Getting my priorities in order Forum

[Unfathomableruckus]

ha ha sorry to weirdly tell you the same thing twice

here's my advice. You're clearly talented, interesting, and have a lot of experience.

1. Aim higher. You have the numbers and softs for it, IMO. You don't have to go to every school that admits you, but you should give yourself a full range of options. There's still time to apply to most of the T-14s.

2. Think beyond the short-term. You need the ability to transition to another legal field in case the geopolitical situation changes and your niche is no longer in demand. That means that you have to look at career prospects outside of your exact immediate field. Any old degree might work for where you are now, and that's great, but would it give you any kind of career mobility if things change? You've indicated that the school is on the way down. That's a really bad sign. I have a friend who went to American when it was a decent school, and she really regrets it because it looks terrible on her resume and there's nothing she can do about it.

3. Think beyond your specific legal niche. I can tell you want to do something more ambitious. Think long and hard about whether you're selling your ambitions short, and if so, why.

4. You have a family. Working and going to school part-time, while trying to make sure you fulfill stipulations? That sounds insane to me. And stipulations might sound "easy" but if they were so "easy" to get past, why would schools have them?

5. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Tell them you won't do stipulations. Tell them you want a stipend. If they're really bottom of the T1, your numbers and your employability make you an insanely good candidate. If you're going to go there--and I suggest you don't--you at least need to go there with a guaranteed scholarship and a decent amount of your living expenses paid.

Thank you very much for your input. Especially for taking the time to go into so much detail. I'll have to sleep on applying to more schools but I might be interested if you really think it would help, even just for scholarship negotiation purposes. I have a fee waiver to one of them that I didn't take advantage of because of geography! So everyone is unanimous on no TTTT which helps my decision somewhat. My favorite school is a top 20. If I could get a scholarship to a T14 that would probably help. You really got real with the selling myself short bit. Maybe I'm protecting myself against disappointment. Thanks. I'm going to sleep on your advice and maybe reach into my pockets to apply to a couple more schools tomorrow.

[landshoes]

It will help for negotiation purposes if you have options, and you might get a substantial scholarship offer from the T-14 school(s) you apply to, and decide that it's worth it.

Law school is a huge huge investment. You should give yourself as many options as you can and as many choices as you can so you can compare them from a place of knowledge (and a place of power--which is what having several great options gives you).

If you get accepted to a given school, you might decide it's worth it to move. You might decide it's not worth it. You might get a great scholarship. You might not. But there's no reason to stop before you even begin--get all of the information, and find out what your opportunities are. Especially with a fee waiver--apply, and see what happens.

I thought I had no shot at getting into the school I'm at, and I got in with a substantial scholarship. I'm also continuously surprised at the kind of opportunities we have here. I never would have known about all of these opportunities, jobs, internships, classes, mentorship opportunities, etc. if I hadn't applied. Again, it might not be worth it, but I think that given that it's such a large investment, you owe it to yourself to get all of the information. That means applying to a number of schools, and seeing what your options are.

I believe that you will be successful no matter what you do. But I do want you to have the best opportunities that you can get. Good luck with everything--!