I have lived in Colorado my whole life and I can tell you my own personal thoughts on the two schools. It basically boils down like this-DU has always had a really great reputation in Colorado. Everyone I know thinks of DU as an elite college with really really smart kids. On the other hand, CU has always been known as the party school, they always seem to show up in the news for deaths from alchohol poisoning or football rape cases. Basically CU is known as a hippie party school. Although it is true they are currently raned higher than DU, I bet that any Colorado native would be surprised to hear that. Very surprised! SO it is a tough call. I think if you want to stay in Colorado, DU is almost a better choice.
Your personal thoughts suck.
nice dirk, niiiiiice.
One perception on prestige is just a terrible way to gauge this choice. Okay, I guess for a more articulate answer, I’d say it’s not clear cut, more of a personal preference issue.
For CU:
1. It’s way cheaper
2. It’s a solid Tier1, and with a new building and solid faculty – will stay that way if not improve. (has also been rising up USNWR last 3 yrs)
3. Places solidly in CO business, very well with judges and govt (research state supreme court, other judges, DA’s, the Governor…)
4. It has a WAY better bar passage rate (this point really matters)
5. Boulder is beautiful, closer to recreation
Against CU:
1. Pretty awful state funding sources, high dependency on student $$
2. Business placement should be stronger - given ranking
3. “Party School” perception of undergrad – but this is debatable, yes there are alcohol deaths, police issues, etc..but also 4 nobel prizes in the last decade, nationally ranked programs, Enviro programs galore, Byron White Center
4. Average salary should be better
For DU:
1. Better Law School building (they’re pretty similar, but DU has a nice feel)
2. Business connections in Denver – top 25% to top 10% place very well in big Denver firms.
3. Healthy funding from school, perception of “elite” school.
4. Denver is a fun city, seat of govt, etc…
5. Steady rise up the 2nd Tier for a few years now, no reason to believe they’ll stop getting better.
6. Perception advantages – maybe this helps with dates or family, but people who know law probably don’t care at all.
Against DU:
1. Very expensive, given the fairly low starting salary for those not in the top 25%
2. Tier 2
3. Terrible bar passage rates
4. From purely anecdotal evidence (take this with a grain of salt) the career services placement dept. is not very helpful if you’re below the top 25%ile of the class. (however I have no evidence CU is any better)
Given these choices, if I were considering CU or DU, I would go with CU straight up or DU with a healthy scholarship. However with both, it’s important to place well in your class, take advantage of summer internships, and make an effort to expand networking skills. With this last point in mind, I return to my original comment, that it’s a personal preference issue: Generally speaking, the happier you are, the better you will do. Placement is important with regional schools. Don’t take CU if you hate Boulder, it might affect your performance. Ditto with DU. Also, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be going to either school, which very many prospective law students will be unable to attend.
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