FLORIDA STATE U. COLLEGE OF LAW CLASS OF 2011 Forum

[Arredondo]

With a 159 and a 3.9 you are in at FSU and perhaps even UF. It obviously wouldn't hurt to take it again and score higher that way you can get more scholarship money.

[jstrud]

Hey guys, I just recently got back from viewing apartments in Tally and there were a seldom few that looked liveable. I also noticed an extreme price difference between the one bedroom apartments and the two or three bedroom ones. Is anyone on this site possibly looking for a roomate. Polos on Park was one of the nicer establishments that I visited and they are very reasonable for two bedrooms. I'd love to hear more feedback on living arrangements though, so feel free to message me.

[jordanfsu]

Hey guys, I just recently got back from viewing apartments in Tally and there were a seldom few that looked liveable. I also noticed an extreme price difference between the one bedroom apartments and the two or three bedroom ones. Is anyone on this site possibly looking for a roomate. Polos on Park was one of the nicer establishments that I visited and they are very reasonable for two bedrooms. I'd love to hear more feedback on living arrangements though, so feel free to message me.

Victoria Grand is where I'm going to be staying in a 1 bedroom studio-style apt. http://www.victoriagrand.com is their site. It's a bit pricey, but it's new construction by a Georgia (as opposed to Tally) construction company, so you get what you pay for. It's also owned by a developer out of Orlando, and I have found their customer service and maintenance to be far better than any of the crap Tally places I've dealt with. Just my .02

[mtk04]

with a 3.9 and 159 you will get into FSU. You will almost certainly get into UF. Ask yourself- what is your goal? Do you want to practice in Florida? Do you want to be a slave at some corporate law firm working at all hours of the day, no life, but a fat pay check (but a low ceiling for pay advancements compared to smaller firms which equals running your own business). Do you want to work private, government, lobby, save the environment, advise businesses, go into politics, run your own business, etc? The thing about a JD is it opens all these doors for you. There might be a line drawn between the IVYs and top 14 and every other school in tier 1, but the cream always rises my friend. a 159 means your in the top 20% of every person taking the law school entrance exam; your in good company and you will be fine. After you get your JD, it amounts to networks you have built (people you know) the debt that you carry (a variable that can limit your options severally or open doors) and who you are. Don't sweat it.

[green918]

with a 3.9 and 159 you will get into FSU. You will almost certainly get into UF. Ask yourself- what is your goal? Do you want to practice in Florida? Do you want to be a slave at some corporate law firm working at all hours of the day, no life, but a fat pay check (but a low ceiling for pay advancements compared to smaller firms which equals running your own business). Do you want to work private, government, lobby, save the environment, advise businesses, go into politics, run your own business, etc? The thing about a JD is it opens all these doors for you. There might be a line drawn between the IVYs and top 14 and every other school in tier 1, but the cream always rises my friend. a 159 means your in the top 20% of every person taking the law school entrance exam; your in good company and you will be fine. After you get your JD, it amounts to networks you have built (people you know) the debt that you carry (a variable that can limit your options severally or open doors) and who you are. Don't sweat it.

Thanks for the support! I definitely want to practice in Florida but not sure exactly what area of law I want to practice in. A previous poster mentioned that it might not hurt for me to retake in October because a higher score might increase my chances of getting scholarship money. Is that true? Right now I am undergrad at UF (major budget woes for the entire University) and you have to be practically destitute or national merit scholar to get money out of them. I've always been told that getting money for grad school in general can be difficult, so I was surprised when several people told me a higher LSAT score could increase my scholarship chances.

[E\/ERLAST]

with a 3.9 and 159 you will get into FSU. You will almost certainly get into UF. Ask yourself- what is your goal? Do you want to practice in Florida? Do you want to be a slave at some corporate law firm working at all hours of the day, no life, but a fat pay check (but a low ceiling for pay advancements compared to smaller firms which equals running your own business). Do you want to work private, government, lobby, save the environment, advise businesses, go into politics, run your own business, etc? The thing about a JD is it opens all these doors for you. There might be a line drawn between the IVYs and top 14 and every other school in tier 1, but the cream always rises my friend. a 159 means your in the top 20% of every person taking the law school entrance exam; your in good company and you will be fine. After you get your JD, it amounts to networks you have built (people you know) the debt that you carry (a variable that can limit your options severally or open doors) and who you are. Don't sweat it.

Thanks for the support! I definitely want to practice in Florida but not sure exactly what area of law I want to practice in. A previous poster mentioned that it might not hurt for me to retake in October because a higher score might increase my chances of getting scholarship money. Is that true? Right now I am undergrad at UF (major budget woes for the entire University) and you have to be practically destitute or national merit scholar to get money out of them. I've always been told that getting money for grad school in general can be difficult, so I was surprised when several people told me a higher LSAT score could increase my scholarship chances.

Its not impossible, but its definitely hard. I have a 168 and I squeezed 7,500 out of them after much effort. I would not put off applying in October to take the test. However, if you put in an application and tried to take the test again KNOWING you would do better, I would say do that. Good luck.

[Arredondo]

Its not impossible, but its definitely hard. I have a 168 and I squeezed 7,500 out of them after much effort.

I was going to say that's a good amount, but you're from out of state right? As an in-stater, if I got $7,500 I would be sitting pretty.

[mtk04]

Well its a wonderful thing about in state schools: they are so much cheaper. Google 'law school debt' and you will find some tragic articles about how law school debt is a ball and chain for disenchanted lawyers who thought a JD would print money for them. I actually have an idiot friend (funny how law students can comprehend grand legal theories yet lack common business sense) who is carrying over 100k in debt and thinks, for real, that she will land a big settlement and write one big check to pay it off. Please. This is nonsense that has proliferated among so many young law students. Anyways this is not to scare anyone, as law firms are now run like businesses (unlike some 30 years ago) and should be approached as such: there CAN be much potential, but one has to understand money, businesses and how corporations operate to succeed in this reality. Thats a whole other blog. My point to you (and everyone on here) is that I traded a couple top 30 law schools (30k plus annual tuition) to stay in Florida and take advantage of FSU's cheap tuition, living area, and numerous scholarship and work opportunities. Plus Florida is the place to be for law in the future.

Why not go to UF? Simple. Great school, maybe superior in prestige (by a hair), but not as many opportunities. Scholarships, grants, This is how you graduate with less than 50k in debt, which is critical for both professional mobility options and making so much more money when you graduate because you can invest that money you would otherwise be throwing toward the debt black hole. Or buy a BMW. Whatever you want. Also. There are 450 firms here. bottom half pay for summer jobs at these firms? around 30 dollars an hour, many go much higher. If you are into politics, like I am, then you have endless opportunities to work for campaigns or in the Capital, network, and so forth. Those networks get you jobs (well paying and prestigious jobs) once you graduate. Many people make this mistake: They study and study and lock themselves in their room and never take advantage of building their networks. Then they graduate and realize the advantage their more social colleagues have gained when they land that high paying biglaw job or lobbying firm, dream job, what have you. Networking is as important as your class ranking (as long as your not too far down the class ranking scale). Sounds weird right? Its the truth. I'm working in a firm right now and trust me. Some of these lawyers graduated at the very top of their class and have failed to make partner after 15 plus years. Some of these individuals are miserable in the waste of pure brilliance they could offer, but they never got it. They never understood the game.

if you really think you can breach that 165 mark, which you should be able to gage pretty well by now, then I would go for it. Scholarship money is great, and it is available if you can get past this score and your GPA will carry you the rest of the way. I was scoring 165 in practice tests and ended up with a 163. I kept it.

Anyways, like I said, its all about what your goals are. And more than likely those goals will shift considerably after a couple of years in law school. The most important advice I can give is to go to the school that will give you the lowest amount of debt in the end and has the most potential to allow to excel, not in academia, but in the real world, unless you can be admitted into a top 14. Even then I would think very hard about your ultimate goal in this profession. Long post, whatever, its Sunday night, and everyone needs to understand this thing about debt for law students and what the profession is about. anyone else have any thoughts?

[E\/ERLAST]

Its not impossible, but its definitely hard. I have a 168 and I squeezed 7,500 out of them after much effort.

I was going to say that's a good amount, but you're from out of state right? As an in-stater, if I got $7,500 I would be sitting pretty.

Actually, I am instate. It took a lot of follow up calls and I even drove up there (not for the purpose of talking to them, but rather looking for apartments) and I stopped by their office. They were very nice and three days later I got the call about the scholarship.

And I agree with the above poster lol. Another good thing about state schools is if you wanted to enter into federal agencies (i.e. FBI) then the debt is low enough where it becomes a possibility.

[green918]

if you really think you can breach that 165 mark, which you should be able to gage pretty well by now, then I would go for it. Scholarship money is great, and it is available if you can get past this score and your GPA will carry you the rest of the way. I was scoring 165 in practice tests and ended up with a 163. I kept it.

I was consistently scoring in the mid 160's (which is why I was so disappointed with my score) but I feel confident that I would improve. I am an in-stater and I am definitely sold on the price of instate (public) schools. Florida Bright Futures kept me in state for undergrad and low tuition is going to keep me instate for law school as well (Even if I don't get scholarship money this time around). I've decided to retake because I am willing to focus on the lsat for a little bit longer even if it gives my scholarship hopes the slightest boost. I plan on applying as soon as the October scores come out. Thanks everybody for your help/input, especially since this thread is for current students!

[Arredondo]

mtk, are you a current fsu student who has a summer associate job now? I liked your lengthy post, btw. Made me feel good about attending FSU. I love all the resources and firms nearby in Tally. I definitely want to make an effort to network while in law school, I just need to figure out which type of law interests me the most so I can seek out that type of summer job.

everlast, congrats on being instate with that scholarship! did you go to undergrad out of state? for some reason i thought you weren't from florida.

Anyone else getting curious about our class schedules? I wish I knew mine...I'm getting antsy!

[Quaildogie]

Does anyone know if our class schedules are up yet? I'm trying to find them so I can order books. Also, if you are attending the one-week extended orientation, do you also have to attend the two day orientation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[E\/ERLAST]

No, and Yes

[Arredondo]

Tuition went up a lot quicker than it had been the past couple years: http://www.law.fsu.edu/prospective_stud ... enses.html

For in-staters:
From 05-06 it went up about 6 percent
From 06-07 it went up about 4 percent
From 07-08 it went up about 14.5 percent

Still a good deal, though.

[mtk04]

yeah i haven't logged on in a month and I was stunned to see how effing long of a post I wrote. anyways, about a month left till good old law school starts. Hope you guys are all doing well and getting plenty of good fun times in, i know I am!!!

[jstrud]

Well, I hope a lot of you are going to be taking part in the early orientation. I finally found a place, so I won't be stranded. Keeping with the theme of networking, all who are attending the early orientation, we should schedule a date and all go out for drinks after the program.

I have a question though, if anyone doesn't mind responding, who did you all choose for your loan provider? and how much did they estimate your budget at?

[Weckta]

Just found this website today... I guess I'm way behind. UF grad and going to FSU for law school, so I'm pretty sure I'm schizophrenic. Anyone else really think we should have received schedules (or at least orientation information) by now? And what's up with the floppy drive requirement? Anyways... look forward to seeing everyone in a couple weeks.

[jordanfsu]

Just found this website today... I guess I'm way behind. UF grad and going to FSU for law school, so I'm pretty sure I'm schizophrenic. Anyone else really think we should have received schedules (or at least orientation information) by now? And what's up with the floppy drive requirement? Anyways... look forward to seeing everyone in a couple weeks.

Sent you a PM. For everyone else, I called student affairs today and they told me to expect schedules via email early next week. And it begins....

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone as well. I'm an FSU UG and most of my friends have left Tallahassee / started working, etc.

[Arredondo]

For everyone else, I called student affairs today and they told me to expect schedules via email early next week.

Thanks for that heads up. Now I won't have to check my email every 30 minutes this week.

Oh, and Weckta you are not alone. I'm a UF grad also.

[E\/ERLAST]

I was told by administration that they will be out tomorrow (Wednesday) as early as noon and no later than Thursday at dawn.

[Weckta]

Someone had posted about financial aid... has anyone tried to get aid from a school other than the ones on FSU's website? I'm trying to go through Bank of America and want to make sure I'm taking all of the right steps... and thanks for the update jordan!

[kd]

Someone had posted about financial aid... has anyone tried to get aid from a school other than the ones on FSU's website? I'm trying to go through Bank of America and want to make sure I'm taking all of the right steps... and thanks for the update jordan!

I am taking out a private education loan through Bank of America and am using Suntrust for my federal loans.

Speaking of money, how is everyone budgeting for books? At my undergrad they advanced loan money to buy books, and I'm afraid I haven't planned very well.

[Weckta]

I'm using money from working to pay for them... or a credit card... I maybe your grad plus loans come in earlier than the stafford? I'm not sure...

[Weckta]

I was told by administration that they will be out tomorrow (Wednesday) as early as noon and no later than Thursday at dawn.

Maybe one of you received information about our class schedules, and the other about orientation?

[E\/ERLAST]

Mine was about class schedules