Burnt out, NEED ADVICE Forum

[ariannagriffinrin]

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

[ariannagriffinrin]

Arianna, why did you go to law school?

Barring some extraordinary answer to this question, you need to drop out. Cooley is a truly terrible school. You're killing yourself for a legal education that isn't worth what you're paying for it.(frankly, a Cooley education isn't worth anything to many of the people who graduate from there)

It's not worth it, especially with how much you work during the week.

Hey again, I just saw this. Thanks for your answer. I am trying to advance at work. Strictly, to contract negotiations. Most of the people that handle and work out the contracts work less and make more. It would be great to see my nieces more than in the morning when I take them to school

Again, thank you for your honesty!

[ariannagriffinrin]

Arianna, why did you go to law school?

Barring some extraordinary answer to this question, you need to drop out. Cooley is a truly terrible school. You're killing yourself for a legal education that isn't worth what you're paying for it.(frankly, a Cooley education isn't worth anything to many of the people who graduate from there)

It's not worth it, especially with how much you work during the week.

Hi guys!

I am a weekend law student, at Cooley. I really like Cooley, but driving 5 hours, being in class for 3 hours each (2 sat. 1 Sun.) is driving me batty.

Does anybody who might be familiar with Cooley's weekend program have any advice on how to work smarter not harder? I work during the week (75-80 hours) and am completely and utterly tired. I use energy drinks just to function at a normal level now and it's showing. I totally messed up on my midterms, because I haven't had the time or energy to study.

After briefing everyday, after work and trying to run errands, pay bills, and maintain my household; I am spent. Anybody have any strategies, wisdom or ideas that could help?

I would really be thankful!

Arianna

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

Thank you so, so much for your encouragement. This made me smile I wish you all the best as well. I really do appreciate your response!

[ariannagriffinrin]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't associate complete burnout with someone who loves the law (granted, the OP's burnout is more associated with trying to do too much in addition to law school, but that doesn't change the fact that they go to a shitty school). And I wouldn't associate Cooley with a gratifying career in the law.

But most importantly, you're either being willfully ignorant or flat-out lying about Cooley's employment numbers. Less than a third of their graduates end up employed as lawyers within 9 months of leaving school. Even if you were stupid/generous enough to include JD Advantage jobs, less than half of graduates are in those positions.

If you "love the law" and want a "gratifying career in the law", then you owe it to yourself to go somewhere that isn't a scam. And while not everyone can get into a T50 school, not everyone should be going to law school, period. If you can only get in to schools like Cooley, you likely belong in the latter group.

Howdy! I got accepted to a few schools by me, but scheduling wise they didn't fit. I was thinking about transferring, but part-time nights starts at 6 and in construction you could be working way past that. Additionally, I'm raising my two nieces, so weekends allowed me the later evenings to tuck them in on the nights I'm blessed enough to get off of work before their bedtimes.

[ariannagriffinrin]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't associate complete burnout with someone who loves the law (granted, the OP's burnout is more associated with trying to do too much in addition to law school, but that doesn't change the fact that they go to a shitty school). And I wouldn't associate Cooley with a gratifying career in the law.

But most importantly, you're either being willfully ignorant or flat-out lying about Cooley's employment numbers. Less than a third of their graduates end up employed as lawyers within 9 months of leaving school. Even if you were stupid/generous enough to include JD Advantage jobs, less than half of graduates are in those positions.

If you "love the law" and want a "gratifying career in the law", then you owe it to yourself to go somewhere that isn't a scam. And while not everyone can get into a T50 school, not everyone should be going to law school, period. If you can only get in to schools like Cooley, you likely belong in the latter group.

Howdy! I got accepted to a few schools by me, but scheduling wise they didn't fit. I was thinking about transferring, but part-time nights starts at 6 and in construction you could be working way past that. Additionally, I'm raising my two nieces, so weekends allowed me the later evenings to tuck them in on the nights I'm blessed enough to get off of work before their bedtimes.

And pardon my manners, I meant to add a Thank you for responding honestly

[ariannagriffinrin]

*gets popcorn

Did you grab butter? And enough for me too? Or was this not an invitation to partake in the popcorn too?

[Isaac_Adelman]

Hi!

So this is probably not the best advice, and probably not what you were looking for. However, I agree with people regarding jumping ship. Get the heck out of dodge---NOW! If you're really as burnt out as you say (And I am not saying that you aren't) you need to amend your studying. Quimbee, casebriefs.com are your friends, if you didn't know that already.

I would also recommend buying Emmanuel crunchtime books and amending them to the language that your Prof's use. Write everything out and start old exams; including short answers, essays, and any multiple-choice you can get your hands on.

Not sure how much longer you have in the semester, but from a friend of mine who went to Cooley he said that you all don't have review/reading week like most schools do.

Stop worrying about briefing. Pull the relevant rules and know them cold. Write and rewrite daily. Spend maybe 2 hours a week tops pulling cases for briefs and then the rest of the time reviewing material from each class.

What classes are you taking?

[cavalier1138]

I'm a little worried by how you (OP) appear to be handling this.

Every response telling you that you are committing financial and career suicide is being met with the forum equivalent of a form letter. You haven't articulated any real reasons for needing a JD beyond "career advancement", which a JD doesn't help with, and "contract negotiation", which Cooley doesn't set you up to do (unless your current job is offering to give you a legal position upon completion of your degree).

Law is not something you should be pursuing because you think you want a promotion at work.

Also, the 0L with the genius idea of going wherever will take them based on LSAT... just amazing. Brilliant strategy. Come back in a few years to check in, please.

[grades??]

OP how much is school costing you?

[poptart123]

OP how much is school costing you?

Too much. OP I don't want to sound harsh, but did you look into employment statistics before attending? If you're already 1 semester in it probably seems like a sunk cost and that you're invested, but it is never too late to get out. I encourage you to study law if it is your passion, but please think about your financial future and the employment prospects you face from this school.

[lavarman84]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

0L, you need to leave. You have no business posting here. I'm not one of the more pessimistic people on this site, but I still am not going to hold back from someone who needs to hear it. She's putting an insane amount of work into something that likely won't end up benefiting her and could seriously harm her financially.

If you love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in the law, don't attend a school like Cooley. You should be ashamed of yourself for giving out such bad advice. Try working in a market where schools like Cooley are located. Then, you can come back and tell me what law firms and judges think of Cooley.

The best thing OP could do is find a law school closer to her that she can attend around her job that actually is respected.

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

Has your construction job or others indicated that this Cooley degree will get you where you want to go?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I don't know what sort of scholarship you have, but Cooley charges a lot of money for a degree that doesn't do much for 50+% of its graduates.

If you want to save time, don't brief cases. It's a waste of time. Look for the rule of law in the case and note a few key facts that could be useful for drawing an analogy on the exam.

[ariannagriffinrin]

I'm a little worried by how you (OP) appear to be handling this.

Every response telling you that you are committing financial and career suicide is being met with the forum equivalent of a form letter. You haven't articulated any real reasons for needing a JD beyond "career advancement", which a JD doesn't help with, and "contract negotiation", which Cooley doesn't set you up to do (unless your current job is offering to give you a legal position upon completion of your degree).

Law is not something you should be pursuing because you think you want a promotion at work.

Also, the 0L with the genius idea of going wherever will take them based on LSAT... just amazing. Brilliant strategy. Come back in a few years to check in, please.

I have always wanted to be a contract attorney. However, now that I'm a single Momunt (Aunt acting as a mom to my nieces.) I have to work to try and move up at my company in the contract negotiation field. The lawyers that we work with attended a wide range of schools. One Harvard, two Loyola (Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively.) and one Cooley. She was the one who told me about the weekend program.

Thanks again!

[ariannagriffinrin]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

0L, you need to leave. You have no business posting here. I'm not one of the more pessimistic people on this site, but I still am not going to hold back from someone who needs to hear it. She's putting an insane amount of work into something that likely won't end up benefiting her and could seriously harm her financially.

If you love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in the law, don't attend a school like Cooley. You should be ashamed of yourself for giving out such bad advice. Try working in a market where schools like Cooley are located. Then, you can come back and tell me what law firms and judges think of Cooley.

The best thing OP could do is find a law school closer to her that she can attend around her job that actually is respected.

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

Has your construction job or others indicated that this Cooley degree will get you where you want to go?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I don't know what sort of scholarship you have, but Cooley charges a lot of money for a degree that doesn't do much for 50+% of its graduates.

If you want to save time, don't brief cases. It's a waste of time. Look for the rule of law in the case and note a few key facts that could be useful for drawing an analogy on the exam.

I have a 50% scholarship, that I'm working diligently to maintain. However this semester is proving to be more difficult than the last. And I am burnt out. I feel as if i should've just taken two classes this semester, however that would keep me in school way longer than I would like.

And thanks for the advice! I am always afraid to use, online case briefs. Do you recommend outlining? There's a young lady (I say young to mean 20's, as I'm in my 30's.) who doesn't outline at all. She just goes over old exams.

Appreciate your feedback.

[ariannagriffinrin]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

0L, you need to leave. You have no business posting here. I'm not one of the more pessimistic people on this site, but I still am not going to hold back from someone who needs to hear it. She's putting an insane amount of work into something that likely won't end up benefiting her and could seriously harm her financially.

If you love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in the law, don't attend a school like Cooley. You should be ashamed of yourself for giving out such bad advice. Try working in a market where schools like Cooley are located. Then, you can come back and tell me what law firms and judges think of Cooley.

The best thing OP could do is find a law school closer to her that she can attend around her job that actually is respected.

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

Has your construction job or others indicated that this Cooley degree will get you where you want to go?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I don't know what sort of scholarship you have, but Cooley charges a lot of money for a degree that doesn't do much for 50+% of its graduates.

If you want to save time, don't brief cases. It's a waste of time. Look for the rule of law in the case and note a few key facts that could be useful for drawing an analogy on the exam.

Also, my job is deeply nepotistic. And so if you've been with them for a while and they can gauge how good of an employee you are, they will promote from within. We have MBA's who attended DeVry, that have been promoted. And not to negatively say anything from DeVry, but you get my drift.

[grades??]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

0L, you need to leave. You have no business posting here. I'm not one of the more pessimistic people on this site, but I still am not going to hold back from someone who needs to hear it. She's putting an insane amount of work into something that likely won't end up benefiting her and could seriously harm her financially.

If you love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in the law, don't attend a school like Cooley. You should be ashamed of yourself for giving out such bad advice. Try working in a market where schools like Cooley are located. Then, you can come back and tell me what law firms and judges think of Cooley.

The best thing OP could do is find a law school closer to her that she can attend around her job that actually is respected.

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

Has your construction job or others indicated that this Cooley degree will get you where you want to go?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I don't know what sort of scholarship you have, but Cooley charges a lot of money for a degree that doesn't do much for 50+% of its graduates.

If you want to save time, don't brief cases. It's a waste of time. Look for the rule of law in the case and note a few key facts that could be useful for drawing an analogy on the exam.

Also, my job is deeply nepotistic. And so if you've been with them for a while and they can gauge how good of an employee you are, they will promote from within. We have MBA's who attended DeVry, that have been promoted. And not to negatively say anything from DeVry, but you get my drift.

I don't think you have caught our drift. A law degree from Cooley is equivalent, if not worse, than a MBA from DeVry. If you are spending a single dollar to attend Cooley, you need to drop out now. Truthfully. For your nieces.

[ariannagriffinrin]

OP how much is school costing you?

Too much. OP I don't want to sound harsh, but did you look into employment statistics before attending? If you're already 1 semester in it probably seems like a sunk cost and that you're invested, but it is never too late to get out. I encourage you to study law if it is your passion, but please think about your financial future and the employment prospects you face from this school.

Love, love the name!!! I have, but Cooley was the best option for me. I can attend during the weekends and I got a 25% scholarship and then my job pays 25% totaling 50%. Granted my job would probably cover 25% anywhere, but scheduling wise, weekends work best for me. Thank you

[lavarman84]

Also, my job is deeply nepotistic. And so if you've been with them for a while and they can gauge how good of an employee you are, they will promote from within. We have MBA's who attended DeVry, that have been promoted. And not to negatively say anything from DeVry, but you get my drift.

It's your life. It's your decision. If you think that it gets you the promotion you seek, you can weigh the costs of a Cooley education/the risk that you don't get promoted with the benefits of the promotion. If you think the benefits outweigh the costs/risks, you've gotta do what's best for yourself. It's not my life.

I have a 50% scholarship, that I'm working diligently to maintain. However this semester is proving to be more difficult than the last. And I am burnt out. I feel as if i should've just taken two classes this semester, however that would keep me in school way longer than I would like.

And thanks for the advice! I am always afraid to use, online case briefs. Do you recommend outlining? There's a young lady (I say young to mean 20's, as I'm in my 30's.) who doesn't outline at all. She just goes over old exams.

Appreciate your feedback.

I recommend reading the cases and pulling the rule out and a couple key facts since you're a 1L. If you were a 2L, you could get away with online case briefs.

I do recommend outlining. Just don't overdo it. Organize it in a logical manner based on topics, put the cases down with the rules and a couple key facts for analogies, and then use that outline when you do practice exams.

[ariannagriffinrin]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

0L, you need to leave. You have no business posting here. I'm not one of the more pessimistic people on this site, but I still am not going to hold back from someone who needs to hear it. She's putting an insane amount of work into something that likely won't end up benefiting her and could seriously harm her financially.

If you love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in the law, don't attend a school like Cooley. You should be ashamed of yourself for giving out such bad advice. Try working in a market where schools like Cooley are located. Then, you can come back and tell me what law firms and judges think of Cooley.

The best thing OP could do is find a law school closer to her that she can attend around her job that actually is respected.

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

Has your construction job or others indicated that this Cooley degree will get you where you want to go?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I don't know what sort of scholarship you have, but Cooley charges a lot of money for a degree that doesn't do much for 50+% of its graduates.

If you want to save time, don't brief cases. It's a waste of time. Look for the rule of law in the case and note a few key facts that could be useful for drawing an analogy on the exam.

Also, my job is deeply nepotistic. And so if you've been with them for a while and they can gauge how good of an employee you are, they will promote from within. We have MBA's who attended DeVry, that have been promoted. And not to negatively say anything from DeVry, but you get my drift.

I don't think you have caught our drift. A law degree from Cooley is equivalent, if not worse, than a MBA from DeVry. If you are spending a single dollar to attend Cooley, you need to drop out now. Truthfully. For your nieces.

I get your drift totally. I was just equating that Cooley and Devry are on the same level. My apology for not being clear. I want to be a lawyer and my job will promote me into their contract negotiations team, however I have to have the law degree first. My point was that school name to them didn't matter.

They just wanted the education. I do appreciate the honesty, and it's definitely something I took into account, before starting. I was just hoping someone could help with the burnout and tell me how they overcame it.

[dabigchina]

so what's the endgame here OP. Is having a JD going to get you promoted or what?

[rcharter1978]

This isn't real, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be real, right?

It's definitely real. I attend on the weekends and work in construction management during the week. In Illinois.

So wait, why do you want a JD?

If it's to simply further your current career, why not go to a cheap online unaccredited law school. If it's to get into a totally new field -- it's a bad idea.

If only 30% of students get employment as attorneys you need to be in the top 30% of the class. Given your posts, you are not headed to the top 30% of the class.

Hey there! Thank you for the stats I am trying to further my current career. Maybe burnout is not the way to do it though lol... I was hoping to continue to move up in construction and then utilize my law degree to work solely on the contractual aspect. Thanks again

If you want a JD to work on contract negotiation, then just get a JD from a cheap online school so you don't have to drive 5 hours every weekend. It doesn't sound like you need to sit for the bar to recognize the benefits.

[grades??]

OP how much is school costing you?

Too much. OP I don't want to sound harsh, but did you look into employment statistics before attending? If you're already 1 semester in it probably seems like a sunk cost and that you're invested, but it is never too late to get out. I encourage you to study law if it is your passion, but please think about your financial future and the employment prospects you face from this school.

Love, love the name!!! I have, but Cooley was the best option for me. I can attend during the weekends and I got a 25% scholarship and then my job pays 25% totaling 50%. Granted my job would probably cover 25% anywhere, but scheduling wise, weekends work best for me. Thank you

Tuition is $47,890. Lets say half of that is $23,000 per year. You realize you will pay $70,000 minimum plus all the extra stress and stuff for a degree that IF it helps you get a legal job, then it will be in the range of 40k? I understand you have your company is helping, but have they guaranteed you a job with a law degree? Can you even articulate what a contract attorney does? Unless you are getting paid 10k a year right now, you aren't going to make more money being a contract attorney.

Honestly for your future you need to drop out. I don't give out this advice lightly. Best of luck but that is what needs to happen. It sounds like you are doing very poorly now with everything and honestly it does not sound like law is for you at this point with everything else you are doing. Please drop out.

[lavarman84]

I was just hoping someone could help with the burnout and tell me how they overcame it.

I don't think there are many qualified to do that. Most of us didn't work anywhere near 80 hours a week during law school. It's going to be absolutely rough for you. Best we can do is give advice on how to save some time. Truth is that you're in for a hellish grind. If you think the light at the end of the tunnel is worth it, you've just gotta suffer through the next few years. It will get easier as you get more comfortable, though. It will start to take less time and effort.

[ariannagriffinrin]

I was just hoping someone could help with the burnout and tell me how they overcame it.

I don't think there are many qualified to do that. Most of us didn't work anywhere near 80 hours a week during law school. It's going to be absolutely rough for you. Best we can do is give advice on how to save some time. Truth is that you're in for a hellish grind. If you think the light at the end of the tunnel is worth it, you've just gotta suffer through the next few years. It will get easier as you get more comfortable, though. It will start to take less time and effort.

I hope so! But I really do appreciate it. It makes me happy on the days that I get off early and my girls and I can sit and do homework together. They see their aunt striving to fulfill her dreams and prayerfully create a better life for them!

Again appreciate your time. And I guess suffering through law school is the best I'm gonna get

[rcharter1978]

How rude. I am tired of reading pessimistic comments from people in this forum. Not everyone gets in to a top 50 school or whatever. and not everyone is looking to work big law. Some just love the law and want to pursue a gratifying career in law. Last time I checked Cooley had a 66 percent employment rate not 0 percent. So clearly it is not a waste! You should be ashamed of yourself advising someone to drop out. Anyways Arianna, just keep pushing and do everything in your power to make it easier on yourself in the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't associate complete burnout with someone who loves the law (granted, the OP's burnout is more associated with trying to do too much in addition to law school, but that doesn't change the fact that they go to a shitty school). And I wouldn't associate Cooley with a gratifying career in the law.

But most importantly, you're either being willfully ignorant or flat-out lying about Cooley's employment numbers. Less than a third of their graduates end up employed as lawyers within 9 months of leaving school. Even if you were stupid/generous enough to include JD Advantage jobs, less than half of graduates are in those positions.

If you "love the law" and want a "gratifying career in the law", then you owe it to yourself to go somewhere that isn't a scam. And while not everyone can get into a T50 school, not everyone should be going to law school, period. If you can only get in to schools like Cooley, you likely belong in the latter group.

Howdy! I got accepted to a few schools by me, but scheduling wise they didn't fit. I was thinking about transferring, but part-time nights starts at 6 and in construction you could be working way past that. Additionally, I'm raising my two nieces, so weekends allowed me the later evenings to tuck them in on the nights I'm blessed enough to get off of work before their bedtimes.

How would you ever even consider transferring to a part-time program when you have to drive 5 hours to get to the school? That doesn't even make sense, I'm back to thinking this is probably all an elaborate joke.

[ariannagriffinrin]

OP how much is school costing you?

Too much. OP I don't want to sound harsh, but did you look into employment statistics before attending? If you're already 1 semester in it probably seems like a sunk cost and that you're invested, but it is never too late to get out. I encourage you to study law if it is your passion, but please think about your financial future and the employment prospects you face from this school.

Love, love the name!!! I have, but Cooley was the best option for me. I can attend during the weekends and I got a 25% scholarship and then my job pays 25% totaling 50%. Granted my job would probably cover 25% anywhere, but scheduling wise, weekends work best for me. Thank you

Tuition is $47,890. Lets say half of that is $23,000 per year. You realize you will pay $70,000 minimum plus all the extra stress and stuff for a degree that IF it helps you get a legal job, then it will be in the range of 40k? I understand you have your company is helping, but have they guaranteed you a job with a law degree? Can you even articulate what a contract attorney does? Unless you are getting paid 10k a year right now, you aren't going to make more money being a contract attorney.

Honestly for your future you need to drop out. I don't give out this advice lightly. Best of luck but that is what needs to happen. It sounds like you are doing very poorly now with everything and honestly it does not sound like law is for you at this point with everything else you are doing. Please drop out.

You are so funny, and I don't mean that in a sarcastic or mean way. That seems to be general consensus among the group;Drop-out! I know how much the attorneys for the company I work for make, and let me tell you... It's way more than what I currently make. I don't make 10K a year, just a little higher. But, sincerely I appreciate you. I got the sense that you are an honest person and genuine in what you say. Your advice is much appreciated.

I guess if a nice portion of the legal community is saying that this schools not a good idea, then maybe I can take a second look and talk to my company. I don't want my nieces to see their aunt giving-up. So I will look at alternate solutions.

Best