Dear all,
You may find my question boring...but it's really hard choice for me. Could you guys help me on my decision, considering reputation and student life.

Best regard.

Where the equities are equal... (Since you are having a hard time)

So, choose

1. The cheaper option AND/OR
2. The Uni that offered you first

KCL had better reputation

depends where you want to practice afterwards, but I would KCL is more prestigious.

KCL.....for sure.

Thank you so much everyone!!!
Actually I want to go to Duke for its great campus life(heard from people in this board and also from its alumni) but KCL is way more cheaper but I've heard from someone that studying there isn't so much fun, is it true?
Also, I don't know which institution is more prestigious but you guys have alsredy clarified it to me.


Thank you very much !

The whole experience of an LLM in the US is worth while.

Kings is in the middle of the city and it is not as fun as a campus such as Duke. I would have thought that the class at duke would be more laid back as opposed to the much more competitive environment at Kings.

Plus you can always go to Kings at a later stage. If you have this one opportunity to go to the US to study just go. You will have a blast. !!! Don't regret it later..

At let me add. Duke law is a top ten school in the US. It is one of the finest law schools in America. Opportunities there are certainly good. I would say Duke without a shadow of doubt.

Reputation..in the end people are just relying in a name why? Everyone goes to Kings but I am not sure how many people can actually go to Duke.

Reputation? Most people might not want to be told in the future that they are crap? and therefore rely on a name to boost ego (sorry but some people actually do this).

Go to Duke! a US LLM is a great great experience.

Kings Sucks... Only loosers go to Kings - In UK just LSE, OX and Cambridge are worth it.

Maybe if you want to spend one year travelling around europe and do a weak course (vacations) King is the right one.

If you want a strong legal education go to Duke.

That is it....

Where are you from BTW?

Cheers

Thank you so much plethora, CR1, banker3, ironman, wheretogo_ and LSE_2010 for your kindness helping me on my decision.

Wheretogo_,I've found your reason is really interesting.

LSE_2010, I am from China. I have read your previous post, so you chose LSE over CLS and Penn, right?

Cheers!

I ve sent you a PM.....

It is a personal choice. You have to keep in mind your goals and etc...

LSE is a great univesity though...

LSE for law is a joke...KCL or UCL are the only 2 worth going to (except Oxbridge)

Banker3 ... You are a joke man... You dont have a clue what you are talking about... KCL, QMUL and UCL are shit in comparision to any TOP 10 US law school.

The only thing whort it in the UK is OX, LSE and Cambridge (for law)....

LSE is overrated for law. I would choose UCL or KCL over it any day!

KCL/UCL any day....and between those 2 , it depends on your specialization

It must be a joke. you can never compare a TOP 10 US law school with UCL or KCL.

you guys are from UK or India, thas why, or you all work at KCL / UCl.

This is bullshit. Duke is far better!!! Do not do that to a fellow applicant in doubt.

nop KCL is better

After reading such impolite posts Ive felt an urge to barge in first of all, let us all try being a little more polite and sophisticated round here, please. Secondly, if you allow me to use a more unpolished word, this discussion is rubbish. I feel this thread has gone beyond reasonable arguments and has become a warehouse for people to send in their opinions (which are most of the times premised on emotional feelings rather than reason).

When you reach a certain level, like the one we find ourselves right now, its really all about personal choices. Duke, of course, is a great university and law school. A US News top 10 school and definitely a great choice for someone who feels like going to the US. On the other hand, KCL, UCL and LSE are also excellent schools (whether in law or in any other given subject). All of them (I mean, Duke, KCL, UCL and LSE) are ranked amongst the best universities in the world (whichever rank you choose, youll always find them there) and its hard to find that kind of quality teaching anywhere else across the globe. So you cant go wrong with either one of them.

In my humble opinion (which Im trying to put into words in the most polite fashion possible), in choosing a university prospective students must take account of several different factors. In my case, for instance, the price has had a major impact on my decision. And so has the location. Ive always dreamt of moving to Europe. My family crossed the ocean more than fifty years ago coming from Portugal and Ive been planning out my life in an attempt to do the exact opposite and go back to Portugal. One other thing that Ive considered is the visa issue. In Europe, because of my background, I wont have this problem (unlike what would happen if I'd applied to US universities).

What Im trying to say is: all the universities youve been so eagerly standing up for are great schools and wherever our colleague decides to go, he/she will come into contact with great academics and with people from all over the world. If you really want to help him/her, instead of writing feelings based on personal choices (sometimes in a rather impolite way), why dont you all try looking for facts that support your argument? And if you whilst looking for such facts dont come across any, just admit to your fellow LLM Guide colleagues (and to yourselves) that youve decided for one or the other due to personal reasons. I admit: My decision to go to UCL is based solely on personal reasons... my brother, who went to Columbia in the US, bugged me about it, but I've stuck to what I want and now I'm off to UCL.

And finally, to sum it up, by facts I mean: academics profiles, works conducted at the law school, campus conditions (though this one has already been mentioned), career perspectives, employment rates and this sort of thing.

Nonetheless, in the end, the decision will really come down to what the person wants. And given that were talking mainly about the difference between US-based LLMs and UK-based LLMs, considering these are rather different programmes, itll really depend on personal choices and profile of each student. I wouldnt go to the US for nothing but thats me and thats my exclusively personal opinion.

Beicon you made a sensible comment, as usual!

I am wondering why someone would waste his time applying for QMUL, KCL etc if he thinks it is shit.
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/60339/2#post-82938

Of course Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Yale are at another level. And it is well known that LSE is not at the same position. IN LAW LSE is excellent of course, same level of KCL and UCL, it can be higher or lower depending on the specialization (as someone said).

Someone must have studied at UCL/KCL and at one of the top 10 us unis to say that you cant compare them.

If I had money to study in the US I would just go to Yale, HLS, CLS, Penn and NYU, otherwise it wouldn´tbe worth the money (in my very personal opinion), would rather go to the UK.

Kings Sucks... Only loosers go to Kings - In UK just LSE, OX and Cambridge are worth it.

Maybe if you want to spend one year travelling around europe and do a weak course (vacations) King is the right one.

If you want a strong legal education go to Duke.

That is it....

Where are you from BTW?

Cheers

A quick thought - I am not familiar with the Duke LLM program specifically, but most US LLMs are tacked on to the JD program without a whole lot of thought. This is probably good if what you want is mingling among the JD students and taking a lot of courses that do not assume specialized knowledge. But if you want somewhere with a more focused LLM program, KCL is probably the way to go. Again, it all depends on what you want.

Also, I would really think about the environment in which you want to be. At KCL, you will be in the middle of London, a huge metropolitan city with lots to do and lots of different sorts of people, while Duke is in more of a college town in the American South. Duke might work better if you don't want many distractions (and is certainly less expensive after tuition), but some people would feel stifled there.