Duke vs UVA vs GULC

[Duke or U Va or Georgetown]

Duke  or U Va or Georgetown

Duke

 1 (8.3%)

GULC

 2 (16.7%)

UVA

 9 (75%)

Total Members Voted: 12

[jlb]

My son was accepted at all three and has aid offers that may be comparable (still waiting on offer from GULC)He is out of the country and I am searching for feedback from others.  He is too far away to visit to decide.  Would love to hear from folks who went to any of the above about their happiness or lack of at any of these three law schools.

[chisoxindc]

JLB - tough question without more information.  All are in a very similar class and all are good schools.

Does your son have a particular kind of law he is interested in studying?
Does your son have a preference for larger schools or smaller schools?
Does your son have a preference for a city or a college town?
Do you know where your son might want to practive upon graduation?

[StudentUVA]

GULC should be out of his consideration given that he has been accepted to smaller/better schools (unless he has some strong preference for GULC or DC).

Between Duke and UVA, it's a tougher call. UVA is more prestigious and is considered to be a traditional top 10 school. But Duke is a great school as well.
The big thing that in my view separates the two schools (at least to me) is that Duke's legal writing class is actually graded. This is a terrible policy, and most students hate it. Believe me, you dont want to be editing your memo for the 50th time on the eve of exams. It's just too stressful.

Overally, I'd pick UVA. But i am a little biased.

[Hammerstein]

JLB - tough question without more information.  All are in a very similar class and all are good schools.

Does your son have a particular kind of law he is interested in studying?
Does your son have a preference for larger schools or smaller schools?
Does your son have a preference for a city or a college town?
Do you know where your son might want to practive upon graduation?

These questions are crucial.  It doesn't matter what any of the forum posters here think if your son has a particular preference in any of these areas.

Personally, I think UVA is his best bet, but if he wants a big city, UVA isn't such a good idea.

[Duke2l]

Between Duke and UVA - go where you feel comfortable. The cultures of the two schools are very different. I chose Duke but there are definitely reasons to choose UVA. While UVA is traditionally better respected, the difference certainly hasn't impacted my job prospects in California or my fellow students in DC or NY.

As for the graded legal writing, the memos and briefs are due at the midpoint of the semester so there is no conflict with finals. While I hated that they were graded as a 1L, it does force you to take it a little more seriously.

GULC is a different type of school. Personally, the size wasn't appealing to me. Sure there are great opportunities in DC, but I've never felt like I was missing out in Durham and I suspect people in Charlottesville feel the same.

 

[cantwaitforuva]

I was accepted to all three as well and had no problem choosing UVA - it was the best fit for me. I currently live in DC and love it, but GULC is such a large school and it is not as collegial. My problem with Duke was a dislike for the area, plus it was far from DC, which I would like to be near. I basically fell in love with UVA. It is known to be very collegial and one of the least stressful of the top schools and everyone I met was amazing. Plus, UVA is only 2 hours from DC, so I could return often and it places very well in DC firms.