Duke vs Cornell Forum

[Gigi225]

Hi all,
I've narrowed my acceptances Duke and Cornell and am having trouble making a decision. I'm not quite sure what area of law I want to practice yet (though right now I am leaning towards International law) but I do know that I'm not particularly interested in either a really big New York firm or working anywhere south of D.C. I've gotten comparable scholarships from both schools so the money is not really factoring into my decision. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

[existentialcrisis]

Hi all,
I've narrowed my acceptances Duke and Cornell and am having trouble making a decision. I'm not quite sure what area of law I want to practice yet (though right now I am leaning towards International law) but I do know that I'm not particularly interested in either a really big New York firm or working anywhere south of D.C. I've gotten comparable scholarships from both schools so the money is not really factoring into my decision. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

Generally speaking, I would just pick the cheaper of the two, because they are peer schools.

Geographically, there aren't really any sizable legal markets between NY and DC except maybe Delaware? Also, where are you from, because that matters if you're interested in secondary markets?

Also what do you mean by international law?

[Rigo]

What is the price tag for each?

[baseballfan660]

Hi all,
I've narrowed my acceptances Duke and Cornell and am having trouble making a decision. I'm not quite sure what area of law I want to practice yet (though right now I am leaning towards International law) but I do know that I'm not particularly interested in either a really big New York firm or working anywhere south of D.C. I've gotten comparable scholarships from both schools so the money is not really factoring into my decision. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

are you okay with brutal ithaca winters that last november to april? if so i'd say you can't go wrong with either school, but the climate can have a big effect on people.

[proteinshake]

Hi all,
I've narrowed my acceptances Duke and Cornell and am having trouble making a decision. I'm not quite sure what area of law I want to practice yet (though right now I am leaning towards International law) but I do know that I'm not particularly interested in either a really big New York firm or working anywhere south of D.C. I've gotten comparable scholarships from both schools so the money is not really factoring into my decision. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

are you okay with brutal ithaca winters that last november to april? if so i'd say you can't go wrong with either school, but the climate can have a big effect on people.

Duke is also going to have a lower COL.

[baseballfan660]

Hi all,
I've narrowed my acceptances Duke and Cornell and am having trouble making a decision. I'm not quite sure what area of law I want to practice yet (though right now I am leaning towards International law) but I do know that I'm not particularly interested in either a really big New York firm or working anywhere south of D.C. I've gotten comparable scholarships from both schools so the money is not really factoring into my decision. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

are you okay with brutal ithaca winters that last november to april? if so i'd say you can't go wrong with either school, but the climate can have a big effect on people.

Duke is also going to have a lower COL.

Cornell can be pretty cheap also! Live maybe 20 minutes of driving distance away from the campus and you would think you're in rural north Carolina except with more snow and ice. I assume if you live right next to duke it is similar to living right by Cornell and thus the rent will be higher right by the school.

[AnMzungu]

I assume if you live right next to duke it is similar to living right by Cornell and thus the rent will be higher right by the school.

Sad. Wrong.

[runinthefront]

Cornell can be pretty cheap also! Live maybe 20 minutes of driving distance away from the campus and you would think you're in rural north Carolina except with more snow and ice. I assume if you live right next to duke it is similar to living right by Cornell and thus the rent will be higher right by the school.

Maybe 1-5 law students, tops, live more than a ten minute drive away from Cornell's campus. I also don't think anyone at Cornell would suggest living that far away, as it truly is the middle of nowhere. I would guess that over 90% of the student body live within a twenty-minute walk/ten-minute drive from campus.

OP, the cost of living in Durham is much cheaper than the cost of living in Ithaca. I also think there are probably more things to do in Durham. That being said, I attend Cornell and don't think I would've enjoyed being at any other school more than I've enjoyed my time here. No regrets from me.

If you don't want to go to a big New York firm and don't wan't to live South of D.C., you'll probably end up targeting public interest work in D.C. (I can only assume that's what you mean by "international law"). If that's the case, I'd lean Duke, as the school feeds more students to D.C. than Cornell, even if a large part of that is due to self selection. But assuming the total cost of attendance are within a few thousand dollars of each other, I would probably just visit both schools and see which one I liked more.

[GOODWORKSTE]

Duke

[bokampers]

Datapoint for OP; I pay $907 for two bedroom apartment that is a 7 minute car ride from Duke. The apartment is not huge (900 sq ft), but is enough.

Most people here (if no roommates) pay $750-825ish for a solid one bedroom that is less than 10minutes away. Some spring for the luxury apts that are closer (like 5mins) which cost like $1100-1300 for a super nice 1br