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Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 6:25 pm
by Oopsthereitis
Sup guys. Looking for hard reality advice.
1L here, wrapping up the last final. I'm at the bottom of the class. 2.9 GPA on a 3.3 curve at a t30. I never had a biglaw or bust mentality, but I do not want to end up with crippling debt and no job. I definitely had clarity when I saw through lots of the smokes and mirrors in terms of how to take exams, but definitely just fucked up come game day come second semester around. Anyway, long story short. Here are pros cons
Pros:
- I'm very social
- Have scholarships so looking at 100k debt (is this even a pro? lol)
- URM
Cons:
- grades suck
- have no in roads
No alternative career path and I'd be looking at 100k debt from law school after graduating and I have about 30k debt UG. If I leave this year I'm looking at 66k debt total. Also 66k to remain in. I do desire to be a lawyer but not at the cost of being jobless or making 40-50k (excluding big gov). Chime in.
- Depressed 1L
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 7:02 pm
by californiauser
school range?
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 9:38 pm
by Arboreal
Oopsthereitis wrote:Sup guys. Looking for hard reality advice.
1L here, wrapping up the last final. I'm at the bottom of the class. 2.9 GPA on a 3.3 curve at a t30. I never had a biglaw or bust mentality, but I do not want to end up with crippling debt and no job. I definitely had clarity when I saw through lots of the smokes and mirrors in terms of how to take exams, but definitely just fucked up come game day come second semester around. Anyway, long story short. Here are pros cons
Pros:
- I'm very social
- Have scholarships so looking at 100k debt (is this even a pro? lol)
- URM
Cons:
- grades suck
- have no in roads
No alternative career path and I'd be looking at 100k debt from law school after graduating and I have about 30k debt UG. If I leave this year I'm looking at 66k debt total. Also 66k to remain in. I do desire to be a lawyer but not at the cost of being jobless or making 40-50k (excluding big gov). Chime in.
- Depressed 1L
Don't make any decisions until grades come out; there's no need to overreact to feelings about one exam. Also, don't stress over this now. You'll be better served doing your best on your remaining finals than fretting about a decision you're not in a position yet to make.
Try to stay off the message boards and don't feed your anxiety. Study hard for the rest of the exam period, get exercise, eat well, and do things to alleviate pressure. Listen to some music.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 12:44 pm
by Oopsthereitis
grades out. slightly went up generally but because i shit the bed bad in one class, GPA only marginally went up. fucking blows. w/e. seems like dropping out is the right move despite wanting to be a lawyer.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 12:46 pm
by 071816
californiauser wrote:school range?
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:00 pm
by sparty99
Do you not read? He said T30. If you don't want to make 40-50k, then drop out.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:03 pm
by 071816
my bad. reading comp fail.
op, what was your undergrad major?
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:30 pm
by TheodoreKGB
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Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:41 pm
by jbagelboy
<3.0 at a T30, I'd definitely drop out. the question is what to do next
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:45 pm
by Oopsthereitis
Honestly... I don't have a game plan. Pol Sci undergrad so I have a useless degree. Fuck 40-50k.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:46 pm
by Oopsthereitis
I should've just fucking done accounting/bus econ and crushed undergrad. so annoying.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:47 pm
by AReasonableMan
What kind of URM? It's possible being URM and fitting in can compensate for the grades at, at least 1 OCI firm.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:48 pm
by Oopsthereitis
Mexican-American.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:52 pm
by 071816
Oopsthereitis wrote:Honestly... I don't have a game plan. Pol Sci undergrad so I have a useless degree. Fuck 40-50k.
you could always apply for sales/marketing/compliance/hr/whatever you can find jobs at companies. you have to come up with a game plan before you drop out though (if that's what you ultimately decide to do) and just hustle your ass off. you'll probably start off in the same salary range as quoted above (maybe a bit higher depending on the position), but at least you'll have a lot less debt.
alternatively, you could just stick it out and try to improve your gpa during 2l and 3l and apply for jobs later in the game or after you get bar results that are less GPA sensitive (I'm assuming you won't be competitive for much during OCI, but you never know).
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:00 pm
by jbagelboy
What's your UG gpa? What are you interested in besides law practice? Does your law school have a well connected UG program where you could network with alumns to get a job in another field before dropping out? What's your summer job and are you enjoying it?
There are lots of social science and humanities majors that aren't in law school and are otherwise gainfully employed. So think about anything that might be going for you besides law school.
The "stick it out" advise avoids the fact that OP will double their debt by doing so. I think this is highly inadvisable at a school placing no more than 30% of its grads into six figure paying positions (and I'm guessing loan repayment isn't much of an option).
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:00 pm
by Oopsthereitis
to be clear, first sem 2.86, second sem 2.9. cum of 2.88. so i'm still a decent amount even from 3.0 threshold.
also undergraduate GPA is dogshit.
2.9 at community college,
3.17 at top 50 university.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:05 pm
by TheodoreKGB
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Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:10 pm
by Oopsthereitis
lol i wish man
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:15 pm
by seizmaar
how is your total COA 100k but you're already 66k in debt after 1L?
nm figured out it includes your undergrad too. i think your sunk cost isn't so bad that walking away might be the answer.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:26 pm
by Paul Campos
If you're not willing to gun for a $50K per year small firm job you should drop out, because that's your best case scenario at this point. You're in the bottom 10%-20% at a T30 which means any grade-sensitive jobs are out. Non-grade sensitive jobs don't pay more than mid-five figures. And PSLF-eligible jobs usually don't pay more than that either, but they're hard to get because some of your classmates have been going for them since day one, rather than treating them as a backup now that big law and big gov aren't going to be options.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:51 pm
by rpupkin
Dropping out is certainty a reasonable choice here, but I'm going to deviate from the hive a bit. You're looking at T30 + URM + Full Ride + desire to be a lawyer. Even with below-median grades, I'm not sure you need to drop out.
Mr. Campos is right that you need to adjust your salary expectations. At least when starting out, you're unlikely to make more than $50K. But I don't think you'd be crazy to stay in school in your circumstances.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:58 pm
by Fiero85
rpupkin wrote:Dropping out is certainty a reasonable choice here, but I'm going to deviate from the hive a bit. You're looking at T30 + URM + Full Ride 66k current debt + 66k more debt to finish + desire to be a lawyer. Even with below-median grades, I'm not sure you need to drop out.
Mr. Campos is right that you need to adjust your salary expectations. At least when starting out, you're unlikely to make more than $50K. But I don't think you'd be crazy to stay in school in your circumstances.
I would agree if they did have a full ride but they said ~130k debt if they stick it out. that's a tough pill to swallow.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:21 am
by Young Marino
rpupkin wrote:Dropping out is certainty a reasonable choice here, but I'm going to deviate from the hive a bit. You're looking at T30 + URM + Full Ride + desire to be a lawyer. Even with below-median grades, I'm not sure you need to drop out.
Mr. Campos is right that you need to adjust your salary expectations. At least when starting out, you're unlikely to make more than $50K. But I don't think you'd be crazy to stay in school in your circumstances.
I have to agree with this post. Yes, $50k annually at a small firm is not the most desirable position to be in after graduating but keep in mind that you will make considerably more $$$ over the 30-40 year span of your legal career than most people. Further, although $100k in debt looks daunting right now, that amount of student debt can be realistically paid off in 10-15 years. If you truly want to be a lawyer, I wouldn't drop out.
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:41 am
by PodPeople
The advice above to apply for jobs while still contemplating dropping out seems like a good medium. Try that, and good luck : )
Re: Genuine advice about dropping out?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:19 am
by RemyMarathe
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