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Someone I know has received a full ride to John Marshall Law School in Chicago and I was wondering how terrible this would really be?

Pretty terrible

Is his/her Dad a partner at a law firm? Are they independently wealthy? If no to either, it's a bad decision.

COL + 3 lost years + very slim shot at decent job = poor decision in most scenarios.

I have taken some time off of working full time to study for the October LSAT and my best friend's wife brings up how this guy we know was mentioned in their church newsletter for getting a full ride to law school. She was kind of rubbing it in my face. She said something with John in the name in Chicago. I look it up and notice I am above both 75% and she starts saying I should have applied there then. I explained it was a bad idea but she was convinced it can never be bad to go to school with a full ride.

Cooley used to give full rides to all 163+ applicants but that doesn't mean Cooley is ever the best option.

Chriz wrote:I have taken some time off of working full time to study for the October LSAT and my best friend's wife brings up how this guy we know was mentioned in their church newsletter for getting a full ride to law school. She was kind of rubbing it in my face. She said something with John in the name in Chicago. I look it up and notice I am above both 75% and she starts saying I should have applied there then. I explained it was a bad idea but she was convinced it can never be bad to go to school with a full ride.

She's wrong. There are certainly times when taking a full ride to a lesser school is justifiable, but not for Marshall. It's an objectively bad school, and the odds of finding a job as a lawyer are not good.

The part that is killing me is I don't know his stats. For all I know he barely eeked by and just made the cutoff for a full ride but who knows if he didnt have much better stats that could have went somewhere better

Chriz wrote:Someone I know has received a full ride to John Marshall Law School in Chicago and I was wondering how terrible this would really be?

Is this "someone you know" actually you? Either way, attending John Marshall Law is a terrible idea, yes.

It's not.. Though I wonder what you need for a full ride there.

Chriz wrote:It's not.. Though I wonder what you need for a full ride there.

Why does it matter? You've got your own LSAT to study for - make it count and you won't have to worry about being wooed by Mr Chief Justice.

The stips are most likely horrendous and designed so the person will lose the scholly after year 1.

I'd seriously argue that John Marshall is one of the top 10 worst law schools to attend in this economy. With Chicago COL + trying to land a job in the Chicago market is a recipe for disaster. Check out LST http://www.lstscorereports.com/?r=il

I got a full ride with a 3.8 / 164 and my friend got a full ride with a 3.6 / 162. All scholarships at JMLS come with a top third stipulation. I got lucky with a good scholly at a T1 and will heading there, my friend however is attending JMLS and is 100% convinced he will be in the top third...

illiniguy1551 wrote:I got a full ride with a 3.8 / 164 and my friend got a full ride with a 3.6 / 162. All scholarships at JMLS come with a top third stipulation. I got lucky with a good scholly at a T1 and will heading there, my friend however is attending JMLS and is 100% convinced he will be in the top third...

Did you tell your friend what section stacking is? They put all of the scholarship kids in one section and then make the curve GPA the same across all sections so that 2/3 kids are guaranteed to lose their scholarships. And then transferring when you lose your scholarship is impossible because you're not even in the top 1/3 of your class at a crappy school! I'm not sure whether John Marshall specifically does this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

goldbh7 wrote:

illiniguy1551 wrote:I got a full ride with a 3.8 / 164 and my friend got a full ride with a 3.6 / 162. All scholarships at JMLS come with a top third stipulation. I got lucky with a good scholly at a T1 and will heading there, my friend however is attending JMLS and is 100% convinced he will be in the top third...

Did you tell your friend what section stacking is? They put all of the scholarship kids in one section and then make the curve GPA the same across all sections so that 2/3 kids are guaranteed to lose their scholarships. And then transferring when you lose your scholarship is impossible because you're not even in the top 1/3 of your class at a crappy school! I'm not sure whether John Marshall specifically does this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah I told him exactly what section stacking is and how ignorant is is to assume you will be top third. He just told me I was being a snot lol, so then I quit trying. LST score reports didn't phase him either.

illiniguy1551 wrote:

goldbh7 wrote:

illiniguy1551 wrote:I got a full ride with a 3.8 / 164 and my friend got a full ride with a 3.6 / 162. All scholarships at JMLS come with a top third stipulation. I got lucky with a good scholly at a T1 and will heading there, my friend however is attending JMLS and is 100% convinced he will be in the top third...

Did you tell your friend what section stacking is? They put all of the scholarship kids in one section and then make the curve GPA the same across all sections so that 2/3 kids are guaranteed to lose their scholarships. And then transferring when you lose your scholarship is impossible because you're not even in the top 1/3 of your class at a crappy school! I'm not sure whether John Marshall specifically does this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah I told him exactly what section stacking is and how ignorant is is to assume you will be top third. He just told me I was being a snot lol, so then I quit trying. LST score reports didn't phase him either.

Did you tell him JMLS is in the bottom 3? Cooley, TJ, and JMLS.

TaipeiMort wrote:

illiniguy1551 wrote:

goldbh7 wrote:

illiniguy1551 wrote:I got a full ride with a 3.8 / 164 and my friend got a full ride with a 3.6 / 162. All scholarships at JMLS come with a top third stipulation. I got lucky with a good scholly at a T1 and will heading there, my friend however is attending JMLS and is 100% convinced he will be in the top third...

Did you tell your friend what section stacking is? They put all of the scholarship kids in one section and then make the curve GPA the same across all sections so that 2/3 kids are guaranteed to lose their scholarships. And then transferring when you lose your scholarship is impossible because you're not even in the top 1/3 of your class at a crappy school! I'm not sure whether John Marshall specifically does this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah I told him exactly what section stacking is and how ignorant is is to assume you will be top third. He just told me I was being a snot lol, so then I quit trying. LST score reports didn't phase him either.

Did you tell him JMLS is in the bottom 3? Cooley, TJ, and JMLS.

Yup. He is too enticed by the free tuition and stipend. Won't even consider Kent or Loyola with $40k COA

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sublime12089 wrote:

Regulus wrote:

sublime12089 wrote:

Regulus wrote:Please read this, and then tell your acquaintance that they're an idiot. Law school is never free, even if there isn't a monetary value attached. Time is money, and law school costs 3 years.

Why did you email Barry? Just to see what they said? I have a friend who is a 1L there and I feel bad any time I think about it. (Not to mention my friend at Ave Maria, the few at Stetson, and another paying close to sticker at Hofstra)

Pretty much. I was tired of getting emails from them about their awesome scholarships.

Lol, I feel you. I replied to an email from Phoenix because it seemed to be a real person sending them. I am extremely close to marking Valapraiso's emails as spam though. Still am not interested in the webinar I have gotten a reminder of every week for 6 months.

FWIW, I know an unfortunate soul who graduated from JMLS yesterday who lost his scholly after first year who would swear to god that they section stack.

I feel so left out that I live in Indy and haven't gotten Valpo emails!!!!

Regulus wrote:Please read this, and then tell your acquaintance that they're an idiot. Law school is never free, even if there isn't a monetary value attached. Time is money, and law school costs 3 years.

Opportunity costs are not stressed enough in total COA.

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