Scholly vs higher ranking Forum

[WVUUG2012]

Hey all. I have put in about 12 applications in so far. i have only heard back from a few of them. one is the infamous Florida Coastal. before everyone on here jumps on me, i know the risks of ttt and tttt. my question is should i take what is basically a full ride to coastal or go to a t3 with less $ or a t1 or t2 with no money? and once again please spare me the "just dont go" or "you are better off killing yourself" or any else of this nature

[Tiago Splitter]

Don't forget the extremely tight stipulations schools put on their scholarships.

Which other schools are options and where do you want to end up?

[gaud]

depends on a lot of things.

where do you want to live?

which t1 and/or t2 schools?

EDIT: damn Tiago beat me to it

[WVUUG2012]

the other schools i have applied to are hostra cuny nyls syracuse penn st mich st and depaul. I would love to live in nyc or chi but i know that can be very expensive (grew up in chicago). i would have to maintain a 2.8 gpa at coastal to keep my scholly 2L. 30 grand a year in scholarship $ is hard to turn down but id much rather attend school elsewhere

[WVUUG2012]

Coastal was just a fall back school. i had no idea i would receive such a significant sum of money

[gaud]

without knowing your stats it's going to be hard to tell which decision is 'best'


personally I would go somewhere other than Coastal but it still depends on other factors. what would be your total cost of attendance at one of your t1 or t2 options?? sticker? maybe a little scholly $ ?

[Tiago Splitter]

the other schools i have applied to are hostra cuny nyls syracuse penn st mich st and depaul. I would love to live in nyc or chi but i know that can be very expensive (grew up in chicago). i would have to maintain a 2.8 gpa at coastal to keep my scholly 2L. 30 grand a year in scholarship $ is hard to turn down but id much rather attend school elsewhere

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... GPA_curves

Coastal curves to a 2.5.

I'd stay away. Try to get money from a different school and with looser stips.

[TheZoid]

Personally I think none of those schools give you great prospects, and given that you need to take the money. Coastal may not be the best option, but maybe a TTT with $$ or $$$ if possible would be best. Going to a T1 or T2 at sticker is risky, as you will have to finish way up there in your class to get a viable job and manage the pile of debt that comes with sticker. Not saying you couldn't do it, but it's unlikely and I think it would be a poor decision give your circumstances. Go to a TTT in your region with money and hope for the best.

[zanda]

the other schools i have applied to are hostra cuny nyls syracuse penn st mich st and depaul. I would love to live in nyc or chi but i know that can be very expensive (grew up in chicago). i would have to maintain a 2.8 gpa at coastal to keep my scholly 2L. 30 grand a year in scholarship $ is hard to turn down but id much rather attend school elsewhere

None of those schools are worth sticker.


I'd retake the LSAT or consider options other than law. You may not like this response, but I give it honestly as a 3L at a top 6 school with lots of friends above median, some top quarter, still looking for work.

If you're going to disregard the previous paragraph, at least go somewhere cheaply, preferably in an area that doesn't have tons of other law schools.

[CanadianWolf]

OP: What are your numbers ?

The best generic advice is don't attend any law school outside of the Top 17 unless on scholarship or paying in-state tuition at a low cost public law school. Inherent in this advice is the recommendation to retake the LSAT until you earn a scholarship at a non-Top-17 or get admitted to your state's public law school.

[Br3v]

OP: What are your numbers ?

The best generic advice is don't attend any law school outside of the Top 17 unless on scholarship or paying in-state tuition at a low cost public law school. Inherent in this advice is the recommendation to retake the LSAT until you earn a scholarship at a non-Top-17 or get admitted to your state's public law school.

+1
Are you content owning your own small practice? If so, I guess if you could graduate with no debt...........

[20130312]

"just dont go" or "you are better off killing yourself"

[WVUUG2012]

3.1/153. i took the lsat blind without any studying so i could easily improve my score need be. does it matter that my father is an executive a major corp that can get me in the door? he said a degree is a degree and if i have one there is a job for me. thanks for the help

[ryemanhattan]

3.1/153. i took the lsat blind without any studying so i could easily improve my score need be. does it matter that my father is an executive a major corp that can get me in the door? he said a degree is a degree and if i have one there is a job for me. thanks for the help

Yes, if you have a job waiting for you, a degree is just a hurdle you need to get over. And with your gpa, you aren't likely to get much of a scholarship anywhere, so retaking, if you dont care where you are going, is pointless.

If you want other options in life, aside from the job you'll be handed, you may want to reconsider, but in this economy I would say screw it and roll with the nepotism.

[zanda]

3.1/153. i took the lsat blind without any studying so i could easily improve my score need be. does it matter that my father is an executive a major corp that can get me in the door? he said a degree is a degree and if i have one there is a job for me. thanks for the help

Yes, if you have a job waiting for you, a degree is just a hurdle you need to get over. And with your gpa, you aren't likely to get much of a scholarship anywhere, so retaking, if you dont care where you are going, is pointless.

If you want other options in life, aside from the job you'll be handed, you may want to reconsider, but in this economy I would say screw it and roll with the nepotism.

I disagree with the bolded. A high 160 (or better... very possible given a 153 blind) would drastically improve the schools OP gets into and the schools likely to give OP money. I generally agree with you though that if he really has a job guaranteed it's not a huge deal where he goes, but figured I'd post my disagreement in case there are folks with similar numbers, but with non-powerful parents, who are reading this.

[CanadianWolf]

Getting in the door for a courtesy interview is not the same as a guaranteed job in a major corporation's law dept.

Retake the LSAT & restrict your law applications to Tier One & select Tier Two law schools which are in your geographic preference region.

[zanda]

Getting in the door for a courtesy interview is not the same as a guaranteed job in a major corporation's law dept.

Retake the LSAT & restrict your law applications to Tier One & select Tier Two law schools which are in your geographic preference region.

Yeah, it depends on what he meant by "get me in the door" and "there is a job for me." Based on the latter I assumed he was getting more than just an interview, but that could be wrong.

[Grizz]

"just dont go" or "you are better off killing yourself"

As soon as I read the OP, this is what I wanted to do. Don't go to FL Coastal, ever, and don't pay anywhere near sticker for those other schools.

[yeff]

i took the lsat blind without any studying

Study, then retake.

[Tiago Splitter]

Any "major corporation" likely to survive for at least three more years will have a strict policy against nepotism.

[romothesavior]

None of the above. You are committing financial/career suicide either way. Absent a T10 or a big scholarship, you are making a terrible investment. It's a simple numbers game.

[timbs4339]

Why can't your parents pay for law school?

[Fark-o-vision]

I think there is a little too much reactionary discussion here most of the time. Generally, the schools you mentioned aren't great, but a legal education is a legal education and if you have a plan, you have a plan.

For instance, A friend of mine makes 300K plus a year working on DUI cases almost exclusively. He worked for a long time to cultivate relationships with police officers and bar owners for their referrals, and went to a school with a strong name locally. I'm sure he was still lucky/more charismatic than you can honestly count on being, but it was his plan from the start and it has worked. It doesn't hurt that he was able to live with his parents while he set up his practice, or that his mom and dad would pay his rent when he couldn't on the office, or that he trained a paralegal from the ground.

To be honest, the worse the school, the harder you make it for yourself. It isn't that its impossible, or that you can't do that, but it makes it that much harder. Add in that people almost always over estimate their own abilities and you are left with:

TLS Answer One: Retake

[nsbane]

3.1/153. i took the lsat blind without any studying so i could easily improve my score need be. does it matter that my father is an executive a major corp that can get me in the door? he said a degree is a degree and if i have one there is a job for me. thanks for the help

if you have a dad who can get you a job, why are you going to law school?

[sparty99]

the other schools i have applied to are hostra cuny nyls syracuse penn st mich st and depaul. I would love to live in nyc or chi but i know that can be very expensive (grew up in chicago). i would have to maintain a 2.8 gpa at coastal to keep my scholly 2L. 30 grand a year in scholarship $ is hard to turn down but id much rather attend school elsewhere

All these law schools suck, unless Syracuse, PSU, MSU, or DePaul gives you a full-ride scholarship with no gpa stipulations. But even still, you would have to do extremely well to be competitive for jobs.

You need to retake. Why would you not even study for the LSAT?! Parents know nothing about law school. They think a law degree is prestigous and it will make you more "marketable." A degree isn't just a degree.

Also, if your dad can get you a job, why are you going to law school?