typ3 wrote:sebastian0622 wrote:typ3 wrote:Opie wrote:Intend to apply. LSAT Saturday. This is my target school. I can get in barring any screw ups Saturday, it's really about the $$$.
I'll echo chris on this. Assuming you get a 167 you'll get a full ride as an in-state resident with a top 3rd stipulation.
I'm in-state with a 167 and got a top 1/3rd stip full ride. I'm a 2L at Iowa now.
My advice is: don't come here. There are a lot of good things about Iowa Law, Iowa City, and the state of Iowa, but there are too many reasons to go elsewhere if you score a 167.
I think that advice is only fair provided a few things--
1.) You are ok with taking on crippling debt.
2.) You want to practice outside of the Midwest or want better placement in Chicago / Minneapolis (This being the case go to U of Minn).
It's been my experience here and my run in with your class that everyone seems to have a hard on for Chicago firm placement.
Anyone with a 167 instate with a reasonable GPA will get a full ride. As an out of stater with a high GPA and a 167 that is a full ride. I would rather take a JD with minimal to no debt from Iowa than one at a slightly higher ranked school with loads of debt.
A 167 isn't going to get you into a Top 6 school which would likely be worth the debt. If this were a student with a 170+ I would definitely say consider a T-14 school specifically UVA or Michigan with scholarship.
This is all a good contribution to the discussion. But keep in mind that law school isn't free outside of tuition. Even with a full ride at Iowa, you're going to end up in significant debt by the time you pay room and board, living expenses, books, parking (parking is atrociously inflated at Iowa considering that you're in a small city), transportation, and for some, day care. So you're not comparing $120k+ in debt from a higher ranked school to zero in debt at Iowa. You're comparing $120k+ debt from a higher ranked school to $40-$60k in debt from Iowa or more if you have daycare or other circumstances.
Considering how much big law salaries are and how much going to Iowa is going to hurt your chances of that vs. somewhere like Vanderbilt, that $60k or $80k difference doesn't look like much. I mean, if you want a $45k a year job at a lifestyle small firm or $65k - $85k in Des Moines, then Iowa offers that (to a minority of students, but certainly to a decent amount). But frankly, better schools offer those opportunities in secondary markets also. Wouldn't you rather be paying an extra $5k per year on your student loans and be offsetting that with $50k+ more in salary? If you're talking crippling debt, is $600 or $1000 a month more manageable with a $55k salary, or is $2000 more manageable with a $145,000 salary? If you're talking about where half of the class ends up after graduation, at Iowa you're talking about the former (assuming a scholarship) and at Vandy you're talking about the latter. Now if you're paying sticker at Iowa, good freakin' luck, kids. You're talking top school debt and mediocre placement--the worst of both worlds. This school seriously has so little national and regional clout that you are taking a huge gamble. The job market is bad, and big city firms are sticking with their home schools for talent.
A lot of this isn't speaking for myself, since I have no interest in biglaw or even really midlaw. I always planned to do family law or gov't or non-legal. But I think I'm the exception to the rule with extensive prior work experience and a wife who makes a lot of money, which provide two safety nets, so I'm trying to talk more to the typical applicant than about myself. I don't want people to make the same mistake I did. I got lucky as hell to hustle a job in the area I want to practice; that I got lucky absolutely does not in any way mean it was a good idea for me to enroll here.
