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« on: April 20, 2005, 11:36:39 AM »
I am still in the middle of negotiating money from all three schools. So not taking into account scholarship money that I do not have yet...
which would you choose given these facts below:
1. Boyfriend with either be in San Diego if I choose USC (2 hours away), or St.Louis if I choose Duke/GULC (a timezone apart).
2. Generous offer already from Duke. Supposedly received money from USC, but it probably won't be (without negotiating) comparable to Duke's offer. GULC may or may not match the offer.
3. LA v. Durham v. DC (DC I am not thrilled about, however)
4. Interest in clerking (not sure how realistic this is, I've heard from some that it's very difficult to obtain a clerkship, others act like it's possible, rather than impossible) - interest in working in the public sector. Duke's loan repayment program is superb (isn't it??).
5. Small class size is a good thing - both USC and Duke offer that.
6. COL is lower in Durham. But, I truly think QOL is higher in LA. I really want to live in an apartment alone the first semester... and I would be able to do that at Duke, but may have to room with someone at USC.
7. Have a decent interest in practicing in California (my sister is there), but really don't want to commit to a city this early on. I just don't know. Duke and GULC degrees would travel relatively easily to Cali, no?
8. Professors are respectable at all three schools. Students at Duke seem down to earth - perhaps a bit homogenous. While students at USC/GULC seemed more diverse, and for me, seemed more upbeat. But given that I like a more personal environment, USC has the upper-hand over GULC.
Thoughts? Feel free to comment on GULC, but I'm really interested in USC v. Duke.
Anything you can comment on would be great. Because I am really undecided about where and what I want to practice, I am thinking that I need to make the choice that will leave my options open upon graduation - meaning go to a great school with many opportunities.