TTT with $$$ no stips? Forum

(Rankings, Profiles, Tuition, Student Life, . . . )
Post Reply
User avatar
MangoCinnamon

New
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:24 pm

TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by MangoCinnamon » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:29 pm

I applied late in the cycle so I am still waiting to hear back from most places I applied. I'm a splitter several years out of undergrad with strong softs so I applied to a wide range of schools. One of my safety applications, a TTT in an area of the country I have no real ties to, is offering a full ride with no stipulations on keeping the scholarship. None. They emphasized the no stipulations thing.

While I am of course waiting to hear back from the rest of the schools before I make any decision, the fact that the money has absolutely no stipulations whatsoever makes it very attractive financially, but I am not sure if a TTT in a market I don't know is stupid, even without any debt. I don't know how seriously I should be looking at this offer right now.

My goal is not biglaw, but government. If I am honest with myself I am not 100% sure I would be okay with government work outside of large metropolitan cities. I was in municipal government early in my career and transitioned to federal, in DC, and would prefer to stay on that level and that kind of city.

On the bright side, perhaps the no stipulations thing is indication I have a good chance elsewhere despite applying late in cycle?

AquafiNa

New
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:52 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by AquafiNa » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:35 pm

What are your #s? Getting a DC city like position is definitely going to be challenging but little debt is nice. What does LST say about the jobs prospects?
Edit: LST not LSAT
Last edited by AquafiNa on Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The Dark Shepard

Bronze
Posts: 450
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:49 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by The Dark Shepard » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:37 pm

What are your numbers? What is the school?

User avatar
Mack.Hambleton

Platinum
Posts: 5414
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:09 am

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by Mack.Hambleton » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:51 pm

any decent school won't have scholarship stips

User avatar
RareExports

Silver
Posts: 719
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:12 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by RareExports » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:54 pm

Entirely depends on how your other offers shape up, and how high the opportunity cost of going to law school is going to be for you. I wouldn't expect this to be a very defensible choice to make though.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
zombie mcavoy

Bronze
Posts: 428
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:11 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by zombie mcavoy » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:26 pm

Mack.Hambleton wrote:any decent school won't have scholarship stips
Yep. no stips should not be something a school is marketing and that should be a red flag for you. It should be a given that there are not serious stipulations -- it shouldn't be something you need to leverage in order to distinguish yourself from your peers.

rwhyAn

Bronze
Posts: 335
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:09 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by rwhyAn » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:37 pm

I decided to take a couple of years off, and I reapplied last year only to schools that I had a good chance at getting full rides at. I got full rides with no stips at WVU, Drexel, and Villanova. My numbers weren't necessarily great either.

User avatar
MangoCinnamon

New
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:24 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by MangoCinnamon » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:51 pm

The Dark Shepard wrote:What are your numbers? What is the school?
AquafiNa wrote:What are your #s? Getting a DC city like position is definitely going to be challenging but little debt is nice. What does LST say about the jobs prospects?
Edit: LST not LSAT

I'm sorry I don't want to share my numbers, even if it's helpful-- not until i get more responses anyway. ( I will say I took the LSAT once, and I *do* have room for improvement, so retaking is not out of the question.)

Employment numbers for this school are in the 45-50% range according to LST and but unlike other schools with employment in that range and underemployment is sub 20% ( Not saying its great but better than underemployment at 40%)

I mention the no stips particularly because its a school that is known for harsh stips, and being a trap.

6778628 wrote:Entirely depends on how your other offers shape up, and how high the opportunity cost of going to law school is going to be for you. I wouldn't expect this to be a very defensible choice to make though.
I am leaning this way as well. I guess I will have to see what happens over the next few weeks.

I wish I had all my options in front of me at once :|

User avatar
landshoes

Silver
Posts: 1291
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:17 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by landshoes » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:58 pm

Are you in the federal government now? That's a huge opportunity cost. Giving up a job to go to a school where only half of the grads get jobs seems like a bad plan. And it isn't like law school is super fun, either. Everyone I know who went to law school hated it.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


BigZuck

Diamond
Posts: 11730
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:53 am

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by BigZuck » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:59 pm

In order to receive feedback in this forum, please provide all of the following:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

AquafiNa

New
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:52 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by AquafiNa » Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:03 pm

MangoCinnamon wrote:
The Dark Shepard wrote:What are your numbers? What is the school?
AquafiNa wrote:What are your #s? Getting a DC city like position is definitely going to be challenging but little debt is nice. What does LST say about the jobs prospects?
Edit: LST not LSAT

I'm sorry I don't want to share my numbers, even if it's helpful-- not until i get more responses anyway. ( I will say I took the LSAT once, and I *do* have room for improvement, so retaking is not out of the question.)

Employment numbers for this school are in the 45-50% range according to LST and but unlike other schools with employment in that range and underemployment is sub 20% ( Not saying its great but better than underemployment at 40%)

I mention the no stips particularly because its a school that is known for harsh stips, and being a trap.

6778628 wrote:Entirely depends on how your other offers shape up, and how high the opportunity cost of going to law school is going to be for you. I wouldn't expect this to be a very defensible choice to make though.
I am leaning this way as well. I guess I will have to see what happens over the next few weeks.

I wish I had all my options in front of me at once :|
Without your #s it's hard to give good advice. At least what's your GPA? I think TCR is to sit out this cycle and study LSAT especially because you said you could do better (even more so given your goals of DC/major market.) A coin flip at having a job even debt free is not a good idea. You don't want to get in a situation where you've given up 3 years of training with nothing to show. Use the LSAT board and crush that June LSAT.

User avatar
landshoes

Silver
Posts: 1291
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:17 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by landshoes » Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:08 pm

You should also remember that going to a given law school signals a number of things about you. 0L, but it seems to me that a lot of legal jobs are about making important, complex decisions after doing careful research (or advising clients about same.) Looking like you picked your law school out of a hat might not inspire confidence.

That said, I get the impression that for some government work it is more of a checkbox, especially if you already have a job, but I don't know if taking 3 years off from your government job will keep you in that same advantaged position. So in that case you'd be better off at a local night program.

User avatar
twenty

Gold
Posts: 3189
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:17 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by twenty » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:15 pm

landshoes wrote:Are you in the federal government now?
If the answer to this is "yes", I would take GWU/George Mason part time programs at sticker over whatever deal you have now.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Auxilio

Silver
Posts: 798
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:51 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by Auxilio » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:32 pm

zombie mcavoy wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:any decent school won't have scholarship stips
Yep. no stips should not be something a school is marketing and that should be a red flag for you. It should be a given that there are not serious stipulations -- it shouldn't be something you need to leverage in order to distinguish yourself from your peers.
NYU and Chicago both emphasized that there are no stipulations on their scholarships offers to me.

BigZuck

Diamond
Posts: 11730
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:53 am

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by BigZuck » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:38 pm

Auxilio wrote:
zombie mcavoy wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:any decent school won't have scholarship stips
Yep. no stips should not be something a school is marketing and that should be a red flag for you. It should be a given that there are not serious stipulations -- it shouldn't be something you need to leverage in order to distinguish yourself from your peers.
NYU and Chicago both emphasized that there are no stipulations on their scholarships offers to me.
And both are run of the mill state schools

Helps prove McAvoy's point

hartfordhockaloogies

New
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:55 pm

Re: TTT with $$$ no stips?

Post by hartfordhockaloogies » Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:08 pm

Don't go to TTT w/ hopes of being a special snowflake... expect to work very hard, do activities you don't really want to do (ie., moot court/trial/law review), and still face the possibility of being unemployed. Also, don't let the $$$ w/ no stips be the controlling factor. You have a huge opportunity cost. You will never get 3 years of your life back or the $ you could've made during that time, and the school name will be on your resume forever.

If your dream is local PD work, then I'd say you're probably good w/ going to TTT - however, I would never under any circumstances (other than being uninformed) go to a TTT or suggest someone else to go.

I think you should raise your LSAT significantly, and if you can't, then don't go to law school. It's an extremely risky investment, especially at a rando TTT

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


Post Reply

Return to “Choosing a Law School”