^^Northwestern LS is in one of the safest sections in Chicago. But I get not liking urban, over AA.
True but Chicago was too expensive relative to A2.
Duke University is far more ethnically diverse than Michigan:
Undergraduates
White: Duke 48%; Mich 63%
Black: D 10%; M 4%
Asian: D 21%; M 12%
Hispanic: D 7%; M 4%
International: D 10%; M 7%
American Indian: D 1%; M 0%
Not to mention that only 12% of Duke students are from NC, compared to the 66% of UM students that are from Michigan.
Defensor, Duke is basically an Ivy League school, in NC, and so it has Ivy demographics.
Your post does show why I’d pick Duke: its alumni network is likely more geographically dispersed.
Ah, another non ivy ivy. I agree that among the Southern “ivies,” including Vanderbilt, Emory, and Rice, Duke is well regarded.
Defensor: According to the Michigan Law website, in the 2014 entering class for Law School, only 20% were from Michigan. And tuition is only a few thousand dollars cheaper for in state so that is not a reason for Michiganders to go there. But I suppose you were considering the whole campus. Still, there are more than 34% out of state undergrads.
@2135ar Which school is your son leaning towards?
you Dook and Maize and Blue fanboys are hilarious. 
Jwest22: My son is leaning towards Michigan. He is a life long Wolverine fan (I went there undergrad and grad school), his brother is an undergrad there, and he loves the campus and the law school being in the thick of things. Yesterday he said: “Whenever I think of myself in law school, I imagine myself at Michigan.” His father and I aren’t happy with declining ratings and would push Duke if it were clearly a better school, but most advice is that there really isn’t much difference academically (and even by reputation it isn’t clear Duke as an edge) so it is fair to decide on personal choice.
Interesting thread. Our son just went through the same decision process with Michigan, Penn and Duke. He selected Duke based on several factors including smaller class sizes, area of specialty, geographic location, local cost of living, dual degree program admission, recruiting and employment in the Washington DC market, and most importantly to him, the scholarship offers. Now that he will become a Blue Devils fan I wonder if there is a market for used Hoya t-shirts from his undergrad days?
I am the OP and wanted to let any future readers know that my son chose Michigan. I see that the last poster’s son chose Duke. That shows how it is just a very personal decision. Academics and reputation seemed about the same so my son chose on other factors. He personally looks forward to the camaraderie he hears occurs with half the first year class living at the Law Quad, which is a beautiful facility. He is going directly from undergrad. Older students might prefer to live in an apartment and drive to school at Duke (not that you cannot live in an apartment at Michigan). Also, it may have never really been a fair choice because he has a Michigan family connection and has always been a Wolverine fan. Certainly NOT a reason to pick a law school, but because other things seemed equal it had an impact. He simply said: “Whenever I think of myself at law school, I think of myself at Michigan.” He really could not make a bad choice between the schools. If any future readers want to ask me questions about Michigan Law (next year for example) feel free to PM me.