Summer vs Fall Start at UM Forum

[Bluex12]

I was recently accepted to Michigan for Summer Start. Today, however, the Dean emailed me to say basically that I had the option to switch to fall if I wanted. I'm unsure of what I want to do. On the one hand, starting school earlier would allow me to graduate earlier, take the bar earlier, and start working earlier. But, I fear that if I start in June, I'll miss out on being able to hang on to some waitlists through the summer and attend a better school.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[rnoodles]

Switch to Fall, keep the offer, enjoy the last summer, and weigh other school's offers without need to worry that you have to accept summer start.

[Aeon]

There are advantages and disadvantages to starting in the summer.

Advantages:

1. Smaller course load in the first semester (two doctrinal classes instead of three, plus legal writing), meaning less stress as you're starting school
2. You get to know your section-mates very well, since you're the only ones in the law school; summer starters are usually the closest and most cohesive section
3. Ann Arbor is much quieter in the summer, yet very beautiful and with many things to do
4. You get to choose most of your classes in your third semester, while you're still technically a 1L
5. Those classes might not be graded on as strict a curve as the mandatory first-year courses, which is helpful for OCI before 2L year
6. You start earlier and finish earlier -- many employers will let you begin work earlier too
7. It's nice to only have a single semester during 3L, although some people study abroad or take a semester off and graduate with the rest of the class in the spring
8. The tuition for the first semester is based on the previous academic year's rate, which may save you several thousand dollars
9. A smaller and quicker graduation ceremony in December

Disadvantages:

1. You might need to sublease during the first semester before moving into other housing in the fall
2. If you're coming in straight from undergrad, you will have less than a month's break between college graduation and law school
3. You might experience fatigue or burn-out after doing three semesters in a row during 1L
4. Not all employers let you start work early after graduation, so you might have to wait until the fall
5. You will have to explain to people what summer start is, because many will be confused by your December graduation date

Personally, I enjoyed starting in the summer and would do it again without hesitation. But it's certainly not the right decision for everyone. You should also feel free to reach out to the law school if you'd like to discuss it. Michigan's admissions office is singularly friendly, and I'd think they would be happy to talk you through the two options.

[Backpacker]

Switch to Fall, keep the offer, enjoy the last summer, and weigh other school's offers without need to worry that you have to accept summer start.

Or, do a long bar trip the summer after you graduate, since youll likely take the February bar.

[pterodactyls]

Do you have more info on where you stand with other schools now, what your top choice school is, how likely you are to get in to the other schools, etc.?

[Bluex12]

Do you have more info on where you stand with other schools now, what your top choice school is, how likely you are to get in to the other schools, etc.?

About Me: 3.3/172 KJD

Where I stand:

Accepted:
-G.W. $75K
-WUSTL $130K
-Michigan $30K
-Vanderbilt TBD
---------------------------------
-Priority Reserve at Duke
-Deferred at Georgetown
-Waitlisted at Cornell
---------------------------------------
Haven't heard from: Columbia, NYU, Penn, UVA, Northwestern, USC, UCLA, ND

I have zero geographical preference and my goal is BigLaw. Financing school on my own. I would like to attend a T14, but I figure if I'm lucky enough to get any more T14 acceptances, I won't get much in the way of scholarship. This is why I feel like I should just pay my seat deposit at Michigan and be prepared to ride out a lot of T14 waitlists through the summer. But on the other hand, there are some definite advantages to starting earlier, as Aeon explained.

[Aeon]

You got some scholarship money from Michigan, whereas if you end up getting into a school off of a waitlist, you will almost certainly have to pay full sticker there. If your goal is BigLaw and you're financing it yourself through savings and loans, then you'll want to keep your costs as low as possible while still attending a school that will give you a good shot at the job you want. Barring any more acceptances and scholarship offers, Michigan (with the scholarship money and lower cost of living in Ann Arbor) will probably be your best choice.

If you're going straight through from undergrad, there are good reasons to start in the fall instead of summer. But unless you're entertaining the idea of attending a school at full price, I wouldn't delay solely because of the possibility of getting into a school off of a waitlist.

[Bluex12]

You got some scholarship money from Michigan, whereas if you end up getting into a school off of a waitlist, you will almost certainly have to pay full sticker there. If your goal is BigLaw and you're financing it yourself through savings and loans, then you'll want to keep your costs as low as possible while still attending a school that will give you a good shot at the job you want. Barring any more acceptances and scholarship offers, Michigan (with the scholarship money and lower cost of living in Ann Arbor) will probably be your best choice.

If you're going straight through from undergrad, there are good reasons to start in the fall instead of summer. But unless you're entertaining the idea of attending a school at full price, I wouldn't delay solely because of the possibility of getting into a school off of a waitlist.

I actually graduated a semester early so I'm just chilling at home now, working part-time and enjoying life before 1L, so I feel like mentally at least, I'd be ready to go in June.

In your opinion, if BigLaw is my only consideration, is it worth hanging on to a waitlist at a Penn/UVA through August hoping I get a spot--or should I just be grateful I got a T14 at all with my splitterness? I guess I'm just paranoid because I've heard bad things about UM's employment numbers in recent years and with my low scholarship I know I'll need BigLaw to have any hope of paying my debt back.

My $30K total scholly at UM is barely anything, which is why I feel like if I somehow got into Penn or any school better than UM, even at sticker, it would be in my best interest to just take it considering the better employment outcomes.

[Aeon]

You got some scholarship money from Michigan, whereas if you end up getting into a school off of a waitlist, you will almost certainly have to pay full sticker there. If your goal is BigLaw and you're financing it yourself through savings and loans, then you'll want to keep your costs as low as possible while still attending a school that will give you a good shot at the job you want. Barring any more acceptances and scholarship offers, Michigan (with the scholarship money and lower cost of living in Ann Arbor) will probably be your best choice.

If you're going straight through from undergrad, there are good reasons to start in the fall instead of summer. But unless you're entertaining the idea of attending a school at full price, I wouldn't delay solely because of the possibility of getting into a school off of a waitlist.

In your opinion, if BigLaw is my only consideration, is it worth hanging on to a waitlist at a Penn/UVA through August hoping I get a spot--or should I just be grateful I got a T14 at all with my splitterness? I guess I'm just paranoid because I've heard bad things about UM's employment numbers in recent years and with my low scholarship I know I'll need BigLaw to have any hope of paying my debt back.

And there's also the fact that my $30K total scholly at UM is barely anything. That's why I feel like if I somehow got into Penn or any school better than UM, even at sticker, it would be in my best interest to just take it considering the better employment outcomes.

According to this post -- http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p9128284 -- Michigan has been doing better on the employment front. A discount of $10K a year isn't enormous considering how expensive law school has gotten, but when you factor in the compounding of the relatively high student loan interest rate, it's not inconsiderable. And the cost of living is cheaper in Ann Arbor, so you would need to take on smaller debt for living expenses.

With the various income-based repayment plans and LRAP out there, BigLaw isn't the only option, even for those with large loans, and Michigan is strong in placing people in public interest positions. The takeaway is that you shouldn't feel like you are locked in to BigLaw just because of the loans.

This all might be a moot point, though, if you decide to delay until fall for other reasons. As I wrote above, since you'll be going into law school straight through from undergrad, you'll probably have less than a month between the two if you start in the summer. That might not be enough time to really catch your breath, and chances are that you'll be facing some serious burnout by the time you hit the third semester of your 1L year.