Best for PI: sticker at T10 or full ride at lower ranked? Forum

[JJC10]

Hi,
Sorry if there are already forums about this. Would happily be referred to them. For someone interested in public interest and only public interest, what does everyone think is the wisest choice?
1) Lower half of the T10/T14 at sticker
2) T30 schools at about 15K/yr (after scholarship)
3) Schools ranked 40-60 for full scholarship (no stipulations)?
Thanks!

[John_rizzy_rawls]

School with the best LRAP.

[JJC10]

School with the best LRAP.

Thanks! Any opinions?

[eav1277]

Are the schools you're considering in the same region/state as where you'd like to end up? (besides the top 14 ones)

[John_rizzy_rawls]

School with the best LRAP.

Thanks! Any opinions?

Georgetown has a killer LRAP and it's within your range.

[cinephile]

full ride

you can never guarantee getting the PI job in the first place or keeping it for the length of the LRAP period - esp as most these programs are now tied into IBR. If after a few years you want to quit and do something else or take time off for kids, then what?

[JJC10]

Are the schools you're considering in the same region/state as where you'd like to end up? (besides the top 14 ones)

To be honest, probably not, although I'm not settled on where exactly I'd like to end up...the hope is that these degrees might carry
Edit: Ahh, sorry, yes, the non-T14 ones are in a place I'd be ok ending up

[JJC10]

School with the best LRAP.

Thanks! Any opinions?

Georgetown has a killer LRAP and it's within your range.

Thanks

[JJC10]

full ride

you can never guarantee getting the PI job in the first place or keeping it for the length of the LRAP period - esp as most these programs are now tied into IBR. If after a few years you want to quit and do something else or take time off for kids, then what?

Good point..Although my understanding of IBR (or rather the public service loan forgiveness program) was not that the job had to be continuous, just that you had to make a total of 120 payments?

[eav1277]

Are the schools you're considering in the same region/state as where you'd like to end up? (besides the top 14 ones)

To be honest, probably not, although I'm not settled on where exactly I'd like to end up...the hope is that these degrees might carry

If you don't choose a T-14 and you're interested in PI, it might help to be in the same region/state where you think you want to end up (since you don't exactly know...that makes it a little tougher)

[JJC10]

Are the schools you're considering in the same region/state as where you'd like to end up? (besides the top 14 ones)

To be honest, probably not, although I'm not settled on where exactly I'd like to end up...the hope is that these degrees might carry

If you don't choose a T-14 and you're interested in PI, it might help to be in the same region/state where you think you want to end up (since you don't exactly know...that makes it a little tougher)

Yea, the non-T14 ones are mostly in the big city where I currently live, where I wonder if most of the pi jobs go to HYS grads anyways..

[cinephile]

full ride

you can never guarantee getting the PI job in the first place or keeping it for the length of the LRAP period - esp as most these programs are now tied into IBR. If after a few years you want to quit and do something else or take time off for kids, then what?

Good point..Although my understanding of IBR (or rather the public service loan forgiveness program) was not that the job had to be continuous, just that you had to make a total of 120 payments?

Yes, but wouldn't it be better to just be debt free and down with it up front rather than searching for another qualifying job halfway through?

[JJC10]

full ride

you can never guarantee getting the PI job in the first place or keeping it for the length of the LRAP period - esp as most these programs are now tied into IBR. If after a few years you want to quit and do something else or take time off for kids, then what?

Good point..Although my understanding of IBR (or rather the public service loan forgiveness program) was not that the job had to be continuous, just that you had to make a total of 120 payments?

Yes, but wouldn't it be better to just be debt free and down with it up front rather than searching for another qualifying job halfway through?

Totally. But no matter what going into debt based on living expenses

[timbs4339]

What kind of PI?

[eav1277]

Either way it's a gamble...full ride plus COL (lower prospects less debt) or sticker plus COL (better prospects but you better hope you stay employed/find PI work for the LRAP/IBR to kick in).

Does the lower school also have a LRAP?

[JJC10]

Either way it's a gamble...full ride plus COL (lower prospects less debt) or sticker plus COL (better prospects but you better hope you stay employed/find PI work for the LRAP/IBR to kick in).

Does the lower school also have a LRAP?

Hadn't thought to ask yet, good point. I guess I'm also still fuzzy on the difference between LRAP and IBR/PSLF..

[JJC10]

What kind of PI?

Most likely non-profits, policy stuff would be great too

[UAX09]

I would go full ride at a lower ranked school. Even at a T10-14, your chances of getting big law are less than forty percent. Also, given the high attrition rates for big law lawyers, do you really want to be have to work in a job you hate because of the debt? Lots of students want big law, yet surprisingly, lots of people leave big law once they get the big job. A full ride gives you options that you won't have when you are paying sticker.

[JJC10]

I would go full ride at a lower ranked school. Even at a T10-14, your chances of getting big law are less than forty percent. Also, given the high attrition rates for big law lawyers, do you really want to be have to work in a job you hate because of the debt? Lots of students want big law, yet surprisingly, lots of people leave big law once they get the big job. A full ride gives you options that you won't have when you are paying sticker.

Thanks, I'm actually only interested in PI, but these points possibly hold especially true for that.

[worldtraveler]

You need more specifics. Do you want the ACLU or a local non-profit?

[JJC10]

You need more specifics. Do you want the ACLU or a local non-profit?

I'd honestly probably be happy with either

[eav1277]

JJC10. Feel free to PM me. I'm facing a similar dilemma (I have 2 full ride offers and 1 3/4 scholly). At two of them, I'd be a public interest fellow.

I currently don't have any T-14 offers but I retook the LSAT Saturday and am really hoping to get a score that will make me competitive at the T-14's. Even if I were to get into t-14's, I would still seriously considering the other offers .

Also are your schollys straight merit (or do they have any stipulations/wording that you'll be going into PI)? If any were PI oriented schollys, I believe I've read/heard that some schools stroooongly encourage you to voluntarily repay the scholly if you change your mind and go the Big Law/non-PI route. Just something to consider

[timbs4339]

What kind of PI?

Most likely non-profits, policy stuff would be great too

You need to be more specific. There are certain areas of non-profit work where the T10 JD helps, there are certain areas where it is essential. Being a public defender is one thing, working for the Federal Defenders of San Diego or DC is another. Doing public interest immigration work is one thing, doing international human trafficking work is another.

I've found successful PI students go in with a very specific plan. They want union side labor law, or financial regulation, or education law and policy.

[dixiecupdrinking]

What kind of PI?

Most likely non-profits, policy stuff would be great too

You need to be more specific. There are certain areas of non-profit work where the T10 JD helps, there are certain areas where it is essential. Being a public defender is one thing, working for the Federal Defenders of San Diego or DC is another. Doing public interest immigration work is one thing, doing international human trafficking work is another.

I've found successful PI students go in with a very specific plan. They want union side labor law, or financial regulation, or education law and policy.

+1.

Frankly, if you don't have an extremely well-defined plan, you're likely to "sell out" and try for biglaw. I don't mean this in a pejorative sense; it sort of describes my own experience, in fact. It's simply the most common outcome for people who enter vaguely interested in public interest work, when they realize that a) biglaw isn't some big evil monolithic thing and b) public interest hiring is very diffuse, requires you to focus on getting a very particular type of experience, and is pretty stressful and uncertain. Keep in mind that if you don't already know what you want to do, you won't know before you have to interview for biglaw. Your 1L year is going to be entirely, or almost entirely, required courses that don't give any insight into particular areas of the law. If you don't know exactly what you mean by "policy work" now, there will be very little opportunity to figure it out in time.

So that in mind, you should go to the T10, where at least you'll have a decent shot at getting that first biglaw job. (Honestly, you probably should not go to law school, at least not until you know exactly what you want to do with a legal career, but this advice is rarely popular.)

[worldtraveler]

You need more specifics. Do you want the ACLU or a local non-profit?

I'd honestly probably be happy with either

But which one do you want? Why do you want PI? We're trying to help you here and you aren't giving much to work with.