GULC buyers remorse? AKA how bad are employment prospects Forum

[DAisaka09]

z.

[Aqualibrium]

Why dont you just sit next year out? Worst case scenario, you go to GULC as class of 2015 in what's possibly a better economic climate. Best case scenario you try again next cycle and hit at a t25 with some cash or a t30 full ride.

[Law Sauce]

gtown is still one of the best schools in the country. short term, yea there is some things to figure out, long term = good investment every time (unless you decide you hate law of course )

p.s. tls can screw up your perspective, take everything with a grain of salt and be happy that you got into one of the best possible law schools, at asw, i bet you allow your mind to settled down, as long as tls hasnt poisoned it completely

[Rand M.]

You haven't really stated your goals.

[profizzle]

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[MrAnon]

This is what life is like for GULC grads today.

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/05/georgeto ... on-on-npr/

I imagine employment prospects are no better where you stand right now, without the law degree. However in that case I would not take on $180,000 worth of debt on the hope that things will be better for GULC grads in 3.5 years. The evidence is scant that they will be. People on here have been predicting recovery and hiring trends upward for years now but it just is not happening.

[Marionberry]

OP, going to GULC is still likely going to serve you very well. Don't let the groupthink on this website, which is usually based on an overly simplistic analysis of the most easily accessible data, or one article about a single digit sample of graduates convince you otherwise. That article didn't mention where they graduated in their class or what kind of jobs they had applied for, and their expectations may have been unreasonable ("...expressed an interest in tax law and international arbitration". Simply put, unless you graduate in the top 1/3 or 2/5, or even 1/2 (most recent stat indicated something like 40% of gulc grads got biglaw in a recent class) yes, biglaw may be difficult. However, there are still jobs out there. The chances at gulc are not drastically worse than at other schools in the lower T14, and they're still quite good. Will you be making $160k immediately after graduating? Maybe not. Will you be broke forever with your useless T14 law degree? probably not. Work hard, make the grades, and don't expect shit to be handed to you and your life will turn out fine.

[DAisaka09]

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[MrAnon]

http://abovethelaw.com/2009/03/sign-of- ... nt-page-2/

[DAisaka09]

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[RVP11]

This is what life is like for GULC grads today.

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/05/georgeto ... on-on-npr/

Dude, that's class of 2010. A lot of people from HLS got screwed in that year too.

[Marionberry]

I'm definitely not dead set on big law but the idea of taking 180k in loans and not making 100k (this is an arbitrary number) does intimidate me. I'm from the Seattle area so I'd like to come back home eventually somewhere down the line and work for a mid sized firm but clearly that debt needs to get paid down somehow preferably sooner rather then later. Does anyone have any experience with GULC's LRAP? I am interested in PI and an ADA position sounds good to me but once again its hard to stomach when you are staring down all that debt.

No personal experience here (fellow GULC Class of 2014er), but from everything I've read their LRAP is supposed to be top notch, though I think that's the case with most of the T14. GULC's covers all your loan payments based on a 10year repayment plan if you work in a PI/government job making $75k or less. This would certainly include any ADA or public defender position. Above 75K it's a sliding scale, I believe. So, basically, if you take a goverment or PI gig making less than 75k for your first 10 years, GULC will pay for all of your loans. Even if you are just making that much for a few years, that's still a sizeable chunk of debt that they're paying. In some place like Seattle I would think that a T14 degree would carry some weight, since there's no top schools in the Pacific North West. I'm just guessing on that, though, I could be way off.

[RVP11]

People on here have been predicting recovery and hiring trends upward for years now but it just is not happening.

No one predicted an upward hiring trend until OCI this fall. And guess what? Hiring was better than last year.

[DAisaka09]

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[DAisaka09]

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[Marionberry]

Couldn't hurt to give it a read yourself, but it's my understanding that in the situation you described you would only have to pay one year's worth of payments. The payments covered under the LRAP are not contingent on doing PI for ten years, but the yearly amount covered is based on what you would otherwise be paying on a 10 year payment plan, if that makes sense.

Also, with regard to the pessimism expressed earlier in the thread, one of the above posters is a troll (based on a quick glance at their post history) and should be taken with a grain of salt. It's not all unicorns and rainbows for law students, but every school is not a waste of money either.

[DAisaka09]

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[Marionberry]

Well, don't forget about IBR for federal loans. Even if you're not making bank right after you graduate, your payments will likely be manageable provided you find some kind of decent employment. It might not be in the city you want, it might not be doing what you want, and it might not pay as much as you want, but you will probably be able to find a job. Granted, there are some people who just fall flat on their face, but I'm not convinced that that isn't at least in part their fault. It's not like you're taking out $180k in loans to go to a Barry or Pace University, you're going to one of the best law schools in the country. Provided you're reasonably competent and a hard worker, your life will probably turn out just fine. Maybe not in the way you currently envision it, and maybe not in the timeframe that you would prefer, but the reality is that the vast majority of people in the world would love to be in your position right now.

I take this optimistic view because I know lots of recent law school graduates, and most of them are doing just fine. Those that aren't I can kind of see why. They paid sticker at lower ranked schools, or are unwilling to make sacrifices or comprimises in searching for employment. The idea that you are guaranteed a 6 figure job coming right out of law school is no longer the truth, and if you go into it knowing that you're gonna have to work to get what you want you should be okay.

That said, if you're really concerned about the debt you can always just sit out this cycle. That could very well be the most prudent choice in your case, but that decision is up to you.

[MrAnon]

Label me a troll all day long if you like but I think OP came here for perspectives. If he wants to hear more rah-rah go-law-school stuff then by all means I can wave the pom poms for him to go to GULC. I'll just stand by the NPR report about Georgetown. If there are counterpoint articles I would be happy to review them.

I want add another item to my doom and gloom parade since there is much talk about LRAP in this thead.

http://abovethelaw.com/2009/06/unc-law- ... nt-page-1/

IBR and LRAP could all go up in smoke if economic circumstances are right.

[MrAnon]

It might not be in the city you want, it might not be doing what you want, and it might not pay as much as you want, but you will probably be able to find a job.

I guess you can still tell people you are a lawyer. Seriously what's left if you are not in a place you want to be, not doing what you want to do, and not making as much as you want. Couldn't you be doing this now in random x job without the weight of debt?

[RVP11]

I'll just stand by the NPR report about Georgetown about the class of 2010, when people from every law school got boned.

FTFY, champ.

I'm far from the "rah-rah law school" type but you're being just as misleading as those people when you cite this article in the context of this thread.

[MrAnon]

I see. Prospects declined at every law school. Well then in that case it's all good. I'm sure everyone's prospects are much better this year. ABA magazine even says so.

[RVP11]

I see. Prospects declined at every law school. Well then in that case it's all good. I'm sure everyone's prospects are much better this year. ABA magazine even says so.

Whatever the case, I'm sure your prospects suck/sucked if your posting is at all indicative of your IRL competence.

[nealric]

This is what life is like for GULC grads today.

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/05/georgeto ... on-on-npr/

I am a GULC class of 2010 alum and know the people who were in that interview. While it was an interesting story, I wouldn't call it a representative profile of the graduating class. Even so, none of the people in that video are ending up in doc review or are in danger of defaulting on their loans.

[DAisaka09]

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