Help me, please! :) NYLS/Baltimore/Hofstra Forum

[swagu]

Hate to kill the flow, but OP is a female...Please refer to her as such.

[NYCLSATTutor]

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond.

OP's JD is clearly NOT worthless since she has a guaranteed legal job upon graduation. Three years of forgone wages folding sweaters at the Gap isn't persuasive.

He likely has a guaranteed job now! His father owns a business. Worst case scenario, go work for that business. Best case scenario, use your undergrad degree to find a job. Contrary to the dour cynicism on this site, most college graduates are not folding sweaters at the GAP. They are gainfully employed making a decent salary with benefits. The kinds of jobs you can get with a JD from Hofstra (the ones that exist at least) simply do not pay significantly more than jobs that people with bachelor's degrees can otherwise get.

As for Nylsattutor- how many times do I have to say this? IT'S NOT FREE. It's costing him three years of salary and benefits, at a minimum. If he has a shitty job with shitty benefits, that's still roughly $100,000.

Incorrect. Its costing him 3 years of salary and benefits at a maximum, not a minimum.

What you fail to realize is that its not 3 years of salary and benefits. Its costing him 3 years of profits. That is, his salary minus his cost of living (since OP's CoL is being paid for as well).

If you want to take opportunity costs into consideration, at least do it right.

Sorry, I should have been more specific.
The fact that it's my dad's firm means that I'll have a job once I graduate, but I'd still need a JD to be able to work there unless I want to be a paralegal or secretary. Basically, as long as I pass the bar, I know I won't be jobless.
The "She'll lose out on three years of salary and benefits" argument makes little to no sense considering the fact that I wouldn't be able to have this job without a law degree. I could potentially work as a secretary at this firm, but why would I give up my current opportunity in order to make $10-15/hr for the rest of my life?
It's a law firm (that solely deals with real estate investors), not a firm of real estate investors themselves.
So it's not a random business that I could just stroll into.
I guess some of you are right when you say that it doesn't matter because of my situation, but I'd still like to go someplace where I could be happy.
I'm asking because I really just don't know enough about these schools to be able to make any judgments or decide which one I should go to. My parents basically only know about the schools my dad and his brothers went to, so they weren't much help either.

NYLS for sure if it's free. Living in the city will be an amazing experience.

Can you give some tips on how others can attain free law school with such an average LSAT and below-average GPA? Any advice would be appreciated greatly.

As for the funding, I contacted different organizations directly and set up in-person meetings (I think meeting in person instead of just making a request in writing or on the phone made a huge difference).
I'm a member of the LGBT community and have done some work promoting tolerance so I wrote to a bunch of organizations that could give me some funding.
I also am on the board of a not-for-profit that works to raise awareness in adolescents about addiction and recovery.
Therefore, I did the same with a few organizations that support people who are in recovery from substance abuse.
And finally, there're a few organizations out there that like to help out Hispanic students.
It took a lot of fishing and schmoozing, but I managed to get everything worked out.

I thought those lips looked a little feminine.

If you are looking for a school where you will "be happy" go and visit them. Nobody here knows you or your preferences well enough to be able to determine which school will jive with your own sensibilities. People here can be decent at giving advice as far as job prospects or practical things, but as far as personal/happiness aspects...well I think you just need to go and visit them 3 schools.

Also I wouldn't give up on any schools if you've been waitlisted from them. I am still expecting there to be quite a bit of waitlist movement this year.

[89vision]

As for the funding, I contacted different organizations directly and set up in-person meetings (I think meeting in person instead of just making a request in writing or on the phone made a huge difference).
I'm a member of the LGBT community and have done some work promoting tolerance so I wrote to a bunch of organizations that could give me some funding.
I also am on the board of a not-for-profit that works to raise awareness in adolescents about addiction and recovery.
Therefore, I did the same with a few organizations that support people who are in recovery from substance abuse.
And finally, there're a few organizations out there that like to help out Hispanic students.
It took a lot of fishing and schmoozing, but I managed to get everything worked out.[/quote]


Like CDC's? What type of organizations? Were you an addict? The political and outreach organizations I have worked for dedicate all of their available funds to help the community improve. For example, a local CDC only gives grants to local businesses/artists/etc;, and don't have the necessary funds to give money to students. The political groups are focused on building membership bases and donating money to political campaigns. I never worked for a group that would give me money, but I'm not gay or a URM. Any advice for typical middle class Americans?

[apslaw1031]

As for the funding, I contacted different organizations directly and set up in-person meetings (I think meeting in person instead of just making a request in writing or on the phone made a huge difference).
I'm a member of the LGBT community and have done some work promoting tolerance so I wrote to a bunch of organizations that could give me some funding.
I also am on the board of a not-for-profit that works to raise awareness in adolescents about addiction and recovery.
Therefore, I did the same with a few organizations that support people who are in recovery from substance abuse.
And finally, there're a few organizations out there that like to help out Hispanic students.
It took a lot of fishing and schmoozing, but I managed to get everything worked out.

Like CDC's? What type of organizations? Were you an addict? The political and outreach organizations I have worked for dedicate all of their available funds to help the community improve. For example, a local CDC only gives grants to local businesses/artists/etc;, and don't have the necessary funds to give money to students. The political groups are focused on building membership bases and donating money to political campaigns. I never worked for a group that would give me money, but I'm not gay or a URM. Any advice for typical middle class Americans?

Once an addict, always an addict. But yes, I'm in recovery and I have been for several years now. I think the fact that I've been actively involved in a hands-on way helped a lot. For example, I educate kids in schools about addiction and give talks about sexuality and tolerance in my community. I'm sure that just being able to label myself as someone who could make a connection to these groups wouldn't have helped much. I didn't get responses besides what I would call curiosity from any nation-wide organizations or anything like that; they were organizations that operate on a local level. Honestly, all the the places I heard back from were in some way or another connected to the offices I did my LGBT and substance abuse prevention work through, so I don't really know if it would have been possible to accomplish this otherwise.
When I approached them, however, I didn't sit down and talk to them as a future student who just needed her tuition paid.
I explained the work that I have done and what I would like to see happen in the next few years (as it pertains to whatever board members I was meeting at the time). Then I explained how becoming an attorney would enable me to enact change and how it would help the organizations I am affiliated with, and therefore the cause. I made sure to highlight the fact that it would benefit many more people than just me. It felt a lot like a business proposal.
I got the least amount of aid for the Hispanic status, and to get that money I participated in an essay contest that resulted in scholarship money. It wasn't much, though.
Sorry I couldn't help more!
I don't really have advice for a "typical middle class American" (and by that I assume you mean White, straight, middle class, and not an addict) since I'm not one.

[romothesavior]

If you have a guaranteed job, go wherever is cheapest.