Help with Law School Decision Forum

[austinite13]

I am a non-traditional (older) student, married with children. Where would you go? I am interested in environmental law.

Lewis & Clark- 10,000 scholarship
Vermont Law School- 25,000k scholarship
University of Kentucky- 12,000 scholarship
University of Maine- waiting to hear about $$ but like the city
Quinnipiac- 28,000 scholarship

Thoughts I where to go.

161/3.74 10+ WE

[Emma1]

Where do you want to practice? I would probably pick Vermont Law as they seem to be rated number 1 for environmental and they are also giving you more money than Lewis and Clark.

[zermatt1]

Portland has a very high quality of life. It is my favorite city and I'm sure your wife and kids would enjoy it. The Pacific Northwest also has many opportunities for those interested in environmental law. I will most likely go to Lewis and Clark. Portland is an ideal city.

[Jerome]

Portland has a very high quality of life. It is my favorite city and I'm sure your wife and kids would enjoy it. The Pacific Northwest also has many opportunities for those interested in environmental law. I will most likely go to Lewis and Clark. Portland is an ideal city.

+1

[iShotFirst]

Portland is way better for quality of life than Vermont so far as they are both nice, natural places but Portland is also a good sized city... Vermont doesnt have any great cities. Also, and this is completely anecdotal, but it may be tough to live there and be accepted as a total outsider... my sister lives there and says it is difficult.

[deadpanic]

Where do you want to practice? I would probably pick Vermont Law as they seem to be rated number 1 for environmental and they are also giving you more money than Lewis and Clark.

TITCR.

Vermont is probably the best environmental law school and 25K/year is a lot of money. What is the contingency of the scholarships? I'd imagine environmental law jobs won't pay a lot of money, so I'd reduce the amount of debt you will incur as much as possible.

[FunkyJD]

Might be worth looking into how L&C places in Seattle. If the answer is "it places well," then you'd have access to the top two markets in the Pacific Northwest. There are worse places in America to live. Sit outside, smell the pine leaves, drink some Mirror Pond, take the kids fishing or hiking along some trails ...

Re: Vermont: Do you want to fight the HLS, BU, BC, and other kids from northeastern schools for Boston jobs? Or would you rather fight UW and Oregon grads for Seattle and Portland jobs?

Use the other schools as leverage to try to get L&C to up the scholly money.

[Jerome]

Might be worth looking into how L&C places in Seattle. If the answer is "it places well," then you'd have access to the top two markets in the Pacific Northwest. There are worse places in America to live. Sit outside, smell the pine leaves, drink some Mirror Pond, take the kids fishing or hiking along some trails ...

Re: Vermont: Do you want to fight the HLS, BU, BC, and other kids from northeastern schools for Boston jobs? Or would you rather fight UW and Oregon grads for Seattle and Portland jobs?

Use the other schools as leverage to try to get L&C to up the scholly money.

Agreed. LC has excellent placement in Oregon and Washington. Although their policies about scholly money are royally fucked right now.

[FunkyJD]

Might be worth looking into how L&C places in Seattle. If the answer is "it places well," then you'd have access to the top two markets in the Pacific Northwest. There are worse places in America to live. Sit outside, smell the pine leaves, drink some Mirror Pond, take the kids fishing or hiking along some trails ...

Re: Vermont: Do you want to fight the HLS, BU, BC, and other kids from northeastern schools for Boston jobs? Or would you rather fight UW and Oregon grads for Seattle and Portland jobs?

Use the other schools as leverage to try to get L&C to up the scholly money.

Agreed. LC has excellent placement in Oregon and Washington. Although their policies about scholly money are royally fucked right now.

What's the deal? I take it they are really tight-fisted?

[austinite13]

Thank you for the input. I am going to go out to Portland for the Preview Day and take the family. I like the fact that L&C is not a one-trick pony like Vermont Law School and my wife and kids would much rather live in a city than rural Vermont. The $$ is my concern but Portland may have better job prospects for my wife as well.

Anyone have any suggestions about where to live in Portland with good public schools for the kids?

[Jerome]

Thank you for the input. I am going to go out to Portland for the Preview Day and take the family. I like the fact that L&C is not a one-trick pony like Vermont Law School and my wife and kids would much rather live in a city than rural Vermont. The $$ is my concern but Portland may have better job prospects for my wife as well.

Anyone have any suggestions about where to live in Portland with good public schools for the kids?

My guess is that you're right - Portland will have better job prospects than VT, and it is a very livable city.

As for neighborhoods, I would suggest living in SE Portland, but SW is fine, too. Multnomah Village is close, has a bunchy of cool cafes, parks, etc. and is very close to a few schools. Hillsdale is down the road from Multnomah Village, and is very similar. Either would do well for a family and both have easy commutes to LC. You could also live in Lake Oswego (also known as "Lake No-Negro" for its bougie atmosphere), but you will pay a premium to live there. And it is boring. Very, very boring. Another option is to live on "the Hill" but almost all of the available housing is crappy undergrad housing (trust me, I lived there for one miserable year).

As for SE Portland, Sellwood is very cool, has plenty of cool bars and restaurants (including the best cheap Mexican place in the city) and is a quick commute to LC (although the Sellwood bridge may be renovated soon and that will mess-up any commute). For a slightly longer commute and more expensive COL, but the coolest part of the city, I'd check out Belmont/Hawthorne/Powell/Division (all SE streets). These neighborhoods have the best "vibe" and great coffee shops, stores, and restaurants, IMO.

[beef wellington]

My brother goes to Vermont. It's in a tiny village (like 1000 people) in the middle of nowhere. The law school is the only thing there. His wife had to get a food service job a half hour away from S Royalton, luckily she got a job at the school after a few months. Plus there's the whole endless winter thing. He seems to like it, but he's weird.

I lived in SE Portland for a short while and agree with all the nice things everyone else is saying. For those saying pick Vermont because it's #1 in environmental law, L&C isn't exactly chopped liver at #2 (don't they switch positions with some regularity anyway?). Plus a degree from L&C will still be worth something if you change your mind about environmental law.

[Emma1]

I thought you were looking at Portland, Maine initially as Maine Law School is there. i have no idea what Portland Oregon is like but other posters seem to like it. I think it depends on what you can afford and where you would like to live. Good luck!

[austinite13]

Thank you for all the great neighborhood information. I just booked the tickets and am really looking forward to the trip.

I was going to go visit Vermont next week but am reconsidering because I really don't know if I could hack it in a town of 1,000.

As far as Portland, Maine, we loved the city and am waiting to hear about scholarship $$ but feel that Portland, OR might have more job opportunities and has a strong environmental program.

These are tough decisions especially since I have a family and am still waiting to hear from UT (a long shot) but am a Texas resident.

[84Sunbird2000]

Thank you for all the great neighborhood information. I just booked the tickets and am really looking forward to the trip.

I was going to go visit Vermont next week but am reconsidering because I really don't know if I could hack it in a town of 1,000.

As far as Portland, Maine, we loved the city and am waiting to hear about scholarship $$ but feel that Portland, OR might have more job opportunities and has a strong environmental program.

These are tough decisions especially since I have a family and am still waiting to hear from UT (a long shot) but am a Texas resident.

Royalton as a town (in total, including North and South) has a population of 2500. However, Lebanon is only 25 minutes away. The Lebanon MSA (Micropolitan Statistical Area) is about 170k, and Lebanon itself has about 13k people.

I personally think, as great as Portland is, that Vermont would be an amazing place to live. If I was able to get a mythical full scholarship from Vermont, I might consider it just because of the area. Then again Cornell is my favorite T14, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. L and C is a wonderful school and certainly will give you more fallback options than VT.