Local school with a scholly or T30 at sticker? Forum

[shredderrrrrr]

Go to Drake and hustle your ass off.

Piece of cake for Opie. As a child:

[buckilaw]

Go to Drake. But try to get those stips removed before you enroll.

[romothesavior]

Those stipulations are awful and will make your life hell. I voted for Drake if you can get rid of the stipulations, but I say neither. Nothing says you have to go to law school.

Also, your attitude regarding debt is appalling. Especially with a family that depends on you for support.

[AriGoldButNicer]

Those stipulations are awful and will make your life hell. I voted for Drake if you can get rid of the stipulations, but I say neither. Nothing says you have to go to law school.

Also, your attitude regarding debt is appalling. Especially with a family that depends on you for support.

Growing up around deadbeats, i can attest to how dangerous it is to not consider money you owe real money. What winds up happening is you destroy your ability to ever take out a loan, but because your family needs money wind up borrowing from illegal sources without learning your lesson. These sources generally are less forgiving than creditors. It's a bad cycle. If your goal is I'm gonna go to a crappy law school to make a lot of money when you hve a family, I'd strongly suggest you think deeply about your prospects coming out of these places. All due respect, you've got a devoted wife making good money by your standards and want to take out 100k while making 0 to maybe one day make 40. I think being a house husband and working minimum wage jobs, maybe raking in $300 off the books is smarter money wise.

[chiro]

If you just don't pay student loans late fees and penalty fees apply. Since it builds on itself, it stays on your credit score for ever, always getting worse. Can't discharge it in Bankruptcy either. Dosn't go away after a few years like other unpaid debts. Just keeps getting worse.

If you are that poor, use Obamas Income Based Repayment. If you are dirt poor you pay $0 a month for 20 years while building good credit and then it goes away on its own at the end, even without bankruptcy. But you have to apply for it or you don't get it.

If you have the money to pay, then don't pick that plan since interest is higher and it will still reflect your income level.

It's not like other debts though, Clinton made sure of that.

[chiro]

If you fear any qualification makes you "overqualified" then just leave it off the resume.
It's not like a felony that you are legally required to disclose, and won't show up in your piss test or FBI check or whatever else they need for the Walmart job you are talking about.

I have a BA but I would never mention that if I applied to be a fry cook.

Yeah, that doesn't actually sound all that bad. I come from a really poor background. I'm not sure why everyone is freaking out about possibly being unemployed. I'm just trying to have a road to middle class in the next ten years or so.

My experience with UG student loans is that if you can't pay them you just tell them that and they defer them. I'm not sure if grad loans work the same way, but it doesn't seem as scary as people make it out to be.

Also, I keep hearing that a JD makes you overqualified for other work, but I don't recall any rule anywhere that says you have to disclose all of your degrees to potential employers.

[lawlcat4179]

Seems like an easy answer to me. Paying that much money for Iowa is insane, hence, I'd go with Drake via process of elimination. Your best option (of the two available) is to use the Iowa acceptance as leverage for getting the stipulations taken away at Drake.

If you lost any bit of your scholarship I would drop out of Drake in a heartbeat. Honestly, what would be the point in paying money to finish outside of the top 35% at a school that you are lucky to find any job from within the top 35%?

[charliep]

I think Paul Campos' head will explode if he hangs out in this forum too much

Seriously. The only other thread I read today was the hippie yoga dude who is going to drop $125K on UT or $250K on Boalt to get a job as . . . . wait for it . . . a public interest lawyer doing environmental law.

I'm trying real hard to be a shepherd.

if the choice is boalt, i'm pretty sure pi would be an ok way to go given their lrap

[Younger Abstention]

Go to Drake, but if you lose the scholarship drop out. I doubt you'll be below top 35% at Drake, though.

[KRog]

Opie, you should definitely go to Drake if you want to stay in Des Moines and especially with your housing/family situation.

Speaking as a fellow Iowan, Drake does do VERY well in the Des Moines market. Honestly, many of my closest friends are lawyers in Des Moines. Iowa's legal market did not fare as poorly during this recession as most other areas. I do not think that you will have any trouble making $50k in Des Moines as a Drake JD even if you are not at the top of your class. Heck, I have friends in Des Moines making $45k as legal secretaries. (True story!)

Some of the people responding to this thread telling you to go to Iowa or to not go to law school at all are probably not familiar with Drake. It has an outstanding reputation locally. Many firms in Des Moines PREFER to hire Drake grads to Iowa grads. They think Drake grads come out of law school ready to actually practice law, whereas Iowa has a less practical and more theoretical approach. Unlike Biglaw firms, the smaller average firm size in Des Moines makes it hard for them to pay new associates and spend two or three years training them. People hired at most smaller firms get thrown in and it is sink or swim. In that sort of environment, a more practical education with experiential training has huge benefits.

I think Iowa is a great school and if there were any chance you might want to move out of Des Moines or Iowa, I might agree with the posters recommending Iowa over Drake. But in your case, Drake is a no-brainer, IMO.

The stips are not the greatest, true. But honestly, even without the scholly, in your situation, I would not hesitate to choose Drake over Iowa if I knew I really wanted to practice law. However, although I agree with you that it is likely that Drake will lose the stips, it can't hurt to ask!

Best of luck to you! I have no doubt you will do well. The ability to network well is a huge plus, especially in smaller markets like Des Moines. From what I have seen on the Drake and Iowa applicant threads, that is one skill that will be a feather in your cap!

[Paul Campos]

I think Paul Campos' head will explode if he hangs out in this forum too much

Seriously. The only other thread I read today was the hippie yoga dude who is going to drop $125K on UT or $250K on Boalt to get a job as . . . . wait for it . . . a public interest lawyer doing environmental law.

I'm trying real hard to be a shepherd.

if the choice is boalt, i'm pretty sure pi would be an ok way to go given their lrap

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a PI job right now?

[midwestls]

To be entirely serious, I haven't gone a day of my life without a bill collector calling my house. I have two phone numbers these days, one that I use and one that I sign up for things in and don't have a phone connected to.

Just be aware that this statement alone, assuming it means you're behind or in default on a ton of bills, could be enough to get you denied on character and fitness in my state (which admittedly is not Iowa).

You should not go to law school IMO.

[Sherlock1708]

Maybe you have made your decision already, but can you go to Drake part-time? It seems risky for you to go to school full time while your house is underwater. What if your wife loses her job while you are attending law school full time? With your house underwater, you have no chance to refinance. If your wife loses her job, you will have little chance at a loan modification if neither one of you has an income. The last thing you want is to go into foreclosure while you're taking out loans to go to school. I suppose if this happens, you could declare bankruptcy, but bankruptcy won't wash away your student loans.

Also you mention that you have 2 children. It sounds like from your post that they don't live with you. If they are minors, how will you pay for child support if you give up your current salary and go to school full time?

I'm not sure if law school is the answer to your dissatisfaction with your current salary. What is your current profession? Maybe there are other schools or certificates you can obtain to boost your salary?

Also, don't most employers run background and/or credit checks? The last thing I would do is take on MORE DEBT if you already have bill collectors calling you every day!!!