Hastings vs. McGeorge Forum

[03152016]

You idiots just told a guy to sign up for the army instead of take a risk free chance at something infinitely better. If you think that's bad advice, you're gonna be a terrible lawyer.

protip: when you're telling other posters that they're going to make terrible lawyers
maybe read what you've written to make sure it doesn't mean literally the opposite of what you intended

[Johann]

You guys are all biased because you want to see Hastings and any school outside the top 30/40 shut down and will literally advise someone to go into war/army (active duty) than to law school. It's pathetic. Either outcome in this case even Hastings at sticker debt is better than serving in the military. You're prestige whoring is also stupid considering the fact the op is jag or bust and jag does not even factor in your educational school at all. So op has a free ride and chance to realize his dream - which most would call risk free because worst case scenario is he does the exact same thing he would be doing now with minimal debt and all that. It's obvious from the advice you gave you either don't know what the hell you are talking about or actually have a vendetta against schools that is so great you would tell the op to risk his life instead of get a free education.
Anyways op - I think mcgeorge is the safe choice based on it being free. There might be another school at significant savings that is in the top 100 that may be better though. Loyola la or Pepperdine or something? I'm not too familiar with rankings anymore.

[Elston Gunn]

Also, if anyone is curious, I just spoke to a Major who is on the JAG branching board and was told that since I'm an Education Delay and already have an obligation to the Army, that although I will still be competing with everyone else, I have a slight advantage. Apparently 50% of Ed-Delays got a JAG commission last cycle (which is significantly lower than previous years).

To be fair, JAG is very difficult to get, but I don't think most of the time the armed forces care about the school you go to. However, because it's such a competitive job, you want to make sure that your school gives you other options if JAG doesn't work out.

Since I'm Ed-Delay and already have a service obligation, if I don't get JAG, then I will be assigned to a branch based on "the needs of the Army"

Yeah, guys, my interpretation is this guy's options are either to go into active duty right now or go to one of these schools next year, and if he doesn't find a job, he'll still have a job lined up in the sense that he's required to join the army. Agree y'all are giving bad advice.

[thebobs1987]

Also, if anyone is curious, I just spoke to a Major who is on the JAG branching board and was told that since I'm an Education Delay and already have an obligation to the Army, that although I will still be competing with everyone else, I have a slight advantage. Apparently 50% of Ed-Delays got a JAG commission last cycle (which is significantly lower than previous years).

To be fair, JAG is very difficult to get, but I don't think most of the time the armed forces care about the school you go to. However, because it's such a competitive job, you want to make sure that your school gives you other options if JAG doesn't work out.

Since I'm Ed-Delay and already have a service obligation, if I don't get JAG, then I will be assigned to a branch based on "the needs of the Army"

Yeah, guys, my interpretation is this guy's options are either to go into active duty right now or go to one of these schools next year, and if he doesn't find a job, he'll still have a job lined up in the sense that he's required to join the army. Agree y'all are giving bad advice.

+1. Going to a TTT law school beats Afghanistan. That said OP, you should retake in Feb. and see if you can increase your score. If not, going to Hastings with little scholarship would be financial suicide so I guess McGeorge is the winner if it is debt free.

[Shirosham]

If you're set on going, try negotiating with Hastings. Friend got a significant bump when they had asked for an increased scholarship.

[TheSpanishMain]

Either outcome in this case even Hastings at sticker debt is better than serving in the military.

What the fuck are you talking about? I would absolutely go (back) to Afghanistan rather than take on law school sticker debt.

[Johann]

Well you ignored that I advised him to go to law school for free.

But anyways to engage in your hypothetical - then you clearly don't value your life very much. I would take $1 million out in loans before being deployed somewhere. PAYE/PSLF does exist. You only pay the debt back if you win law school roulette.

[03152016]

Well you ignored that I advised him to go to law school for free.

But anyways to engage in your hypothetical - then you clearly don't value your life very much. I would take $1 million out in loans before being deployed somewhere. PAYE/PSLF does exist. You only pay the debt back if you win law school roulette.

you don't value your life if you don't share my worldview!

a worldview that is especially relevant to a poster in ROTC

[Johann]

sounds like his view was pretty adamant about not being deployed at this moment. just because he took the rotc money to go to school doesn't mean he wants to be deployed overseas. i'll quit shitting up the thread with tangential reasoning that doesn't matter though since the reasonable consensus has been take the free ride at mcgeorge/negotiate more money at hastings/get significant money to another local law school.

[ManoftheHour]

My friend was deployed in Afghanistan/Iraq for 2 years and he just came back last year. He said it wasn't that bad. He stands around all day and then he goes play World of Warcraft.

[Grunt2Grad]

My friend was deployed in Afghanistan/Iraq for 2 years and he just came back last year. He said it wasn't that bad. He stands around all day and then he goes play World of Warcraft.

POG's

[03152016]

op should ask this question in the military thread where she'll almost certainly get better information than in this train wreck of a thread

agnostic on op's dilemma since i'm not in the military so who cares what i think
possibility of not getting jag after an ed defer is alarming (lol at ls being "risk free"), but op needs advice from people who can speak from experience, not another go to law school vs don't go to law school circlejerk

[TheSpanishMain]

I would take $1 million out in loans before being deployed somewhere.

I'm guessing you have very little basis for whatever mental picture you have of Iraq/Afghanistan.

[Johann]

this is by definition risk free. a free lottery ticket is risk free in the sense that you cannot lose anything - it doesn't mean you will win. it means if you lose, it doesn't matter because you are playing with house money.

OP has $0 at risk in law school, 3 years of time, and living costs. Living costs will exist whether OP is in law school or not, so this is risk free. OPs only other option with the 3 years of time is immediate deployment, which OP does not want to do, so this is a guaranteed net benefit. Law school is $0, so 0 risk there.
My bad guys, yall were right. This is not only risk free but a guaranteed net benefit.

because OP is guaranteed to be in PLSF job after graduating because OP will either deploy or JAG it means the debt load should be analyzed knowing there is a 10% income limit and 10 year time limit of debt repayment. This greatly minimizes any debt concerns. Assuming a $55k JAG salary (I have no idea what they are) you are looking at $4k a year in debt repayment. Time value of money makes it lower, but the max value of that debt is $40k. So, Hastings sticker is really $40k if OP gets his dream job.
If OP misses his dream job, he's in the army and probably not making any debt repayments for a couple years with a salary around $20k and then $1k a year tops. So that's like $8k of Hastings sticker, without even factoring time value of money.
The present value of Hastings sticker isn't really that bad now is it?

[Johann]

I would take $1 million out in loans before being deployed somewhere.

I'm guessing you have very little basis for whatever mental picture you have of Iraq/Afghanistan.

I have no mental picture of what it looks like but I don't need one. My reason I would take out unlimited loans is because of PSLF. I'm sure you have very little basis of using math and understanding what PSLF looks like though.

[TheSpanishMain]

I would take $1 million out in loans before being deployed somewhere.

I'm guessing you have very little basis for whatever mental picture you have of Iraq/Afghanistan.

I have no mental picture of what it looks like but I don't need one. My reason I would take out unlimited loans is because of PSLF. I'm sure you have very little basis of using math and understanding what PSLF looks like though.

Yes, I have no basis of using math.

Look, I'm not criticizing you for not knowing anything about the military/deployment. You're allowed to think that Army officers make 20k a year. (With BAH a brand new lieutenant makes about 55k a year, but nevermind.) If you've never been in the military there's no reason you should know that. I'm criticizing you because you're confidently pronouncing on something you clearly don't understand.

[03152016]

@johann

first of all, that's not how pslf works
if she doesn't get jag, she's not on some magical permanent pslf track b/c she served for four years
it simply fulfills 48 of the required 120 installments for loan forgiveness

second, if she fulfills her active duty commitment now, she's done in four years
if she goes to ls and doesn't get jag, she's out in seven years with a worthless piece of paper to show for it (from a school with a 41% employment score) and $300,000 in debt which she'll get to make payments on for two decades

or as you would put it

RISK FREE!

[cheskama]

op should ask this question in the military thread where she'll almost certainly get better information than in this train wreck of a thread

Thanks for all the input everyone. I think I will take my question to the military thread.
I didn't originally do so because bottom line is that I'm choosing between these two schools. Not going to law school and just going straight active duty is not an option for me, even if I wanted to.