What kind of law school should I apply to? Forum

[walkdontrun]

I want to be a public defender, in a decently sized city located somewhere that isn't Texas.

I'm in the process of deciding where to apply to next cycle, and I don't know what to do in terms of risking debt.

Does it make sense for someone who wants to be a public defender (and doesn't especially care where they work) who isn't going to be making a biglaw salary to go to say the Top 14 and accrue a lot of debt, or go to a school with a strong regional reputation for less debt? Thanks.

[transferror]

What are your LSAT/GPA numbers? Where do you have ties? Will you have any financial help or be all loans?

[Tanicius]

I want to be a public defender, in a decently sized city located somewhere that isn't Texas.

I'm in the process of deciding where to apply to next cycle, and I don't know what to do in terms of risking debt.

Does it make sense for someone who wants to be a public defender (and doesn't especially care where they work) who isn't going to be making a biglaw salary to go to say the Top 14 and accrue a lot of debt, or go to a school with a strong regional reputation for less debt? Thanks.

First of all, you should definitely apply to reach schools because even though LSN makes it fairly predictable, you still don't know exactly what kinds of scholarships you will get.

To answer your question more specifically, I was in your shoes three years ago, and I made the calculated decision to enroll at a T-14 at sticker and hope to ride IBR/LRAP/PSLF to the forgiveness finish line. The reason I made that choice, even while recognizing that there was a small chance Congress could overturn PSLF, was because I estimated my chances of getting a public defender job by targeting one and only market from my state's flagship regional school would be very slim. I was ultimately correct about the employment part of the decision. I went to a T-14 in a very populated area with lots of great public defender positions between multiple counties, and I struck out. Ironically, where I did get a job offer was the city where I could have gone to the regional school, but there was a ton of luck involved, and I am very glad that I made the school choice that gave me an edge in the majority of my public defender job interviews.