URM 2016-2017 Cycle Thread Forum

[S.Picquery]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

[brinicolec]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

+180

[PrezRand]

I think the stress of choosing a school is getting to me. I have the choice of going to a school (T1) on a full ride and maybe having a hard time coming back to my home market and getting a decent salary (60-80k), attending my regional school (my alma mater which I dont really want to go to) on a 90% scholarship and getting a similar job, or going to UT and graduating with 150k in debt, but have a greater chance in getting a job that pays very well.

I never wanted biglaw. I think it only became a career option for me because of coming on to TLS lol. The lack of work/life balance scares me. If I go to UT I have to do biglaw to pay off my loans if I want to work in the private sector. What I truly want to do is government work. It's what I wanted to do since I had the thought of attending law school in middle school. I know UT can help me get that government job and I can use PSLF for the loans, but the thought of having that much debt is overwhelming. If I end up hating my govt job or lose it then I would be screwed.

Idk what to do. Attending one of the other schools will give me more financial freedom, but my job prospects might suck.

Another factor in my stress is looking for an apartment in Austin. Everything is old and sucks, and the farther I go from the school in my search the worse the commute will be with Austin traffic.

I'm getting thoughts of just saying F it and finding a sales job and forget about law school. but I hate sales.

I need to relax. I wish I had more time to think before likely making the biggest decision in my life (so far).

I think a lot of us never thought about biglaw until TLS lol. I didn't even know it existed.

[Torres1893]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

It's good to hear that others are in the same situation. It's just I have no one to talk to about this in person. All of my friends and family are saying go to UT because it's UT. I really want to go to there, but 150k is so much money.

[Stephylynette]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

It's good to hear that others are in the same situation. It's just I have no one to talk to about this in person. All of my friends and family are saying go to UT because it's UT. I really want to go to there, but 150k is so much money.

I'm probably taking on 150K to go to Duke and I struggle w/ that everyday but I know in my heart it's the best option for me so I end up feeling okay about it. And I also have no one to really talk about it w/, so I feel you on that!!

[PrezRand]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

It's good to hear that others are in the same situation. It's just I have no one to talk to about this in person. All of my friends and family are saying go to UT because it's UT. I really want to go to there, but 150k is so much money.

If I were you, I would go to UT only because UH has a 57% employment rate

[brinicolec]

I think the stress of choosing a school is getting to me. I have the choice of going to a school (T1) on a full ride and maybe having a hard time coming back to my home market and getting a decent salary (60-80k), attending my regional school (my alma mater which I dont really want to go to) on a 90% scholarship and getting a similar job, or going to UT and graduating with 150k in debt, but have a greater chance in getting a job that pays very well.

I never wanted biglaw. I think it only became a career option for me because of coming on to TLS lol. The lack of work/life balance scares me. If I go to UT I have to do biglaw to pay off my loans if I want to work in the private sector. What I truly want to do is government work. It's what I wanted to do since I had the thought of attending law school in middle school. I know UT can help me get that government job and I can use PSLF for the loans, but the thought of having that much debt is overwhelming. If I end up hating my govt job or lose it then I would be screwed.

Idk what to do. Attending one of the other schools will give me more financial freedom, but my job prospects might suck.

Another factor in my stress is looking for an apartment in Austin. Everything is old and sucks, and the farther I go from the school in my search the worse the commute will be with Austin traffic.

I'm getting thoughts of just saying F it and finding a sales job and forget about law school. but I hate sales.

I need to relax. I wish I had more time to think before likely making the biggest decision in my life (so far).

I think a lot of us never thought about biglaw until TLS lol. I didn't even know it existed.

I knew of it as corporate law.

[Cbear2017]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

[azaleafire]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

I mean it doesn't hurt to try, right? I can imagine it would definitely work with a need based aid package in there as well.

[Mr_Chukes]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

Dido. The more schools you get into, the harder it is to choose. I already feel like my decision is made but also trying to squeeze out more money from them. Also still waiting to hear back from UCLA. It's been radio silence lol. I'm just happy the market I want to be in has great schools.

[armc808]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

I have also heard you can do this. A Stanford fin aid package would probably be a little more useful for leverage than just an acceptance, but taking a Stanford acceptance back to Michigan or UVA should signal to them that you are a valuable candidate. I say this without any personal experience of my own as of yet (just as a disclaimer), but I'm planning on doing something similar by using my UChicago acceptance to squeeze more $ from Berkeley in the coming weeks.

[Cbear2017]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

I have also heard you can do this. A Stanford fin aid package would probably be a little more useful for leverage than just an acceptance, but taking a Stanford acceptance back to Michigan or UVA should signal to them that you are a valuable candidate. I say this without any personal experience of my own as of yet (just as a disclaimer), but I'm planning on doing something similar by using my UChicago acceptance to squeeze more $ from Berkeley in the coming weeks.

I mean, I love Stanford and the idea of it--it is absolutely perfect. It just costs so much, so i am praying i get some financial aid from them that way i can go.

[beantheshadow]

Applied to Stanford and Harvard wayyy back when applications first opened. Stone cold silence from both, is this normal? Do I still have a chance?

[azaleafire]

Applied to Stanford and Harvard wayyy back when applications first opened. Stone cold silence from both, is this normal? Do I still have a chance?

Harvard definitely already had a wave of dings, and I am sure Stanford has done the same. It's not over until it's over, right?

[brinicolec]

Applied to Stanford and Harvard wayyy back when applications first opened. Stone cold silence from both, is this normal? Do I still have a chance?

Harvard definitely already had a wave of dings, and I am sure Stanford has done the same. It's not over until it's over, right?

I didn't apply to Stanford but seeing this just reminded me I still haven't heard anything from Harvard lol.

[Mr_Chukes]

Applied to Stanford and Harvard wayyy back when applications first opened. Stone cold silence from both, is this normal? Do I still have a chance?

Harvard definitely already had a wave of dings, and I am sure Stanford has done the same. It's not over until it's over, right?

I didn't apply to Stanford but seeing this just reminded me I still haven't heard anything from Harvard lol.

Yeah you guys survived the ding waves. Stanford had one about a week ago.

[poptart123]

.

[renc56]

A lot of us have a tough decision ahead, friend. You're not the only one, and I hope that notion helps. :/ but this is a very personal decision.

It's good to hear that others are in the same situation. It's just I have no one to talk to about this in person. All of my friends and family are saying go to UT because it's UT. I really want to go to there, but 150k is so much money.

If I were you, I would go to UT only because UH has a 57% employment rate

FWIW I work in a law firm in Houston with about 40 attorneys. There are some temporary UH grads here from the middle to the bottom of the class that are really struggling to find associate positions. They are doing legal work, but not in associate-style positions.

Huh. I work at a small TX firm of 7 attorneys (out of 150+ throughout all our offices) and I was surprised that the attorneys I work with, ages ranging from late 20s to 60s, have educations from places that aren't top tier nationally or in the state such as St. Mary's, South Texas, Pepperdine, Mississippi.. It gives me hope at the very least, however I'd never want to come back to where I'm working as an attorney.

[poptart123]

.

[lula43]

In the words of my man Drake, "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us.." Rejected without a JS1 this morning

[texcellence]

In the words of my man Drake, "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us.." Rejected without a JS1 this morning

same but feeling a little salty they made us log in and click through for an "update" instead of just saying we were rejected in the email body

[OnlyHumean]

In the words of my man Drake, "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us.." Rejected without a JS1 this morning

same but feeling a little salty they made us log in and click through for an "update" instead of just saying we were rejected in the email body

Yeah, that's terrible of them. Even the LSAC people are merciful enough to just put your score in the email.

Sorry to hear you were dinged. Hope the rest of your cycles go great!

[crookedsmile]

In the words of my man Drake, "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us.." Rejected without a JS1 this morning

Sorry to hear about this, I'm sure they're missing out on a great future attorney.

[crookedsmile]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

I've always found this question interesting. As fate would have it, I had the ability to pose it directly to a former Dean of Admission of UChicago a couple of months ago. IIRC I asked "Is it possible to use an acceptance at a higher ranked school - say a T6 - as leverage for financial aid purposes against a slightly lower ranked school - say a T14?"

She responded by very bluntly saying "No. They won't care. We sure didn't. Without any money, you have no leverage."

I was left completely unconvinced with her answer. I don't share this interaction to dissuade - quite the opposite as I'm planning on potentially doing the same - but to add some information directly from the horse's mouth.

[OnlyHumean]

Question--can an acceptance to Stanford be used as leverage for scholarships At other T10s? I never thought I could use an acceptance as leverage but people are telling me I can...

I've always found this question interesting. As fate would have it, I had the ability to pose it directly to a former Dean of Admission of UChicago a couple of months ago. IIRC I asked "Is it possible to use an acceptance at a higher ranked school - say a T6 - as leverage for financial aid purposes against a slightly lower ranked school - say a T14?"

She responded by very bluntly saying "No. They won't care. We sure didn't. Without any money, you have no leverage."

I was left completely unconvinced with her answer. I don't share this interaction to dissuade - quite the opposite as I'm planning on potentially doing the same - but to add some information directly from the horse's mouth.

I think that it's probably true for a school like UChicago because there isn't really much room above them. I think it might be different in cases like a Cali native using a Stanford admit to get money out of Berkeley, or something like that.

In any case, it can't hurt to try.