Read if you want; T6Hopeful decides law school's not for him Forum

[T6Hopeful]

Post removed for privacy reasons. Thank you all for your input, but I would not like to risk further alts quoting my entire post. I am willing to share my decision with users via PM, however, especially those I have corresponded and exchanged admissions advice/experiences with.

Best of luck to you all.

Warm regards,
T6 Hopeful

[NZA]

You take care. And godspeed.

[T6Hopeful]

You take care. And godspeed.

Thanks buddy. Hard decision at the time, but very easy decision from the other side. Good luck in your endeavors!

[romothesavior]

Better to come to this realization now than a year from now. Props to you for doing your homework, doing some soul searching, and coming to a realization about what is best for you. I really wish everyone took the time and energy to ask themselves these questions before law school. And of course, if you ever change your mind, law school is always there if you want to do it.

Best of luck to you in whatever you end up doing.

[vissidarte27]

I made a similar decision when I decided to quit singing (I was a music major at a top conservatory and had wanted to be an opera singer since I was 15 or 16) and, even though it was the hardest decision I'd ever made and it broke my heart a little bit, it was the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I hope you find a similar sort of peace and best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

[AreJay711]

I can feel this. I thought about it long and hard today but there was a definite reason why I can't do my #1 dream so I have so settle for #2. Best of luck.

[rundoxierun]

Would you have gone if you had gotten HYS?

[T6Hopeful]

Thanks for the support everyone. Means a lot to me, or (honestly) at least as much as an online forum could.

Would you have gone if you had gotten HYS?

You know, I'm not sure. I feel like that's a different argument to make. One one hand, looking at the debt at hand at ANY t14 with my numbers (definitely no full ride inside t14) really helped me to re-examine and then to solidify my decision, although it wasn't the entirety of it. Going to HYS might have been different, but also might have been an additional blindfold to whether I really wanted to go to law school, so maybe I do consider not having HYS numbers a blessing in disguise.

[bk1]

Wait, your parents were willing to pay for you? Otherwise I don't see how the "last 7-9 years" comment is relevant.

Just curious, but I think it is great that you realize this now and not later. Good luck to you.

[T6Hopeful]

Wait, your parents were willing to pay for you? Otherwise I don't see how the "last 7-9 years" comment is relevant.

Just curious, but I think it is great that you realize this now and not later. Good luck to you.

Thanks. And I'm not totally sure where you got that conclusion. While my parents WERE willing to pay for me (I don't think I said that?), I always qualify for an automatic 0 expected family contribution on the FAFSA, since if you do the math, my parents have made that much money (that is, 215k, which is now the COA at Columbia over 3 years) I think before expenses). So in other words, they couldn't have contributed very much at all, except for groceries maybe a few months. Either way, I was looking at a suffocating amount of debt.

[rundoxierun]

Thanks for the support everyone. Means a lot to me, or (honestly) at least as much as an online forum could.

Would you have gone if you had gotten HYS?

You know, I'm not sure. I feel like that's a different argument to make. One one hand, looking at the debt at hand at ANY t14 with my numbers (definitely no full ride inside t14) really helped me to re-examine and then to solidify my decision, although it wasn't the entirety of it. Going to HYS might have been different, but also might have been an additional blindfold to whether I really wanted to go to law school, so maybe I do consider not having HYS numbers a blessing in disguise.

I see. Good luck with Fulbright. It is super-competitive. My girlfriend's sister graduated from a super-elite LAC last year with an identical gpa to yours and she struck out. Still, there are other ways to get to Europe if that doesnt work out. She was able to do the Europe thing by serving as an Au Pair for a family in Spain and then returned again the next year as a teacher of some sort while also studying historic European architecture.

ETA: FWIW, if I were looking at sticker at a T14 I would make the exact same decision that you did.

[bk1]

Thanks. And I'm not totally sure where you got that conclusion. While my parents WERE willing to pay for me (I don't think I said that?), I always qualify for an automatic 0 expected family contribution on the FAFSA, since if you do the math, my parents have made that much money (that is, 215k, which is now the COA at Columbia over 3 years) I think before expenses). So in other words, they couldn't have contributed very much at all, except for groceries maybe a few months. Either way, I was looking at a suffocating amount of debt.

Well you said that law school costs more than 7-9 years of your parents income. I just don't see how that matters unless they are somehow helping you out with the cost. Otherwise it seems like just an irrational way of looking at the cost (i.e. if you parents had made a million dollars last year but weren't helping you, the decision process should be the same).

ETA: Unless you were somehow counting on them for some sort of fallback bail you out plan.

[SupraVln180]

Good luck man. God bless.

[T6Hopeful]

Thanks for the support everyone. Means a lot to me, or (honestly) at least as much as an online forum could.

Would you have gone if you had gotten HYS?

You know, I'm not sure. I feel like that's a different argument to make. One one hand, looking at the debt at hand at ANY t14 with my numbers (definitely no full ride inside t14) really helped me to re-examine and then to solidify my decision, although it wasn't the entirety of it. Going to HYS might have been different, but also might have been an additional blindfold to whether I really wanted to go to law school, so maybe I do consider not having HYS numbers a blessing in disguise.

I see. Good luck with Fulbright. It is super-competitive. My girlfriend's sister graduated from a super-elite LAC last year with an identical gpa to yours and she struck out. Still, there are other ways to get to Europe if that doesnt work out. She was able to do the Europe thing by serving as an Au Pair for a family in Spain and then returned again the next year as a teacher of some sort while also studying historic European architecture.

ETA: FWIW, if I were looking at sticker at a T14 I would make the exact same decision that you did.

Yeah, I actually pulled the minority card super hard through my grant statement and all (I'm Asian, but that's more URM than ORM when it comes to European countries, especially to study that country's literature.), and my state college placed 18 or so of it's 36 applicants last year, which isn't too bad. I won't say too much more for anonymity's sake.

Well you said that law school costs more than 7-9 years of your parents income. I just don't see how that matters unless they are somehow helping you out with the cost. Otherwise it seems like just an irrational way of looking at the cost (i.e. if you parents had made a million dollars last year but weren't helping you, the decision process should be the same).

ETA: Unless you were somehow counting on them for some sort of fallback bail you out plan.

Well it was just another factor in that my family's not wealthy by ANY means, so while not a fallback plan, it's not out of the question that with my brother going through college in the fall of 2012 that they wouldn't be able to even house me, period (I'm still a little surprised we've survived any foreclosure waves, to tell you the truth). So unlike some people on these forums that have parents that may be able to contribute maybe even 20-30k a year for COL for 3 years, I was looking at signing 215k+ interest worth of loans straight to my name, with no work experience at the moment.
ETA: I'm not bitter that they're falling on hard times or that other people are luckier, just taking it into account in my situation.

Good luck man. God bless.

Thanks a lot, and good luck to you in everything.

[bk1]

Well it was just another factor in that my family's not wealthy by ANY means, so while not a fallback plan, it's not out of the question that with my brother going through college in the fall of 2012 that they wouldn't be able to even house me, period (I'm still a little surprised we've survived any foreclosure waves, to tell you the truth). So unlike some people on these forums that have parents that may be able to contribute maybe even 20-30k a year for COL for 3 years, I was looking at signing 215k+ interest worth of loans straight to my name, with no work experience at the moment.
ETA: I'm not bitter that they're falling on hard times or that other people are luckier, just taking it into account in my situation.

I see what you're saying. I guess my parents could cover my CoL or even full tuition if they sold some property, but I would never ask them to do either and I'm unsure how I would feel about it if they offered.

I really doubt that many people here are getting anything, let alone 50-100k, from their parents.

[joemoviebuff]

I admire your realistic approach and level-headedness. Best of luck.

[vertex]

You may be the only smart one in here. Best of luck with everything. I hope you go far.

[Deuce]

Good luck brah

[chihuahua12]

I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but is there a reason you aren't shooting for T20-T30 with $$?

[beastmode]

Good luck brah

this

[gbpackerbacker]

I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but is there a reason you aren't shooting for T20-T30 with $$?

[Sandro]

I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but is there a reason you aren't shooting for T20-T30 with $$?

Wouldn't you even get $$$ from T14 with those numbers ?

[Bildungsroman]

Good luck brah

[homestyle28]

Good luck to you sir. The lesson here is to never ask a 14 year old what they want to be when they grow up. A teenager doesn't calculate the costs of that dream job. When I was 14 I was going to play pro-football. Then I stopped growing. And was slow. And didn't like getting hit...

[emmbar53]

Good luck to you sir. The lesson here is to never ask a 14 year old what they want to be when they grow up. A teenager doesn't calculate the costs of that dream job. When I was 14 I was going to play pro-football. Then I stopped growing. And was slow. And didn't like getting hit...

Hilarious...when I was 14, I was going to be Rick Reilly, but then I realized that I hated him.

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T6hopeful,

Two things:

1. Good work thinking this stuff out. I know too many friends/relatives whod ecided to go to law school without thinking about it enough and are now in bad situations.

2. Patrick Ewing sucks (and was always overrated by New Yorkers).