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Title says it all, let's hear the suggestions

Mass mail. Prepare to drop out after the fall semester and cut the potential debt in half.

approx. class standing and journal?

people get jobs outside of oci.

City government? Don't know what their hiring standards are, but if you can snag a job there, The New York City Law Department will give you interesting work, decent pay, and great hours.

Also, might want to consider volunteering for the mayoral race. Getting involved in NYC politics is a time-honored route to employment.

Are you PAYE eligible?

Drop out and cut your debt in half. Take it from a guy who graduated from Fordham, mostly liked it and regrets not dropping out. And I actually got a DREAM job that pays $65k. I would be living a dream right now--location, type of work, meeting awesome people, etc.--except for the fact that I owe $160k to the federal government.

I'll NEVER be able to have a family. I worry every day about my life. Worst mistake was going. Second worst was not dropping out.

Can't imagine what it's like for the people I know (many of them) who have no jobs and no leads.

Depends what area of law you are interested in. Mass mail. Network. Or just go get your mba and join one of the big 4.

Op here, I should have provided more info in the original post. Apologies:

Anonymous User wrote:approx. class standing and journal?

people get jobs outside of oci.

I'm between top 1/3 and median, on a secondary journal and URM.

Anonymous User wrote:City government? Don't know what their hiring standards are, but if you can snag a job there, the New York City Law Department will give you interesting work, decent pay, and great hours.

Also, might want to consider volunteering for the mayoral race. Getting involved in NYC politics is a time-honored route to employment.

I applied to law department twice and didn't garner an interview either time so i'm assuming that ship has sailed

haus wrote:Are you PAYE eligible?

in terms of loan timing? Yes

Anonymous User wrote:Depends what area of law you are interested in. Mass mail. Network. Or just go get your mba and join one of the big 4.

I'm kind of torn, I really want to not live paycheck to paycheck because I've done that my entire life and it blows but I think I'd truly enjoy being an assistant district attorney.

Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

Bronx Bum wrote:Drop out and cut your debt in half. Take it from a guy who graduated from Fordham, mostly liked it and regrets not dropping out. And I actually got a DREAM job that pays $65k. I would be living a dream right now--location, type of work, meeting awesome people, etc.--except for the fact that I owe $160k to the federal government.

I'll NEVER be able to have a family. I worry every day about my life. Worst mistake was going. Second worst was not dropping out.

160K debt with 65K starting salary = / = never having a family. That level of debt is still manageable, and living your life without any debt is sub-optimal, in my opinion. Debt is an important part of temporal consumption, and if you wouldn't have gotten that 65K job without taking on some debt, it might still be a net win (depending on how much upward mobility there is).

I think you've done pretty well for yourself so far, keep at it.

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

What do you see yourself doing if you drop out?

ImNoScar wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

What do you see yourself doing if you drop out?

Probably the same thing other twenty-somethings in Manhattan with fake college majors do, work 12 hours a day for 30k a year

As a side bar, I do actually want to be a lawyer and somewhat enjoy law school

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

Did you just start 3L?

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

Did you just start 3L?

I just started 2L

Anonymous User wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

Did you just start 3L?

I just started 2L

How do you plan to keep the debt so low then? If you can somehow only add 30K in debt over these next two years then you should probably stay but it seems like the debt will be much higher.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:


On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

Did you just start 3L?

I just started 2L

How do you plan to keep the debt so low then? If you can somehow only add 30K in debt over these next two years then you should probably stay but it seems like the debt will be much higher.

I already took out the money I need for 2L year, which was 30k. I'm assuming I'll need 20-30k for next year as well

gchatbrah wrote:

Bronx Bum wrote:Drop out and cut your debt in half. Take it from a guy who graduated from Fordham, mostly liked it and regrets not dropping out. And I actually got a DREAM job that pays $65k. I would be living a dream right now--location, type of work, meeting awesome people, etc.--except for the fact that I owe $160k to the federal government.

I'll NEVER be able to have a family. I worry every day about my life. Worst mistake was going. Second worst was not dropping out.

160K debt with 65K starting salary = / = never having a family. That level of debt is still manageable, and living your life without any debt is sub-optimal, in my opinion. Debt is an important part of temporal consumption, and if you wouldn't have gotten that 65K job without taking on some debt, it might still be a net win (depending on how much upward mobility there is).

I think you've done pretty well for yourself so far, keep at it.

Bronx Bum probably would not need the 100k annual recommended salary for his debt, or the 65k job for his debt, if he HAD NO DEBT AT ALL. There is a bigger net win if you are making $19.00 an hour with a near-free AA degree. Is it a crapshoot you will make $19.00 an hour somehow after AA? Probably, but much less a crapshoot than servicing $160,000 debt ($1,841.00 a month for ten years) on the dreams of biglawl.

No offense intended for Bronx Bum. Just saying..

Gorki wrote:

gchatbrah wrote:

Bronx Bum wrote:Drop out and cut your debt in half. Take it from a guy who graduated from Fordham, mostly liked it and regrets not dropping out. And I actually got a DREAM job that pays $65k. I would be living a dream right now--location, type of work, meeting awesome people, etc.--except for the fact that I owe $160k to the federal government.

I'll NEVER be able to have a family. I worry every day about my life. Worst mistake was going. Second worst was not dropping out.

160K debt with 65K starting salary = / = never having a family. That level of debt is still manageable, and living your life without any debt is sub-optimal, in my opinion. Debt is an important part of temporal consumption, and if you wouldn't have gotten that 65K job without taking on some debt, it might still be a net win (depending on how much upward mobility there is).

I think you've done pretty well for yourself so far, keep at it.

Bronx Bum probably would not need the 100k annual recommended salary for his debt, or the 65k job for his debt, if he HAD NO DEBT AT ALL. There is a bigger net win if you are making $19.00 an hour with a near-free AA degree. Is it a crapshoot you will make $19.00 an hour somehow after AA? Probably, but much less a crapshoot than servicing $160,000 debt ($1,841.00 a month for ten years) on the dreams of biglawl.

No offense intended for Bronx Bum. Just saying..

Everyone I know with an associates degree is unemployed or employed as a waiter/bartender and living at home with the exception of one person who works as an electrician for the MTA and he only has that job because one of his parents works there

Anonymous User wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op Again:

On the debt issue, I have a half-tuition scholarship and don't pay living expenses so I'll probably have 100k-110k of debt upon graduation if I stay, I have around 80k now

How do you plan to keep the debt so low then? If you can somehow only add 30K in debt over these next two years then you should probably stay but it seems like the debt will be much higher.

I already took out the money I need for 2L year, which was 30k. I'm assuming I'll need 20-30k for next year as well

There are a few things wrong here -- how did you calculate your CoA? Also, do you know Fordham's policy wrt student loans and tuition refunds? Here's how I see it playing out:

First, assuming you took out federal loans, the second half of that $30K wouldn't even disburse until january. So you're really talking about $15K taken out, which means you've taken out a total of $65K so far including this fall semester.

Now since its still september, its likely that if you alerted the law school tomorrow they would refund if not all, at least part of your tuition. And for Stafford/Grad Plus, you can just pay the loans back immediately and block the capitalization. So you could get upwards of another $13.5-14K back (assuming loan fees & books are a sunk cost), not counting whatever you've already spent on CoL, putting you around $52K in debt.

Worst case scenario, you're locked in for the semester and you can't get any tuition refunded, you could finish out this semester pounding the pavement mass mailing looking for any opportunity, and if its Jan 1 and you come up dry, you take time off with 65K in the hole.

If you'll only have ~110K debt total at graduation, are enjoying law school/still want to be a lawyer, and don't have good prospects outside the law, I stay stick with it.

Hustle + network + be flexible + pray for an economic upswing + PAYE.

Anonymous User wrote:Op here, I should have provided more info in the original post. Apologies:

Anonymous User wrote:approx. class standing and journal?

people get jobs outside of oci.

I'm between top 1/3 and median, on a secondary journal and URM.

Anonymous User wrote:City government? Don't know what their hiring standards are, but if you can snag a job there, the New York City Law Department will give you interesting work, decent pay, and great hours.

Also, might want to consider volunteering for the mayoral race. Getting involved in NYC politics is a time-honored route to employment.

m

I applied to law department twice and didn't garner an interview either time so i'm assuming that ship has sailed

haus wrote:Are you PAYE eligible?

in terms of loan timing? Yes

Anonymous User wrote:Depends what area of law you are interested in. Mass mail. Network. Or just go get your mba and join one of the big 4.

I'm kind of torn, I really want to not live paycheck to paycheck because I've done that my entire life and it blows but I think I'd truly enjoy being an assistant district attorney.

Read the prosecution gunner thread. Focus on internships or externships that might lead to a job.

editd

Op here

Feeling extra shitty today so I thought I'd bump this for inspiration

Hey man I feel ya. Gave up a full ride at Hofstra to transfer to Gtown and struck out at OCI. I am feeling like I should have stayed put and just become an ADA debt free...