So I've pretty much made up my mind on Duq. I deposited yesterday, but not without some
serious review and consideration. I come from a family of lawyers, both parents went to Seton Hall Law actually (
which I've not heard from, don't really have a shot, and felt that I never would before my deposit deadline at Duq. came around on April 1). They are partners at big firms and run their respective practices within them. Offices are in NYC, Jersey, Philly & Miami. I have great realationships with a large number of the partners, and pretty much grew up in those offices. They all say that Duquesne is my best bet, has a strong Christian tradition (if that's important at all??), and they hire from that school (You can see where else I applied, I'm laxerlager on lawschoolnumbers too). This much I gathered from my visit there in January, where virtually every person (including all the cabbies whose cabs I rode in) said that Duquesne was a great law school. I am also doing the MBA there too which I've heard and read is a phenomenal program and has a great reputation in the northeast.
Actually, because I said I was going to Duquesne, I've already landed a job for THIS SUMMER with a firm in Morristown, NJ as a "Summer Associate." The firm is small, but they like Duq's rep and said that SHU, Rutgers and Duq were all fine schools. Furthermore, I looked up all the major Pittsburgh firms on
http://www.nalpdirectory.com/. The salaries really aren't as low as people think they are out there in Pitt. All the major firms not only visit and hire from Duq, but together they average a base of around $90-100K. It's not New York or Boston (where I grew up and go to school now), but I can deal with that in the long run.
All and all, I realize my portrayal of the school may seem a little biased since I'm pretty much going there, but at least I can share with those who are borderline some of the thought process that went into it. I guess I could hold out for 'Cuse (where I am waitlisted), but the money spent to go there CAN'T actually be worth it, nor can Syracuse as a town. Their finance office is budgeting like 55K+ for one year alone. Plus, they were in the same boat as Duq. was last year in the rankings. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but my response may be very delayed since I am really never on this site. Good Luck.