Part-Time Applicant Question Forum

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aleal15

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Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by aleal15 » Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:16 am

Hi guys,

I'm applying to part time programs only and I was going to apply for a 2019 start, but after reading some articles on here, it seems I'd be missing out on substantial $$ if I rushed things and applied now.

My question is the following though: Is it frowned upon to be unemployed at the moment you apply for a part-time program? Would it impact my candidacy in a negative way. I feel like it would.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

QContinuum

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by QContinuum » Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:18 am

Perhaps the better question is, why are you looking to apply to part-time programs at all? Part-time programs make sense for a subset of working professionals who already have an established career. (Even there, they don't always make sense, as balancing school and work for four years is brutal, and part-time programs typically don't have great legal job placement, with Georgetown and Fordham being pretty much the only significant exceptions.) Part-time programs don't generally make any sense at all for folks who aren't employed.

rwhyAn

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by rwhyAn » Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:03 pm

Because it is fairly late in the game, a lot of schools might not have a lot of scholarship money left. So, you are probably correct in assuming that your offers would likely be better by applying early next cycle. With regard to your question, I don't think the admissions folks would think anything of the fact that you are unemployed. They may assume that you're currently looking for employment, are a stay-at-home parent, etc. Really, any school's biggest concern is GPA and LSAT. That said, part-time is brutal. I graduated a part-time program last year, and I held a full-time job all four years. It's doable, but definitely not fun. If you have questions about part-time programs in general, you can send me a PM. Best of luck in your decision.

aleal15

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by aleal15 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 4:54 pm

QContinuum wrote:Perhaps the better question is, why are you looking to apply to part-time programs at all? Part-time programs make sense for a subset of working professionals who already have an established career. (Even there, they don't always make sense, as balancing school and work for four years is brutal, and part-time programs typically don't have great legal job placement, with Georgetown and Fordham being pretty much the only significant exceptions.) Part-time programs don't generally make any sense at all for folks who aren't employed.
Or they work for people who have serious financial responsibilities (I don't have ANYONE to help me shoulder my financial burdens) and can't afford to go to school full-time (at least for the time being).

aleal15

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by aleal15 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:00 pm

rwhyAn wrote:Because it is fairly late in the game, a lot of schools might not have a lot of scholarship money left. So, you are probably correct in assuming that your offers would likely be better by applying early next cycle. With regard to your question, I don't think the admissions folks would think anything of the fact that you are unemployed. They may assume that you're currently looking for employment, are a stay-at-home parent, etc. Really, any school's biggest concern is GPA and LSAT. That said, part-time is brutal. I graduated a part-time program last year, and I held a full-time job all four years. It's doable, but definitely not fun. If you have questions about part-time programs in general, you can send me a PM. Best of luck in your decision.
Gotcha. Yeah I'm super focused on getting my LSAT as high as possible before I apply in the fall. My UGPA is a 3.5 so I think that's enough to keep my application competitive. I do have some questions for you about part-time but apparently I can't use the PM feature (haven't been a member long enough or I haven't interacted enough). Could you send me a PM and that way we can msg back and forth?

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cavalier1138

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by cavalier1138 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:28 pm

aleal15 wrote:
QContinuum wrote:Perhaps the better question is, why are you looking to apply to part-time programs at all? Part-time programs make sense for a subset of working professionals who already have an established career. (Even there, they don't always make sense, as balancing school and work for four years is brutal, and part-time programs typically don't have great legal job placement, with Georgetown and Fordham being pretty much the only significant exceptions.) Part-time programs don't generally make any sense at all for folks who aren't employed.
Or they work for people who have serious financial responsibilities (I don't have ANYONE to help me shoulder my financial burdens) and can't afford to go to school full-time (at least for the time being).
Well, kind of. If you don't already have a job, can you guarantee you'd be able to get a steady job that paid enough to actually make a difference in the amount you take out in loans? And would that job be flexible (and low-stress) enough to let you survive four years of going from work to class?

QContinuum

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by QContinuum » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:14 am

cavalier1138 wrote:
aleal15 wrote:
QContinuum wrote:Perhaps the better question is, why are you looking to apply to part-time programs at all? Part-time programs make sense for a subset of working professionals who already have an established career. (Even there, they don't always make sense, as balancing school and work for four years is brutal, and part-time programs typically don't have great legal job placement, with Georgetown and Fordham being pretty much the only significant exceptions.) Part-time programs don't generally make any sense at all for folks who aren't employed.
Or they work for people who have serious financial responsibilities (I don't have ANYONE to help me shoulder my financial burdens) and can't afford to go to school full-time (at least for the time being).
Well, kind of. If you don't already have a job, can you guarantee you'd be able to get a steady job that paid enough to actually make a difference in the amount you take out in loans? And would that job be flexible (and low-stress) enough to let you survive four years of going from work to class?
And would the part-time program give you a good shot at a decent-paying legal position after graduation? (Otherwise, what's the point of going to law school?)

The vast majority of law school students "don't have ANYONE to help [them] shoulder [their] financial burdens ... and can't afford to go to school full-time." They do it nonetheless by taking out student loans. Now, to be clear, I'm not advocating that anyone take out loans cavalierly - I've been a consistent advocate of debt minimization here on TLS. But it may very well make a lot more sense to take out cost-of-living loans to attend a better law school full-time than to work and attend a law school with a bad job placement record part-time.

rwhyAn

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by rwhyAn » Wed Mar 06, 2019 3:44 pm

QContinuum wrote:
cavalier1138 wrote:
aleal15 wrote:
QContinuum wrote:Perhaps the better question is, why are you looking to apply to part-time programs at all? Part-time programs make sense for a subset of working professionals who already have an established career. (Even there, they don't always make sense, as balancing school and work for four years is brutal, and part-time programs typically don't have great legal job placement, with Georgetown and Fordham being pretty much the only significant exceptions.) Part-time programs don't generally make any sense at all for folks who aren't employed.
Or they work for people who have serious financial responsibilities (I don't have ANYONE to help me shoulder my financial burdens) and can't afford to go to school full-time (at least for the time being).
Well, kind of. If you don't already have a job, can you guarantee you'd be able to get a steady job that paid enough to actually make a difference in the amount you take out in loans? And would that job be flexible (and low-stress) enough to let you survive four years of going from work to class?
And would the part-time program give you a good shot at a decent-paying legal position after graduation? (Otherwise, what's the point of going to law school?)

The vast majority of law school students "don't have ANYONE to help [them] shoulder [their] financial burdens ... and can't afford to go to school full-time." They do it nonetheless by taking out student loans. Now, to be clear, I'm not advocating that anyone take out loans cavalierly - I've been a consistent advocate of debt minimization here on TLS. But it may very well make a lot more sense to take out cost-of-living loans to attend a better law school full-time than to work and attend a law school with a bad job placement record part-time.
To answer the poster immediately above, it is possible to obtain a decent-paying legal position after graduating from a part-time program, but it is certainly more difficult. I attended Rutgers-Newark part-time. We had between 40-45 students in my night section. Of them, I only know about 5 or 6 that got biglaw jobs. Each one of these students, however, quit their full-time jobs to take a 2L summer associate position. The vast majority of my class, myself included, took state court clerkships. If you're dead-set on biglaw or a high paying job, part-time probably doesn't make sense because it is very difficult to obtain one of those jobs from a part-time program. A lot of firms think less of part-time students, and with the time commitment of work and school, you're at a disadvantage to those who are free to take internships or summer associateships.

tingkka

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Re: Part-Time Applicant Question

Post by tingkka » Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:58 am

rwhyAn wrote:Because it is fairly late in the game, a lot of schools might not have a lot of scholarship money left. So, you are probably correct in assuming that your offers would likely be better by applying early next cycle. With regard to your question, I don't think the admissions folks would think anything of the fact that you are unemployed. They may assume that you're currently looking for employment, are a stay-at-home parent, etc. Really, any school's biggest concern is GPA and LSAT. That said, part-time is brutal. I graduated a part-time program last year, and I held a full-time job all four years. It's doable, but definitely not fun. If you have questions about part-time programs in general, you can send me a PM. Best of luck in your decision.

I'm a new member and I am unable to send you private messages. Where did you go for your part time program? I'm looking at applying to Temple for their part time JD program.

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