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I've been accepted into some TT schools with scholarship money (less than half tuition). But I have also been accepted into Suffolk with nearly full tuition scholarship. I'm thinking with the possible need-based scholarships I can receive, it is likely that I will have full tuition paid for. This is very tempting and I am aware of the bleak employment prospects. However, I would like to know your opinion on if you would take the money and attend a TTTT school or take around $100k in debt and attend a TT school...

This if my first post on here btw...

surefire88 wrote:I've been accepted into some TT schools with scholarship money (less than half tuition). But I have also been accepted into Suffolk with nearly full tuition scholarship. I'm thinking with the possible need-based scholarships I can receive, it is likely that I will have full tuition paid for. This is very tempting and I am aware of the bleak employment prospects. However, I would like to know your opinion on if you would take the money and attend a TTTT school or take around $100k in debt and attend a TT school...

This if my first post on here btw...

Where/what kind of law do you want to practice? What is the other school you've been accepted to? What are the stips on your scholarships?

timbs4339 wrote:

surefire88 wrote:I've been accepted into some TT schools with scholarship money (less than half tuition). But I have also been accepted into Suffolk with nearly full tuition scholarship. I'm thinking with the possible need-based scholarships I can receive, it is likely that I will have full tuition paid for. This is very tempting and I am aware of the bleak employment prospects. However, I would like to know your opinion on if you would take the money and attend a TTTT school or take around $100k in debt and attend a TT school...

This if my first post on here btw...

Where/what kind of law do you want to practice? What is the other school you've been accepted to? What are the stips on your scholarships?

I would like to go into criminal law and I do not have any aspirations to go into Big Law. I would preferably like to be in a government setting and Army JAG would also be an option I would consider.
I've been accepted into Seattle U (top half of class stip), Gonzaga (2.75 stip I believe, roughly top half), Willamette (2.90 stip, not sure where that leaves me) USF (non-renewable scholly), and Pacific McGeorge (Top 1/3 stip). Still waiting to hear back from UO, L&C, Loyola, and Northeastern.

I'd retake/reapply due to bad job prospects.

I would say out of the schools that you have listed your best prospect for a job out of law school would be Seattle and thats if you want to stay in that area after law school. As for the JAG program I wish you the best of luck, but I was talking to a family friend who is a Navy JAG recruiter and he said only like 4 % of the applicants are selected and those are coming out of high ranked schools. I'm not sure how Army is but I'm willing to bet they are the same way.

surefire88 wrote:However, I would like to know your opinion on if you would take the money and attend a TTTT school or take around $100k in debt and attend a TT school...

I would not do either. But if you can go to Suffolk for free and go to night school and work, maybe it would be okay.

Did Suffok place stipulations on your fullride?

I'd go to Suffolk...

As someone who applied to Suffolk PT and just got rather nice scholarship from them (20K per, 3.0 GPA stip), I've been doing a fair amount of research on the place.

First and foremost, with regards to the 3.0 stip that I am assuming you have. I tracked down somewhere on here that the stip is pretty standard there and 85% of recipients keep their scholarship throughout their time there. In fact, one student said that below a 2.75 is academic probation so it seems like keeping it, while not a certainty, is a pretty decent bet if you work much at all.

With regards to reputation and the job market coming from Suffolk, it seems like within Boston, it is largely good. As someone who has spent a fair amount of time up there, I can attest to people (inside and outside of the legal community) referring to the place as "solid". Simply put, it is not a "stain" on your resume that will ruin you for life...if you stay in the Boston area. However, it is not going to travel much beyond the city limits, and you are competing with BU/BC/NE/and the HUGE class you are graduating with in a very saturated market. But, the general consensus seems to be that if you work hard and do well at Suffolk, you will have some sort of legal job waiting for you. Of course, it is highly unlikely/bordering on impossible that it is going to be a high-paying gig right off the bat and yes as with any school (especially TTT), it is possible you may face unemployment but it does seem that many Suffolk grads carve out a decent career for themselves in the long run. In essence, I really don't think graduating from Suffolk with no debt is a horrible idea if you love the idea of life in the area.

Also, if you haven't been the school's building and location are unbelievably nice. No, this won't help you get a job some day but it wouldn't be a bad place to spend 3/4 debt free years in my opinion.

Good luck!

Suffolk stip is 3.0 GPA (I believe the median is slightly higher than a 3.0). According to Suffolk's website, 85% of students retain their scholarship. I also spoke with the dean who informed me that if you end up losing your scholarship, you can get it back the 3rd year if you climb back up to a 3.0. Not sure if most other schools do this.

I visited Boston last summer and loved it. Wouldn't mind living there at all, especially if I can be virtually debt free. I will be visiting the school on March 24th and I've heard nothing but great things about the building.

Thank you for your opinions!

I'm a bit more wary of schools like Suffolk and New England now that I know that there are kids in the top 25% at BU and BC that don't have jobs. If it could be that difficult to find something out of BU/BC in Boston, I can't begin to imagine the uphill climb that awaits a graduate of a lower-tier Boston school.

With those options, go to Suffolk.

wfudeacons2005 wrote:I'd go to Suffolk...

As someone who applied to Suffolk PT and just got rather nice scholarship from them (20K per, 3.0 GPA stip), I've been doing a fair amount of research on the place.

First and foremost, with regards to the 3.0 stip that I am assuming you have. I tracked down somewhere on here that the stip is pretty standard there and 85% of recipients keep their scholarship throughout their time there. In fact, one student said that below a 2.75 is academic probation so it seems like keeping it, while not a certainty, is a pretty decent bet if you work much at all.

With regards to reputation and the job market coming from Suffolk, it seems like within Boston, it is largely good. As someone who has spent a fair amount of time up there, I can attest to people (inside and outside of the legal community) referring to the place as "solid". Simply put, it is not a "stain" on your resume that will ruin you for life...if you stay in the Boston area. However, it is not going to travel much beyond the city limits, and you are competing with BU/BC/NE/and the HUGE class you are graduating with in a very saturated market. But, the general consensus seems to be that if you work hard and do well at Suffolk, you will have some sort of legal job waiting for you. Of course, it is highly unlikely/bordering on impossible that it is going to be a high-paying gig right off the bat and yes as with any school (especially TTT), it is possible you may face unemployment but it does seem that many Suffolk grads carve out a decent career for themselves in the long run. In essence, I really don't think graduating from Suffolk with no debt is a horrible idea if you love the idea of life in the area.

Also, if you haven't been the school's building and location are unbelievably nice. No, this won't help you get a job some day but it wouldn't be a bad place to spend 3/4 debt free years in my opinion.

Good luck!

It does have a very good name in Boston. However, it has an even better name just outside of Boston (North Shore, Metrowest, South Shore, etc.), so if you'd be okay living in one of the towns or cities in MA other than Boston, you have a better chance of a job. However, these will likely be small offices rather than biglaw.

landla wrote:

wfudeacons2005 wrote:I'd go to Suffolk...

As someone who applied to Suffolk PT and just got rather nice scholarship from them (20K per, 3.0 GPA stip), I've been doing a fair amount of research on the place.

First and foremost, with regards to the 3.0 stip that I am assuming you have. I tracked down somewhere on here that the stip is pretty standard there and 85% of recipients keep their scholarship throughout their time there. In fact, one student said that below a 2.75 is academic probation so it seems like keeping it, while not a certainty, is a pretty decent bet if you work much at all.

With regards to reputation and the job market coming from Suffolk, it seems like within Boston, it is largely good. As someone who has spent a fair amount of time up there, I can attest to people (inside and outside of the legal community) referring to the place as "solid". Simply put, it is not a "stain" on your resume that will ruin you for life...if you stay in the Boston area. However, it is not going to travel much beyond the city limits, and you are competing with BU/BC/NE/and the HUGE class you are graduating with in a very saturated market. But, the general consensus seems to be that if you work hard and do well at Suffolk, you will have some sort of legal job waiting for you. Of course, it is highly unlikely/bordering on impossible that it is going to be a high-paying gig right off the bat and yes as with any school (especially TTT), it is possible you may face unemployment but it does seem that many Suffolk grads carve out a decent career for themselves in the long run. In essence, I really don't think graduating from Suffolk with no debt is a horrible idea if you love the idea of life in the area.

Also, if you haven't been the school's building and location are unbelievably nice. No, this won't help you get a job some day but it wouldn't be a bad place to spend 3/4 debt free years in my opinion.

Good luck!

It does have a very good name in Boston. However, it has an even better name just outside of Boston (North Shore, Metrowest, South Shore, etc.), so if you'd be okay living in one of the towns or cities in MA other than Boston, you have a better chance of a job. However, these will likely be small offices rather than biglaw.

That's good to know! A small law job in the Boston suburbs actually sounds pretty appealing with no debt...to me at least.

notstevedoocy wrote:With those options, go to Suffolk.

This. Suffolk has a better rep in its market than the USNews rankings would suggest. For free, it's not a bad option.

surefire88 wrote:I've been accepted into some TT schools with scholarship money (less than half tuition). But I have also been accepted into Suffolk with nearly full tuition scholarship. I'm thinking with the possible need-based scholarships I can receive, it is likely that I will have full tuition paid for. This is very tempting and I am aware of the bleak employment prospects. However, I would like to know your opinion on if you would take the money and attend a TTTT school or take around $100k in debt and attend a TT school...

This if my first post on here btw...

Hahaha!!! Don't go to any of these.

Suffolk was the toast of the town half a century ago. Buy time machine --> profit.

stillwater wrote:Suffolk was the toast of the town half a century ago. Buy time machine --> profit.

Thank you for your comment.