Head-to-head · 60 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 58% chose UCBerkeley. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 60 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 UCBerkeley
Median scholarship (chose UCBerkeley)
Median scholarship (chose Duke)
View all-time (217 cross-admits)
Trend · UCBerkeley's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2026 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price, scholarships, and debt burden 2026 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 UCBerkeley vs Duke
Across 60 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 58% enrolled at University of California—Berkeley and 42% at Duke University. The split has shifted -31 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.
Looking at a different matchup? Browse all comparisons or run a custom pair from the index.
Compare another pair
Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares University of California—Berkeley and Duke University across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 60 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 60 applicants admitted to both schools, 58% 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.
University of California—Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California, while Duke University is in Durham, North Carolina. 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.