Head-to-head · 61 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 57% chose UCBerkeley. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 61 self-reported decisions and ABA 509 filings.
Choice, not ranking
These are decisions, not opinions. Scholarship offers, location, intended practice, and personal fit are all priced into the split.
Cross-admit decision
Chose Duke
Typical aid · ABA 509 · 2025
per yearCross-admits who enrolled · self-reported, 3-yr award
View all-time (218 cross-admits)
Trend · Duke's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2025 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price and scholarship aid 2025 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2025 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Overview
About Duke vs UCBerkeley
Across 61 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 43% enrolled at Duke University and 57% at University of California—Berkeley. The split has shifted +36 points across the tracked cycles.
These numbers reflect every factor that goes into a real decision: scholarship offers, geographic preference, intended practice area, and fit. Choosing one school doesn't mean it's "better" — it means the pool of cross-admits, weighing their options, ended up there more often. Pair this with the scholarship distribution and employment outcomes above for full context.
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Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares Duke University and University of California—Berkeley across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 61 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 61 applicants admitted to both schools, 57% chose to attend University of California—Berkeley. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, Duke University is ranked #7 compared to #16 — a gap of 9 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina, while University of California—Berkeley is in Berkeley, California. Regional placement matters: graduates tend to find employment near their law school, so location should factor into your decision alongside rankings and cost.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: Duke University places 70.9% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 57.2% for the other school. This 14 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
On cost, University of California—Berkeley has lower tuition at $62,532 per year compared to $80,100. Combined with employment rates of 99.6% (Duke) and 97.9% (UCBerkeley), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.
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