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Neither of your options are things people do out of law school, so unless you come up with reasonable employment goals I don't see how it can be a good decision.

Definitely reasonable to attend. At 166 you are at/above the 75th percentile at BC, which is one of the best regionals for big law placement in the country. You got what $27.5 a year? that is a nice scholarship, if you want to live cheap in Boston you won't need 20k a year if necessary, and it sounds like you are driven to do well. Is it ideal? No. But it is definitely not a bad outcome.

if you think you can do better, and you currently have a job to provide you with funding and are open to the idea of retaking, then get some more prep materials and retake ( brush up on what you know and concentrate on your weak areas- perhaps first by trying to figure out why you keep getting the answer choice incorrect- then trying to decide the difference between the correct response and your response.

law school will always be there so if you feel as though this will benefit you, then do it. Otherwise go.

I think you are underestimating your debt considerably. Find LS22 calculator and use it. Then look at the monthly pAyments you will have to make and include interest.

Are you happy with staying in boston for your career?
How about if your outcome is a job paying $50,000? What kind of small law work would you accept to practice?

20,000 a year to live on, with books, etc is
$1666 a month. Is that really enoûgh?

Clearly wrote:Neither of your options are things people do out of law school, so unless you come up with reasonable employment goals I don't see how it can be a good decision.

I meant those as long-term goals. Short-term the usual biglaw/clerk if possible (not likely 29%), any job at a decent law firm making $50-60k if not (somewhat possible maybe 50%). They have 63% in bar passage required, which is scary.

No. I don't think you should spend $100,000 or more for this school.

NYSprague wrote:I think you are underestimating your debt considerably. Find LS22 calculator and use it. Then look at the monthly pAyments you will have to make and include interest.

Are you happy with staying in boston for your career?
How about if your outcome is a job paying $50,000? What kind of small law work would you accept to practice?

20,000 a year to live on, with books, etc is
$1666 a month. Is that really enoûgh?

NYSprague wrote:No. I don't think you should spend $100,000 or more for this school.

I'm happy with Boston, i'm from New England. $20,000 would be tough, but potentially doable from what I can see. Rent for $750 including utilities possible. I'm ok with family/real estate/criminal and $50,000. The problem is the debt, and not finding a job. $50,000 a year isn't $50,000 a year when you owe a sizable amount of money. Loan payments would be $1,000+ a month. The $100,000 figure was after savings/family contribution. Amazing how quickly the "oh I have over a half-scholarship" turns into "wow I still have to pay back $100 grand".

I appreciate the blunt advice. Rather be called an idiot than make a bad decision. The tough part for us 0L's looking at law school is our other options aren't phenomenal, especially for those that have worked in a law firm and think they'd like practicing. Turning down this kind of money from BC Law seems insane to anyone I know, but they don't know the first thing about the legal market. That's why i'm trying to get advice from practicing attorneys here and elsewhere.

hawk5 wrote:

NYSprague wrote:I think you are underestimating your debt considerably. Find LS22 calculator and use it. Then look at the monthly pAyments you will have to make and include interest.

Are you happy with staying in boston for your career?
How about if your outcome is a job paying $50,000? What kind of small law work would you accept to practice?

20,000 a year to live on, with books, etc is
$1666 a month. Is that really enoûgh?

NYSprague wrote:No. I don't think you should spend $100,000 or more for this school.

I'm happy with Boston, i'm from New England. $20,000 would be tough, but potentially doable from what I can see. Rent for $750 including utilities possible. I'm ok with family/real estate/criminal and $50,000. The problem is the debt, and not finding a job. $50,000 a year isn't $50,000 a year when you owe a sizable amount of money. Loan payments would be $1,000+ a month. The $100,000 figure was after savings/family contribution. Amazing how quickly the "oh I have over a half-scholarship" turns into "wow I still have to pay back $100 grand".

I appreciate the blunt advice. Rather be called an idiot than make a bad decision. The tough part for us 0L's looking at law school is our other options aren't phenomenal, especially for those that have worked in a law firm and think they'd like practicing. Turning down this kind of money from BC Law seems insane to anyone I know, but they don't know the first thing about the legal market. That's why i'm trying to get advice from practicing attorneys here and elsewhere.

You haven't calculated interest payments, tuition increases and cost of living increasing, like rent.
Can you live in Boston for $50,000 after tax and loan payment?
PS I didn't call you an idiot.

Re take and re apply next year and continue weighing your options.

Why would you plan your life around "tough but doable"...

It's basically the upper bound of what I would be willing to pay, but I don't think 100K debt at BC for a New England native is the end of the world, especially with rich parents to bail you out if things don't work out well. You need to make your peace with the fact that statistically speaking, big law is unlikely but there's still a shot at that. BC is a solid school.

If your parents' safety net is quite large I would probably retake/reapply and try to snag a T14 to make the big law dream more likely. But considering that your gpa will limit schollys if your parents aren't willing to help you with like 200K+ debt if you miss the big law boat then I'd rather take the BC offer.

Do you like being a paralegal? If you can stomach another year, save some money, and bump your score even two points, you're looking at being a Cornell auto-admit with a small scholarship. > 200K to attend Cornell is borderline, but so is BC at > 100K.

If your really want biglaw and can deal with your current job, retake for Cornell/other T14. A couple point bump would raise your BC scholarship, at any rate, and you could better cover your COL should you still want Boston.

If you are prepared to hustle for non-biglaw work, I would say -- for your situation -- BC is defensible here for this fall.

Definitely reasonable to attend. BC has one of the better biglaw placement records outside of the T14, so if you're deadset on going to law school and don't have the stats for $ at a T14, BC with scholarship is a decent deal.

I wouldn't think $20k would be enough to live off in Boston with a $750/month rent. I pay less than that in rent, live pretty frugally, and I'm above $20k. I would say you could do it, but only if you like never go out.

Informative wrote:Definitely reasonable to attend. BC has one of the better biglaw placement records outside of the T14, so if you're deadset on going to law school and don't have the stats for $ at a T14, BC with scholarship is a decent deal.

OP doesn't seem convinced he's maxed out the lsat though. If he had taken it three times with 200 hours of study then sure but there's not much harm in waiting another year if there's even a chance of a better LSAT score. If apps keep dropping he'll likely get a better offer next year even without improving. With lots of prep time and a October lsat there's a good chance he's looking at different offers - T14 or elsewhere - with the ability to still go go to BC or BU if that's what he chooses

3.3 doe

I studied a decent amount, but only an 8 point raise from diagnostic. It seems people here studied much more and got larger raises. I don't mind retaking if the return is there and I think I can do a bit better. A year would give me time to look into my other options also. If I can crack the 170's can I get $ at lower T14 or $$$ at regionals with my gpa? If I first deposited at a school will they hold that against me next cycle?

It does seem it might cost a little bit more than $100k with tuition raises, interest, books, ect. I'd be interested in hearing from more Boston people on COL.

hawk5 wrote:I studied a decent amount, but only an 8 point raise from diagnostic. It seems people here studied much more and got larger raises. I don't mind retaking if the return is there and I think I can do a bit better. A year would give me time to look into my other options also. If I can crack the 170's can I get $ at lower T14 or $$$ at regionals with my gpa? If I first deposited at a school will they hold that against me next cycle?

It does seem it might cost a little bit more than $100k with tuition raises, interest, books, ect. I'd be interested in hearing from more Boston people on COL.

If you even think retaking is your best option then it probably is. Use the study tools on this board and spend some cash on different prep books than whatever you used before. I dunno what the difference is between. 3.3/166 and 3.3/170 but mylsn.info could probably shed some light.