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<p>But you said it yourself - when it’s close, they will tend to prefer their own hometown law school. Sure, I agree that few Californians would prefer Berkeley Boalt Law over Harvard Law, but what if it isn’t Harvard Law we’re talking about, but rather something like Duke Law, or Cornell Law, or Northwestern Law or UPenn Law? Strictly speaking these law schools are ranked higher than Boalt is (at least in USNews). But if you are from the Bay Area and had the choice of staying there and paying in-state tuition, or going to one of those other law schools, what would you do? I think many people, probably the majority, would simply choose to go to Boalt.</p>
<p>Basically, a private law school has to be significantly better than your local public law school for you to prefer it.</p>