3L Looking Back (worth it?) Forum

waxecstatic · Post by **waxecstatic** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:12 am

courtneylove wrote:
waxecstatic wrote: No one except the very naive goes to law school without weighing this information and assessing whether the benefits will outweigh the costs. Most people go despite the risks involved.
at the time i decided to go, i was aware of the risks but they were less exaggerated for the T6. i thought once i got into CCN i'd be okay and the risk was much smaller. i was so wrong. i guess if i had gone to a lower T14 school where i had bigger scholarship offers i'd still be unemployed but would always wonder. oh well.

I'm not quite sure what CCN stands for. Would Columbia be mixed in there? Cornell? Northwestern? Anyway, that's very startling to hear. Are you measuring your situation based on the fact you didn't get a BigLaw job? You will definitely be able to get a job, right?

philosoraptor · Post by **philosoraptor** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:31 am

Going to declare worth it for now. The one thing I should have done differently is take the LSAT a second time to get more money from UT. Not looking forward to the years of monthly $2K+ loan payments.

Danger Zone · Post by **Danger Zone** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:45 am

CCN = Columbia, Chicago, NYU

rad lulz · Post by **rad lulz** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:51 am

courtneylove · Post by **courtneylove** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:23 pm

waxecstatic wrote: I'm not quite sure what CCN stands for. Would Columbia be mixed in there? Cornell? Northwestern? Anyway, that's very startling to hear. Are you measuring your situation based on the fact you didn't get a BigLaw job? You will definitely be able to get a job, right?

Chicago/Columbia/NYU

i didn't get a job period. i can't even get an interview right now. fwiw my gpa is above median, but that doesn't seem to matter. probably going back to the job i had before law school unless something miraculously materializes in the next four months. yay!

AllTheLawz · Post by **AllTheLawz** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:40 pm

Current 2L... Don't currently regret law school but do kind of regret not going to a "lower T14" school for free

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:49 pm

philosoraptor wrote:Going to declare worth it for now. The one thing I should have done differently is take the LSAT a second time to get more money from UT. Not looking forward to the years of monthly $2K+ loan payments.

+1

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:50 pm

AllTheLawz wrote:Current 2L... Don't currently regret law school but do kind of regret not going to a "lower T14" school for free

Isn't free a good thing? Worst Case Scenario wouldn't that just make it a wash?

kaiser · Post by **kaiser** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:53 pm

thelawdoctor wrote:
AllTheLawz wrote:Current 2L... Don't currently regret law school but do kind of regret not going to a "lower T14" school for free
Isn't free a good thing? Worst Case Scenario wouldn't that just make it a wash?

Yeah, free is a good thing. Thats why he said he regrets not going to school for free...

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:59 pm

kaiser wrote:
thelawdoctor wrote:
AllTheLawz wrote:Current 2L... Don't currently regret law school but do kind of regret not going to a "lower T14" school for free
Isn't free a good thing? Worst Case Scenario wouldn't that just make it a wash?
Yeah, free is a good thing. Thats why he said he regrets not going to school for free...

point made, fucking final revisions of 30 page paper projects and final exams are messing with the eyes I guess.

knowing that, I agree that I regret not having a free time ride.

(my bad)

kaiser · Post by **kaiser** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:01 pm

In the end, I think it was overall worth it, but I wouldn't have done it at sticker or anywhere close. Don't care if the school is HYS, CCN, or anything else. I wouldn't have gone if it would put me $200K+ in debt. I said that on the onset, and I still feel the same way as a 3L (probably feel even stronger about that now than I did a few years ago). I'm lucky enough to have a reasonable debt burden, so I have flexibility, have a job lined up that I'm excited for, and had an overall good experience. Some very tough times, some interesting times, some mind-numbingly dull times, some very fun times, but I feel like I grew a lot with regard to my ability to prioritize, work hard, organize myself, etc.

bartlett1234 · Post by **bartlett1234** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 7:08 pm

courtneylove wrote:at the time i decided to go, i was aware of the risks but they were less exaggerated for the T6. i thought once i got into CCN i'd be okay and the risk was much smaller. i was so wrong. i guess if i had gone to a lower T14 school where i had bigger scholarship offers i'd still be unemployed but would always wonder. oh well.

THIS IS ME . . . do we know each other? It's so hard to finish up the last month of school. All motivation is gone.

courtneylove · Post by **courtneylove** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:59 pm

bartlett1234 wrote: THIS IS ME . . . do we know each other? It's so hard to finish up the last month of school. All motivation is gone.

i'm guessing we don't, because i have two months left!

IAFG · Post by **IAFG** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:41 pm

Omerta wrote:Being unemployed at graduation isn't a huge tragedy cause I have less than 30k in debt -- all federal. I have total freedom in what I can do. I could never work as a lawyer -- or anything that's particularly lucrative -- and be perfectly fine.

But I didn't want the freedom to not be a lawyer or have a low-paying job. If that's how a person feels at the start of LS, I strongly recommend they pursue alternatives to law.

shepdawg · Post by **shepdawg** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 8:57 pm

I just spent $120k to make $20k less than I did before law school. I would not do it over again.

traehekat · Post by **traehekat** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:37 pm

I enjoyed 1L, but since then it has just been a tedious and expensive march toward graduation. On the one hand, where else can someone with a liberal arts degree and no significant work experience find a job paying $160,000/year based on a handful of exams taken in the span of 9 months? On the other hand, of course, you take on a ton of money in loans to even have the opportunity, and you run a high risk of failing. It's great if it works out, but miserable if it doesn't. The only middle ground is if you graduate without a job but didn't have to take on much debt.

In the end, I think it is pretty clear that attending almost any school without a significant scholarship is not worth it. Which is a shame, because most of the time I do enjoy law school and find it pretty fascinating. I have a few non-law school friends who would absolutely love some of this shit. But if they ever asked me whether they should attend law school, the answer would almost certainly be no.

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:54 pm

shepdawg wrote:I just spent $120k to make $20k less than I did before law school. I would not do it over again.

what were your pre and post law school employments/salaries ?

balzie94 · Post by **balzie94** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:20 pm

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:31 pm

Damn this scares the hell out of me.

balzie94 · Post by **balzie94** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:35 pm

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 3:11 pm

balzie94 wrote:It really should. Going to law school is a huge gamble. I can't tell you how many stories I am aware of where people received only 1 offer from a law firm after being rejected numerous times. It could easily not have worked out for them, yet they are considered "success" stories. This, despite the fact that they will face debt loads way larger than mine ($120k+) and have to work 80 hr weeks for 3 years before transitioning to a different (probably lower paying) firm after being told they, like 98% of other "top talent" associates, were not offered partner positions.

What school, if you don't mind me asking?

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 4:03 pm

I made the mistake of falling for the "write your own outlines" BS that Profs feed to you with warnings of B grades if you don't.

Then I found out that the top of the class used the standard ones for a good reason..................THEY WORK!

-kind of pissed..............(you can find alot of them on TWEN for free and the rest from your student bar)

thelawdoctor · Post by **thelawdoctor** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 4:04 pm

Clearlynotstefan wrote:Damn this scares the hell out of me.

You getting ready to matriculate this fall I take it?

balzie94 · Post by **balzie94** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:03 pm

Clearlynotstefan wrote:
balzie94 wrote:It really should. Going to law school is a huge gamble. I can't tell you how many stories I am aware of where people received only 1 offer from a law firm after being rejected numerous times. It could easily not have worked out for them, yet they are considered "success" stories. This, despite the fact that they will face debt loads way larger than mine ($120k+) and have to work 80 hr weeks for 3 years before transitioning to a different (probably lower paying) firm after being told they, like 98% of other "top talent" associates, were not offered partner positions.
What school, if you don't mind me asking?

PM'd you

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:25 pm

thelawdoctor wrote:
Clearlynotstefan wrote:Damn this scares the hell out of me.
You getting ready to matriculate this fall I take it?

Actually applying next cycle.

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