attend with 60k aid at CLS/NYU or re-apply? Forum

[quigleyest]

GPA: 3.61 STEM from top 5 public
LSAT : 173 (173, 170, 172)
2-years of public interest experience (americorps, paralegal at public interest org)

All of my apps were submitted from around January 15th to February 7th

Currently I have offers of 60k from CLS, and 52k + 8k if PI from NYU

I only applied to 6 schools to test the waters... was originally lukewarm about attending this fall but now I'm pretty much trying to run away from my current line of work (direct representation for indigent populations)
so far: waitlist at Harvard, Berkeley, no response from Chicago, rejected from Stanford


Goals: Interested in plaintiff's firm for consumer rights protection or USAO


As for COA - I believe my parents would be able to help out with ~60k of total costs if I asked nicely, but I wouldn't want to burden them unnecessarily, if I ended up aiming for an LRAP-eligible job.

Should I attend this fall or reapply? Would very much prefer an urban setting for law school

Additionally, would taking the LSAT in june help me get off the HLS waitlist?

Your help/advice is very much appreciated

[Dr. Nefario]

This is a tough situation. If you don't have any plans after quitting your job, going this year might be better than not having a job. Reapplying would probably get you better options in terms of scholarship, but I might just go now if I were you. If there was something else you could do for a year, make money, and apply then maybe that's the smarter option.

Caveat: if you go, you need to be either wholly PI focused or big-law focused. Neither school's debt will be remotely manageable without LRAP or biglaw

[badlefthook]

Curious as to that CLS money. Did you receive that upon admission? Through some sort of negotiation using the NYU offer? Thanks.

[quigleyest]

Curious as to that CLS money. Did you receive that upon admission? Through some sort of negotiation using the NYU offer? Thanks.

It was through neither of what you said. No Butler or name scholarship upon admission, and it has not been negotiated. I received the offer as "need-based aid", through their financial aid application.

I had no previous information about anyone receiving 60k from CLS with my numbers (saw 0 and 40k on mylsn, and expected that)

[Julius]

If you aren't sure what you want to do with your law degree, I'd avoid going over 200k in debt for one.

Reapply widely in the fall.

[Npret]

Don't go to law school because you are burned out in your job. There are many other jobs you could ge for a year.

What about medicine? Can't go back? If not medical school, something else?

[quigleyest]

Don't go to law school because you are burned out in your job. There are many other jobs you could ge for a year.

What about medicine? Can't go back? If not medical school, something else?

I don't really have the will to re-enter the field. Plus it would involve 8 years of toiling. Thought law would be a better way to "help" people.. unsure how I feel about that now that I've spent some time in the trenches...

[Keilz]

Honestly, it sounds like you need a year away to figure out what you would like to do. Maybe take a less stressful job for the next year, reapply, and venture into possible career options. You're obviously brilliant and are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to, but switching from med to law very quickly is a drastic career move. Both of these professions are demanding and take many years of work to reap rewards. Don't jump in if you don't feel ready

[existentialcrisis]

Honestly, it sounds like you need a year away to figure out what you would like to do. Maybe take a less stressful job for the next year, reapply, and venture into possible career options. You're obviously brilliant and are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to, but switching from med to law very quickly is a drastic career move. Both of these professions are demanding and take many years of work to reap rewards. Don't jump in if you don't feel ready

This. Don't go to law school now as an escape plan unless being a lawyer is something you really want to do, which you don't seem convinced of. Law School will always be there.

[quigleyest]

Honestly, it sounds like you need a year away to figure out what you would like to do. Maybe take a less stressful job for the next year, reapply, and venture into possible career options. You're obviously brilliant and are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to, but switching from med to law very quickly is a drastic career move. Both of these professions are demanding and take many years of work to reap rewards. Don't jump in if you don't feel ready

This. Don't go to law school now as an escape plan unless being a lawyer is something you really want to do, which you don't seem convinced of. Law School will always be there.

I just don't think another year at an entry-level job will do me any help in deciding my future career. I've taken the past 3 years to explore other career options before becoming a paralegal