So... I swore I wouldn't make one of these:Vanderbilt v GULC Forum

[bzzingbee]

Don't go into law school assuming that you will be able to get a PI position and therefore be able to take advantage of PSLF. Go in with the assumption that you will be making $50k working a shitty job; hope for biglaw, and pray for PI.

That's fair. I will say I have a non-compete that will carry into my 1L summer. So that may help me get a govt internship, which may help carry me into long-term employment. Maybe. But yes, I should be more pessimistic (read: realistic) about it all.

lol nah you're fine... it is good to shoot for those goals; just make sure that you set a realistic financial budget. If PAYE is still around in its current form in 3 years, you might be good no matter what, but there isn't even a 100% guarantee on that either.

not to threadjack, but can they retro-actively change the terms of PAYE for people who have already started it? For example if we enter PAYE in like 2017, then they change it or get rid of it in 2020, would it affect us??

Thread jack away, I am interested in that as well.

[bzzingbee]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

[Kalinda]

If you're dead set on Public Interest/Government, its GULC.

The LRAP program essentially will make you paying sticker a non-issue (assuming you can get a DA position, since you are not committed to any city, or region for that matter, you should have some luck).

Enjoy DC!

DAs in random flyover states aren't gonna be fellating OP just because she went to GULC

Believe me when I say as a 3L who has looked into these positions that they are VERY difficult to get

Frankly, and PSLF position is

You're right, I guess I should have asked if the OP had ties to more than one market in which she could apply. I was presumptuous, but in my experience, people who grow up in one area, go to school in another, and work and live somewhere else were now, have had more opportunities with PI/government jobs (not all which translate into work, but at least more interviews and callbacks). That may not be the case was OP.

[patrickd139]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

For the love of god take one of the full rides or almost-full rides. Law school is professional school, not vacation school.

[Kalinda]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

I definitely missed this earlier. If you have a full-rides at some schools, I would try to find students on this board who can talk about the opportunities offered at these schools in the field you're looking for. Is Georgetown at sticker a definite at this point?

[bzzingbee]

If you're dead set on Public Interest/Government, its GULC.

The LRAP program essentially will make you paying sticker a non-issue (assuming you can get a DA position, since you are not committed to any city, or region for that matter, you should have some luck).

Enjoy DC!

DAs in random flyover states aren't gonna be fellating OP just because she went to GULC

Believe me when I say as a 3L who has looked into these positions that they are VERY difficult to get

Frankly, and PSLF position is

You're right, I guess I should have asked if the OP had ties to more than one market in which she could apply. I was presumptuous, but in my experience, people who grow up in one area, go to school in another, and work and live somewhere else were now, have had more opportunities with PI/government jobs (not all which translate into work, but at least more interviews and callbacks). That may not be the case was OP.

Since I already gave enough information that an idiot could figure out who I am, I'll be a tad more general here. I grew up in one area, went to school in that area and have very strong ties there. That being said I was born in another region and have family ties (and their very strong connections) in that region as well. I am now working in a third region of the country and fostering connections. So, I think I'm good. Thanks for your advice btw

[DoveBodyWash]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

I definitely missed this earlier. If you have a full-rides at some schools, I would try to find students on this board who can talk about the opportunities offered at these schools in the field you're looking for. Is Georgetown at sticker a definite at this point?

You should consider the full ride at W&M especially since you're not particularly gunning for BigLaw...

[bzzingbee]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

For the love of god take one of the full rides or almost-full rides. Law school is professional school, not vacation school.

I'm worried that those schools are more regional, and I have no idea where I want to be. I would like a school that has national reach so if as a 2L/3L I decide I definitely want to be somewhere, I have that option.

[patrickd139]

I'm worried that those schools are more regional, and I have no idea where I want to be. I would like a school that has national reach so if as a 2L/3L I decide I definitely want to be somewhere, I have that option.

$250k in student loan debt will be so much more restrictive than even the most regional law school for free, especially since you're looking at PI stuff.

Since you're being slightly more anonymous now, I'll advise this: go to the school with the full or almost-full ride that is also in the the region where you have the most significant ties.

[bzzingbee]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

I definitely missed this earlier. If you have a full-rides at some schools, I would try to find students on this board who can talk about the opportunities offered at these schools in the field you're looking for. Is Georgetown at sticker a definite at this point?

Also, yes Georgetown at sticker. Despite my attempts otherwise.

[bzzingbee]

I'm worried that those schools are more regional, and I have no idea where I want to be. I would like a school that has national reach so if as a 2L/3L I decide I definitely want to be somewhere, I have that option.

$250k in student loan debt will be so much more restrictive than even the most regional law school for free, especially since you're looking at PI stuff.

Since you're being slightly more anonymous now, I'll advise this: go to the school with the full or almost-full ride that is also in the the region where you have the most significant ties.

Would you advise something different if I hadn't been more anonymous? haha

[patrickd139]

I'm worried that those schools are more regional, and I have no idea where I want to be. I would like a school that has national reach so if as a 2L/3L I decide I definitely want to be somewhere, I have that option.

$250k in student loan debt will be so much more restrictive than even the most regional law school for free, especially since you're looking at PI stuff.

Since you're being slightly more anonymous now, I'll advise this: go to the school with the full or almost-full ride that is also in the the region where you have the most significant ties.

Would you advise something different if I hadn't been more anonymous? haha

Nah, I'd just ask where you have the most significant ties and then tell you to go there.

[Kalinda]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

I definitely missed this earlier. If you have a full-rides at some schools, I would try to find students on this board who can talk about the opportunities offered at these schools in the field you're looking for. Is Georgetown at sticker a definite at this point?

Also, yes Georgetown at sticker. Despite my attempts otherwise.

Yeah I would definitely head to the WUSTL students taking questions thread and see what advice or information current students can provide. I believe one of the moderators on the board who is pretty active is a WUSTL student, answers questions there. I know nothing about William and Mary.

ETA: Ah sorry for the typos in previous posts! Glad you were able to decipher what I meant. Good luck on your decision!

[bzzingbee]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Definitely gave me (more than I ever wanted) food for thought. Here's to cursing my alcoholic freshman year (pesky GPA requirement), and crunching numbers for the next few weeks.

[walkingpanda]

Don't go into law school assuming that you will be able to get a PI position and therefore be able to take advantage of PSLF. Go in with the assumption that you will be making $50k working a shitty job; hope for biglaw, and pray for PI.

Words of wisdom.

[20141023]

.

[walkingpanda]

Do you have BIG money from any other top 25/30 Schools. Might be worth considering a near full ride at a top 25/30 so you are nearly debt free. Just food for thought.

Yes. I have a full ride at William and Mary, almost full ride at WUSTL, Washington and Lee, and Emory. But as silly as it sounds I just.... didn't like them as much. And I'm thinking the higher rankings will open up more doors. Nearly debt free would be awfully nice though. I also have no debt from undergrad.

These are some good choices and, IMO, better choices than Vandy and GULC with that much "soul crushing" debt. Considering your interests, I really think you ought to be deciding between those schools that have offered you (almost) full scholarships.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

If you're dead set on Public Interest/Government, its GULC.

The LRAP program essentially will make you paying sticker a non-issue (assuming you can get a DA position, since you are not committed to any city, or region for that matter, you should have some luck).

Enjoy DC!

DAs in random flyover states aren't gonna be fellating OP just because she went to GULC

Believe me when I say as a 3L who has looked into these positions that they are VERY difficult to get

Frankly, and PSLF position is

^This. From what i've seen it's easier to get biglaw than DA positions right now. I know one person who interviewed with multiple DA offices in multiple areas where they had ties and ended up with nothing. And that person had a resume that screamed DA and good grades. So that person ended up interviewing with judges and will be doing a federal clerkship and trying again next year. Maybe DA offices will have money to hire again by the time OP is graduating, but right now it looks like it's a terrifying world for DA/PD people.

[Rlabo]

I'm sure you've tried this already, but just in case, you should definitely let Gulc/vandy know about those offers and see if you can't get more money out of them to make it a little easier too justify attending.

[cinephile]

If you do anything other than take the full ride, then you deserve all the misery that will be sure to follow.

[bzzingbee]

If you do anything other than take the full ride, then you deserve all the misery that will be sure to follow.

That was... harsh. No need to be a jerk about it. That's why I was asking advice.

[Rlabo]

The biggest problem I see is that the field you want to go into is A) not a money maker B) extremely competitive to break into. This would be fine except law school is gonna put you into some serious debt. On the one hand going to a better school may open a few more doors for you that will help you land that job and their LRAP program may help you finance it. But if you cant land that job your probably going to either go to work at another job which you may possibly hate, or even worse, being screwed without any job and a bunch of debt. On the other hand, the full ride may not open as many doors for you, but if you do end up striking out, you wont be sinking in debt. If starting in your chosen field is paramount, I would strongly consider the full rides based on this. If you're a little more open to other possibilities of employment then I would say you have more leverage in considering higher ranked schools.

[cinephile]

If you do anything other than take the full ride, then you deserve all the misery that will be sure to follow.

That was... harsh. No need to be a jerk about it. That's why I was asking advice.

Sorry, that was harsh.

But you're in a great place and I'd hate to see someone give up a full ride to chase after prestige - especially since I've seen this happen quite a lot.

[bizzybone1313]

I wouldn't go to GT at sticker. That is way too much debt. What happened at Cornell and UT? Did you apply?

[bzzingbee]

The biggest problem I see is that the field you want to go into is A) not a money maker B) extremely competitive to break into. This would be fine except law school is gonna put you into some serious debt. On the one hand going to a better school may open a few more doors for you that will help you land that job and their LRAP program may help you finance it. But if you cant land that job your probably going to either go to work at another job which you may possibly hate, or even worse, being screwed without any job and a bunch of debt. On the other hand, the full ride may not open as many doors for you, but if you do end up striking out, you wont be sinking in debt. If starting in your chosen field is paramount, I would strongly consider the full rides based on this. If you're a little more open to other possibilities of employment then I would say you have more leverage in considering higher ranked schools.

Thanks for the advice. I agree with everything you've been saying, I just know it's the field I am passionate about which is why it's my goal. That being said, however, I am very open to other employment. I'll do what I have to in order not to live in a shack, and my career plans could very well change while I'm in law school. Who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with tax law or maritime law or the countless other opportunities. That's another reason I was considering taking on the massive debt for GULC, because if I do change my career aspirations and because I don't know where I want to be regionally, I wanted something that was more broad in its appeal to employers.