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Got minimal $$s from NU.

I am old and started a new job a few months ago and I like it a lot. I know I want to be a lawyer, but my job is laid back and I make $$$. Sometimes I do question if it's the right move for my personal life. Regardless, I am interested in taking law classes.

I have gotten into all of the Chicago (where I live) part-time programs for free or negligible $. I am considering going to one of those instead to get a feel for law school to make sure I really like it. Also I'll be able to save a ton of money since I make a lot and won't be paying for school.

I don't want to graduate with a degree from Kent, Loyola, or DePaul though. I would want to transfer in two years or reapply next year if I like it and don't feel like transferring is doable. (I also plan to retake the LSAT--I am currently at 172 with a gpa in 3.0-3.2 range, although I'm not sure that will do much for me).

Does anyone know if you can apply to schools as a non transfer if you've previously been enrolled in a school? Will that hurt you at all?

Does anyone know which Chicago part-time program is the best?

Thank you!

Please don't quote!!!

why do you want to be a lawyer?

anyriotgirl wrote:why do you want to be a lawyer?

I like technical writing, constructing arguments, and I found the legal classes I sat in on very fascinating. Part of me also wants to learn about and be a part of our legal system purely because it's so influential and yet I (and the people I associate with) know nothing about it.

lalalalawyer wrote:

anyriotgirl wrote:why do you want to be a lawyer?

I like technical writing, constructing arguments, and I found the legal classes I sat in on very fascinating. Part of me also wants to learn about and be a part of our legal system purely because it's so influential and yet I (and the people I associate with) know nothing about it.

All of those things are just as accessible from a PT program at, say, Kent, as they would be from Northwestern. Sitting in a nicer classroom and graduating with a more prestigious-sounding name on your degree is not worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars Northwestern will cost you, let alone the cost opportunity from not working. You enjoy your job! It's laid back and you make money!

Take the cheapest PT program and run with it.

Don't go to law school.

If you have a good job that pays well, you're already ahead of most people who go into six-figure debt and give up 3 years of their lives. You also don't seem willing to move out of the Chicago region - you need to be flexible if you want to ensure minimal debt for scholarship negotiation, etc.. It also doesn't sound like you really have a specific career path in mind that requires a J.D.

You've got a good LSAT score, so if you retake you could get some decent money from t14. So if you REALLY want to go to law school, then retake is the best option, and keep getting some work experience in the meanwhile.

twenty wrote:

lalalalawyer wrote:

anyriotgirl wrote:why do you want to be a lawyer?

I like technical writing, constructing arguments, and I found the legal classes I sat in on very fascinating. Part of me also wants to learn about and be a part of our legal system purely because it's so influential and yet I (and the people I associate with) know nothing about it.

All of those things are just as accessible from a PT program at, say, Kent, as they would be from Northwestern. Sitting in a nicer classroom and graduating with a more prestigious-sounding name on your degree is not worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars Northwestern will cost you, let alone the cost opportunity from not working. You enjoy your job! It's laid back and you make money!

Take the cheapest PT program and run with it.

I think this is what I'm leaning towards because part of me feels I want a legal education more than a legal job, so I could view it as learning on the side.

However, I'm thinking if after a year part-time my feelings change and I want to pursue it full-time, will I be able to move to a better school? I know I shouldn't bank on transferring, but does anyone know if I can apply to a school as a non-transfer if I've already taken some classes at another law school?

Going to law school as "learning on the side" sounds miserable. You have a good job already. Why take on that debt for what essentially seems like a hobby?

lalalalawyer wrote:However, I'm thinking if after a year part-time my feelings change and I want to pursue it full-time, will I be able to move to a better school? I know I shouldn't bank on transferring, but does anyone know if I can apply to a school as a non-transfer if I've already taken some classes at another law school?

Probably not. A lot of schools (basically Northwestern) require that you have at least 28 credits to be able to transfer, so that means you can't transfer after your first year. After your second year, you'll have way more than 28 credits, but only 28 of those will actually count at Northwestern. So at that point, you're throwing away about half a semester's worth of credit.

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/academi ... /transfer/

A lot of other schools won't even consider you if you have more than 33 credits.

edit> Also, if you have the ability to transfer to Northwestern based on your class ranking, your "opportunities" probably won't be that much worse coming from Kent/Loyola/etc.

Spend the $35 or $50 or whatever it is and sign up for BarBri and watch all of their 1L videos. That's all the "learning" you're going to be doing your first year of law school, and for a fraction of the cost/time/effort/disappointment.

scottidsntknow wrote:Spend the $35 or $50 or whatever it is and sign up for BarBri and watch all of their 1L videos. That's all the "learning" you're going to be doing your first year of law school, and for a fraction of the cost/time/effort/disappointment.

Eh. 1L year teaches you humility like nothing else. I remember being cold called for 40 minutes on Pennoyer of all things.

Can't put a price tag on that!

KangarooCourt13 wrote:Eh. 1L year teaches you humility like nothing else. I remember being cold called for 40 minutes on Pennoyer of all things.

Can't put a price tag on that!

...

There isn't even 40 minutes worth of shit to go over in Pennoyer.

KangarooCourt13 wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:Spend the $35 or $50 or whatever it is and sign up for BarBri and watch all of their 1L videos. That's all the "learning" you're going to be doing your first year of law school, and for a fraction of the cost/time/effort/disappointment.

Eh. 1L year teaches you humility like nothing else. I remember being cold called for 40 minutes on Pennoyer of all things.

Can't put a price tag on that!

Based on OP characterizing him/herself as "old," I'm gonna guess OP has either mastered that lesson by now or won't.

zacharus85 wrote:You've got a good LSAT score, so if you retake you could get some decent money from t14. So if you REALLY want to go to law school, then retake is the best option, and keep getting some work experience in the meanwhile.

You aren't going to get any more money with a 180/3.0 as a 172/3.0, don't waste your time retaking.

Whether or not you should go is another question but I think the rest of the responses ITT have summed that up pretty well.

Cobretti wrote:

zacharus85 wrote:You've got a good LSAT score, so if you retake you could get some decent money from t14. So if you REALLY want to go to law school, then retake is the best option, and keep getting some work experience in the meanwhile.

You aren't going to get any more money with a 180/3.0 as a 172/3.0, don't waste your time retaking.

Whether or not you should go is another question but I think the rest of the responses ITT have summed that up pretty well.

Wat. A quick check on law school numbers (and common sense) dictate otherwise (at the lower t14 at least). I am curious how you can blanket assert that a super splitter with 180 could never under any circumstances extract decent money from multiple schools. I was always under the impression that a good LSAT score could trump in a cycle favorable to splitters.

zacharus85 wrote:

Cobretti wrote:

zacharus85 wrote:You've got a good LSAT score, so if you retake you could get some decent money from t14. So if you REALLY want to go to law school, then retake is the best option, and keep getting some work experience in the meanwhile.

You aren't going to get any more money with a 180/3.0 as a 172/3.0, don't waste your time retaking.

Whether or not you should go is another question but I think the rest of the responses ITT have summed that up pretty well.

Wat. A quick check on law school numbers (and common sense) dictate otherwise (at the lower t14 at least). I am curious how you can blanket assert that a super splitter with 180 could never under any circumstances extract decent money from multiple schools. I was always under the impression that a good LSAT score could trump in a cycle favorable to splitters.

being below 25th GPA and above 75th lsat is what matters, being higher above the 75th isn't going to do anything. Splitters are always constrained by GPA.