.

Getting off a WL is extremely unlikely unless you're just a late applicant with strong numbers, in which case it makes sense to wait out a cycle so that you can be competitive for merit scholarships.

Duke with 60k sounds like a pretty good deal, unless your numbers indicate you should have gotten a lot more.

ETA: Looks like OP should be happy with what he's got. 3.6/171 is not in line for money at Penn, and it's surprising he even got $60k at Duke.

Then why have you narrowed it down to Duke? What about Columbia, Cornell, or NYU? Or even GULC? ... Were these options?

Meh, for various reasons I've decided against GULC and Cornell, I'm waiting to hear back from NYU (though it's doubtful), and I assumed I was a no go at Columbia.

And yeah, bdubs, I'm not expecting money at Penn, and I am rather surprised Duke offered what they did (I didn't even think I was going to get in when I initially applied, but that was purely based off of LSP).

Well if you don't like schools in your preferred region and have limited your options to a school in a location you dislike, there's not much more to say. It sounds like you're not happy with your current options but believe Duke is the best of the worst. I guess either retake or just hope to get off a WL. Nothing more you can do.