How much can I be earning or have saved to still get FA? Forum

[natural_law]

Hi all,

I was planning on going to law school next September but I have just been offered a very financially rewarding job.

Based on what people are earning at the firm at the moment, I could earn £30-40k year one, £60-100k year two, £150-250k year three, and £350-650k year four, depending on conditions in the market in any given year, before tax. This translates roughly to $51-68k year one, $102-170k year two, $255-425k year three, and $595k-1,105k year four assuming a 1:1.7 GDP/USD exchange rate.

I took the LSAT in February 2014 and did well, and I absolutely want to go to law school in order to pursue public interest work and eventually politics...so I'm not hugely money motivated, but the chance to take care of my family and my future financially in the next four years is an incredible opportunity. That gives me four or five years working before I haveto apply for law school in August 2017 or 2018 (if I'm going to use my good LSAT score).

Let's assume that I work for four years (it's a job that isn't very intellectually stimulating, so I'd like to get to law school sooner rather than later...but that fourth year is very valuable). My after tax earnings in the UK would be $40.8-40.8k (£30k is at 20 per cent, £40k is at 40 per cent) year one, $61.2-102k year two, $153-191k year three, and $327-608k year four.

Let's assume that I earn towards the bottom end of that scale for all four years, which is probably unrealistic given the short cyclical nature of market conditions in my industry. My total after tax earnings would be $582k (actually a little more because of the personal allowance, I think). If I saved 30-40 per cent of that amount, I would have savings of between $175k and $233K roughly.

With savings in that range, I doubt I would qualify for financial aid, especially considering my salary would be several hundred thousand a year. Is this correct?

So you may see my dilemma...if I commit to putting law school off for four years, and get unlucky in that the industry booms in only one year, say year two or three, I may come away with a large amount of savings, but those savings will be largely, if not entirely, wiped out by having to pay ~$200k for law school. If the market is strong in two of the last three years, or in year four, then I could have considerable savings left over even if I did pay for law school in full.

I could go to law school next year on financial aid, and probably get some aid to some great schools, because my family is not well off. Bear in mind that the job I would be doing is boring and does not get me any closer to my long term goal of public interest work and a political career. Also bear in mind that if I take the job, it's either for one or four years...there isn't much point in building up just enough savings by working two or three years to have them go towards law school instead of financial aid.

So what would you do? Go to law school and pursue your long term goals next year, but be a poor student who will have to take out loans for living, eating etc. (and also probably have to work part time, which could affect my performance in law school), or work for the next four years in a job you only see as a means to an end, with a considerable risk that you won't save that much more than the $200k you would need for law school. The market in my industry is rarely poor in back to back years, so if it boomed in years one and three, I would only have after-law-school savings of $15-75k...hardly a result I would be happy with after working in a boring job for four years. However, if the market boomed in years two or three and four, I could have after-law-school savings of ~$300k. I think I would be satisfied gaining professional experience over the next four years if I could pay for law school and have $100k in savings left over, but that isn't likely to happen if year four isn't a bullish market.

What would you do?

Talk about first world problems...

[NYSprague]

How is this even a question?

The number of schools that give need based aid is limited. Maybe you confused merit scholarship with need based aid?

Go make money.

You are talking about law school in the U.S.?

[anyriotgirl]

I'm sort of confused by this post, but I get the impression that you are counting your chickens

[Mullens]

Other than at HYS, most law school aid is either purely merit-based or is some blackbox combination of need and merit. Even if you receive the max amount of aid at HYS, your total debt at graduation will be approximately $150,000.

I think you should take the job and then circle back to law school in a few years if you are still itching to go.

Also, few jobs in the legal field are "intellectually stimulating"

[natural_law]

Ah, I had no idea that outside of HYS it was almost pure merit based aid. In that case, I think with a 178 and 2.6 I'm in at NW with $50k scholarship, with small chances of Duke and Penn with similar aid.

As for counting my chickens, the firm showed me exactly how much their consultants had made since the firm's inception...so it's definitely an educated prediction.

[M458]

Ah, I had no idea that outside of HYS it was almost pure merit based aid. In that case, I think with a 178 and 2.6 I'm in at NW with $50k scholarship, with small chances of Duke and Penn with similar aid.

As for counting my chickens, the firm showed me exactly how much their consultants had made since the firm's inception...so it's definitely an educated prediction.

Uhm...a 2.6 gets $50k at NU these days?

[Mullens]

You shouldn't assume you will receive any scholarships at T14 schools with that GPA. You may very well get a scholarship at a lower T14, but it certainly isn't guaranteed when you're way below every school's GPA 25th.

I'm confused by your posts and stated career goals. Do you want to go into American or British politics and why do you think you need a JD to do so?

Exactly what kind of public-interest job do you want to get?

[FSK]

2.6 GPA = no bueno. Stay in your current job.

[natural_law]

According to mylsn NW has taken everyone with those numbers, and yeah, with scholarships.

American politics. Law is a very common route in. I don't need the JD, but I want to study law, and it serves the end goal of politics well. Ideally, I want to work as a prosecutor or for an organisation like the ACLU.

There's a mitigating factor to the GPA, but I'm prepared to go as low as needs be, try to crush L1, then transfer.

[NYSprague]

According to mylsn NU has taken everyone with those numbers, and yeah, with scholarships.

American politics. Law is a very common route in. I don't need the JD, but I want to study law, and it serves the end goal of politics well. Ideally, I want to work as a prosecutor or for an organisation like the ACLU.

There's a mitigating factor to the GPA, but I'm prepared to go as low as needs be, try to crush L1, then transfer.

So you are an American citizen or permanent resident? If not, how would you finance law school?
Forget about the idea of killing 1L and transferring. The mandatory curve makes that unlikely.

I think you need to do more research.

If I were you, I would stay at my current job and get into politics without law.

[natural_law]

I want to study law, so that is the route I will take to politics. I am a US citizen. And someone has to crush 1L...I wouldn't tell a stranger that it was statistically unlikely...that's a pretty valueless remark.

[mt2165]

I want to study law, so that is the route I will take to politics. I am a US citizen. And someone has to crush 1L...I wouldn't tell a stranger that it was statistically unlikely...that's a pretty valueless remark.

Doesn't mean that someone is (likely) gunna be you.

And it is by definition statistically unlikely unless crushing it = achieving median grades

[NYSprague]

I want to study law, so that is the route I will take to politics. I am a US citizen. And someone has to crush 1L...I wouldn't tell a stranger that it was statistically unlikely...that's a pretty valueless remark.

I'm telling you about the curve. I'm not telling you statistics. You can't guarantee your grades will be good enough to transfer just by working hard. That is why it is smart to go to the best school in the region you want to work for the best price. Focus on employment from your first school and not transferring to a better school later.
Also the reporting requirements on transfers are changing, which may change how schools admit transfers.