Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long) Forum

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Rye Shannon

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Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by Rye Shannon » Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:47 am

I am not a traditional law school applicant. I already have more than enough money to pay for law school (previous employment with the fed, inheritance, the stock market, supportive wife with a job that would allow relocation) and I have also received partial scholarships. Debt is not an issue.

I want to either work in federal law enforcement, be an attorney for a federal law enforcement agency, or be a prosecutor. I have decided on law school because it would at least give me the option to do all of the above.

Location is one of my biggest concerns when it comes to school selection. I am aware that MOST law schools are regional so naturally I want to attend a school that will allow me to work in an area of the country that I actually want to live in just in case the feds are not hiring in 3 years.

Slightly more promising employment prospects and an overall desire to live in the west are the reasons behind my interest in many western schools (Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah), but I am hesitant to attend any of these schools because I do not have any connection to these areas...

I do have a strong connection to the Kentucky/Tennessee area, which has me leaning towards Louisville. I know job prospects there are not exactly outstanding so that is what makes me hesitant there...

I do not really want to live in Michigan, but Michigan State has given me a pretty good deal and I have been told by previous supervisors with the federal law enforcement agency that I worked for that sometimes the name and rank look best when it comes to applying with a federal agency. I would say that MSU is the biggest "name" that I have gotten into so far...

So taking my specific interests and circumstances into consideration, should I just go with the biggest and highest ranked school that I get into? Should I go with the area I know? Or should I uproot and move west based on employment research and love for the area?

I am still waiting to hear from Penn State, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Advice and opinions are appreciated!

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Dr. Dre

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by Dr. Dre » Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:55 am

Rye Shannon wrote: Debt is not an issue.
Michigan state. But if you want to accomplish your goals, retake.

AllezOM

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by AllezOM » Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:28 am

Rye Shannon wrote:I am not a traditional law school applicant. I already have more than enough money to pay for law school (previous employment with the fed, inheritance, the stock market, supportive wife with a job that would allow relocation) and I have also received partial scholarships. Debt is not an issue.

I want to either work in federal law enforcement, be an attorney for a federal law enforcement agency, or be a prosecutor. I have decided on law school because it would at least give me the option to do all of the above.

Location is one of my biggest concerns when it comes to school selection. I am aware that MOST law schools are regional so naturally I want to attend a school that will allow me to work in an area of the country that I actually want to live in just in case the feds are not hiring in 3 years.

Slightly more promising employment prospects and an overall desire to live in the west are the reasons behind my interest in many western schools (Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah), but I am hesitant to attend any of these schools because I do not have any connection to these areas...

I do have a strong connection to the Kentucky/Tennessee area, which has me leaning towards Louisville. I know job prospects there are not exactly outstanding so that is what makes me hesitant there...

I do not really want to live in Michigan, but Michigan State has given me a pretty good deal and I have been told by previous supervisors with the federal law enforcement agency that I worked for that sometimes the name and rank look best when it comes to applying with a federal agency. I would say that MSU is the biggest "name" that I have gotten into so far...

So taking my specific interests and circumstances into consideration, should I just go with the biggest and highest ranked school that I get into? Should I go with the area I know? Or should I uproot and move west based on employment research and love for the area?

I am still waiting to hear from Penn State, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Advice and opinions are appreciated!
I am a Federal Law enforcement officer so I will give my 2 cents. Rankings are irrelevant when applying to non attorney law enforcement positions. As long as your school is accredited you are good to go. As I mentioned on another thread, most of our new hires had 1) prior military or 2) prior local LEO experience and a lot had both. Even with a JD you are going to need to bring something extra to the table.

Are there any part-time programs where you are currently? A lot of agents/officers I know have gone that route and have parlayed it into some pretty sweet gigs. I got into some good schools but I honestly do not think I would quit my federal gig unless I had a full ride at a T 14.

Rye Shannon

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by Rye Shannon » Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:46 am

I am no longer with the fed. It was temporary and I worked mostly in the budget department. I applied for several 1811 positions and was told that I was denied due to veterans preference and I was encouraged to reapply once they start accepting non-veteran applications. If I had not gotten into any schools I would have looked at the military just to make myself more competitive, but with the current cuts in defense I was told it would probably would be even more difficult. My supervisor always encouraged me to attend law school since it would allow me the most options when it came to my specific interests. So that is where I am now.

Right now I am working in electrical engineering, which I would not mind leaving behind.

AllezOM

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by AllezOM » Sun Feb 24, 2013 3:03 am

Rye Shannon wrote:I am no longer with the fed. It was temporary and I worked mostly in the budget department. I applied for several 1811 positions and was told that I was denied due to veterans preference and I was encouraged to reapply once they start accepting non-veteran applications. If I had not gotten into any schools I would have looked at the military just to make myself more competitive, but with the current cuts in defense I was told it would probably would be even more difficult. My supervisor always encouraged me to attend law school since it would allow me the most options when it came to my specific interests. So that is where I am now.

Right now I am working in electrical engineering, which I would not mind leaving behind.
Look into the reserves. Two of the military agencies AFOSI and Army CID have reserve components. I know AFOSI sends their guys to FLETC and your background in engineering would be appealing to them. I don't know how one could balance that with law school. I am pretty sure they take into account reservists schooling, but it could get complicated if you were ever activated.

PM if you ever want to know more specifics on Fed LE hiring.

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Crowing

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by Crowing » Sun Feb 24, 2013 5:07 am

Rye Shannon wrote:I am no longer with the fed. It was temporary and I worked mostly in the budget department. I applied for several 1811 positions and was told that I was denied due to veterans preference and I was encouraged to reapply once they start accepting non-veteran applications. If I had not gotten into any schools I would have looked at the military just to make myself more competitive, but with the current cuts in defense I was told it would probably would be even more difficult. My supervisor always encouraged me to attend law school since it would allow me the most options when it came to my specific interests. So that is where I am now.

Right now I am working in electrical engineering, which I would not mind leaving behind.
From what I've heard EE is in killer demand for IP so if you're at all interested in that you have a great background for it.

timbs4339

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Re: Louisville vs. Michigan State vs. Western Schools (Long)

Post by timbs4339 » Sun Feb 24, 2013 3:34 pm

Rye Shannon wrote:I am not a traditional law school applicant. I already have more than enough money to pay for law school (previous employment with the fed, inheritance, the stock market, supportive wife with a job that would allow relocation) and I have also received partial scholarships. Debt is not an issue.

I want to either work in federal law enforcement, be an attorney for a federal law enforcement agency, or be a prosecutor. I have decided on law school because it would at least give me the option to do all of the above.

Location is one of my biggest concerns when it comes to school selection. I am aware that MOST law schools are regional so naturally I want to attend a school that will allow me to work in an area of the country that I actually want to live in just in case the feds are not hiring in 3 years.

Slightly more promising employment prospects and an overall desire to live in the west are the reasons behind my interest in many western schools (Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah), but I am hesitant to attend any of these schools because I do not have any connection to these areas...

I do have a strong connection to the Kentucky/Tennessee area, which has me leaning towards Louisville. I know job prospects there are not exactly outstanding so that is what makes me hesitant there...

I do not really want to live in Michigan, but Michigan State has given me a pretty good deal and I have been told by previous supervisors with the federal law enforcement agency that I worked for that sometimes the name and rank look best when it comes to applying with a federal agency. I would say that MSU is the biggest "name" that I have gotten into so far...

So taking my specific interests and circumstances into consideration, should I just go with the biggest and highest ranked school that I get into? Should I go with the area I know? Or should I uproot and move west based on employment research and love for the area?

I am still waiting to hear from Penn State, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Advice and opinions are appreciated!
Those schools might give you the option to be a local prosecutor in the area. But they will not give you FLEO opportunities (as the above guy pointed out) and federal prosecutor or attorney jobs are extremely competitive (I'd be surprised if even one person from each of those schools got those jobs).

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