Graduated Law School Debt Free - Taking Questions Forum

[Giddy-Up]

May 2011 graduate of a T2 in Chicago.

[xyzbca]

May 2011 graduate of a T2 in Chicago.

Job?

[Giddy-Up]

Job?

JAG

[JustE]

Did you go in with a full ride? If not, what did you do? Writing competitions, external scholarships, live in your car, work?

[arthasdk]

So...how'd you do it? Scholarship $$?

[Giddy-Up]

Did you go in with a full ride? If not, what did you do? Writing competitions, external scholarships, live in your car, work?

First year I went full time with a full ride. Paid living expenses with savings. After the first year, I switched to the evening program and worked during the day. The school let me keep the full scholarship even though I switched divisions.

[JustE]

Did you go in with a full ride? If not, what did you do? Writing competitions, external scholarships, live in your car, work?

First year I went full time with a full ride. Paid living expenses with savings. After the first year, I switched to the evening program and worked during the day. The school let me keep the full scholarship even though I switched divisions.

If you could do it again, would you take a T14 with debt over T2 with no debt?

[shock259]

Which branch? Which program did you apply to? What was your class rank? Do you have any military experience/ties?

[LoyalRebel]

Um, doesn't the military pay for law school for JAG officers??

If so, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

[MTal]

Um, doesn't the military pay for law school for JAG officers??

No. In the vast majority of cases it doesn't. You are an idiot.

[Giddy-Up]

Yes, doing it all over again I would go the T2 route. I only got into the very bottom of the T14. Fortunately I did well in law school, so my options were pretty wide open. Certainly if I was closer to median, perhaps I would feel differently but I may have been equally screwed even at a lower T14 at median. As a non-trad with a family to support, the debt scared me a lot more. If I had lost my scholarship at the end of the 1st year I like to think I would have made the right decision and thrown in the towel. Certainly there are times when I wonder "what if" For instance, I never participated in OCI or the Loyola Patent Fair. Overall I am happy with my lot.

[JustE]

Yes, doing it all over again I would go the T2 route. I only got into the very bottom of the T14. Fortunately I did well in law school, so my options were pretty wide open. Certainly if I was closer to median, perhaps I would feel differently but I may have been equally screwed even at a lower T14 at median. As a non-trad with a family to support, the debt scared me a lot more. If I had lost my scholarship at the end of the 1st year I like to think I would have made the right decision and thrown in the towel. Certainly there are times when I wonder "what if" For instance, I never participated in OCI or the Loyola Patent Fair. Overall I am happy with my lot.

Hmmm... Thanks for the perspective.

[TheFactor]

Um, doesn't the military pay for law school for JAG officers??

No. In the vast majority of cases it doesn't. You are an idiot.

lol at you calling anyone an idiot

[MTal]

Um, doesn't the military pay for law school for JAG officers??

No. In the vast majority of cases it doesn't. You are an idiot.

lol at you calling anyone an idiot

What makes you say that?

[MrPapagiorgio]

Um, doesn't the military pay for law school for JAG officers??

No. In the vast majority of cases it doesn't. You are an idiot.

lol at you calling anyone an idiot

What makes you say that?

IBTMTal talks about how much smarter he is than the rest of us for dropping out of law school and how much better of a life he has than the rest of us because of it.

[TheFactor]

Why go to law school when you could be a manager at American Eagle?

[MTal]

Why go to law school when you could be a manager at American Eagle?

.....duhh???

[Blindmelon]

May 2011 graduate of a T2 in Chicago.

Graduating without debt isn't really a science. Scholarship + making 31,000k as an SA + having a decent amount of savings = no debt when you graduate.

[Ernert]

May 2011 graduate of a T2 in Chicago.

Graduating without debt isn't really a science. Scholarship + making 31,000k as an SA + having a decent amount of savings = no debt when you graduate.

31,000,000? Should be enough to cover COL.

[Jack Smirks]

May 2011 graduate of a T2 in Chicago.

Where did you finish in your class? What were your options like?

[Giddy-Up]

Where did you finish in your class? What were your options like?

I finished #3 in my class. It is hard to say what my options were. I did not participate in OCI or the Patent Law fair since I was already working a legal job that I enjoyed. I like to think my options were pretty good, I had good law grades, an undergrad and Masters in Mechanical Engineering and relatively strong pre-law work experience. The biggest negative for biglaw would have probably been my age. I did not start law school until I was 30, with a family to support, which probably explains my heightened aversion to debt.

[Jack Smirks]

Thank you for the reply. Did you attempt to transfer after 1L? Do you feel like working FT and going to law school PT helped you in interviews and job searching? Were you able to do journal or any other extracurriculars with your demanding schedule?

[$1.99]

damn MTal, i thought i told you to move along in your life. you are no longer an applicant nor a student. you failed and you have no said your messages loud enough. just because you failed, it does not give you the right to trash every thread here.

[Giddy-Up]

Thank you for the reply. Did you attempt to transfer after 1L? Do you feel like working FT and going to law school PT helped you in interviews and job searching? Were you able to do journal or any other extracurriculars with your demanding schedule?

I did not attempt to transfer. My goal was to minimize debt. At the time I landed my job, I was attending law school full time and did not apply to any other positions. I think my employment status had little to no bearing on my JAG selection. I did participate in Law Review, but only at the lowest level, I did not seek a position on the board.