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I have placed a deposit at UMB law. However, I just received a call from FSU who took me off the waitlist and gave me a one-time grant of 10k. What is the best bet?

Where do you want to live/practice?

What kind of law would you like to do?

How much financial aid is Maryland offering?

I am indifferent on where I practice, in fact what I prefer to do is some type of in-house councel or land law. I know FSU has land law listed as a focus, along with a focus on Econ. Maryland offered no money. One huge difference is fl in state tuition v Maryland out of state.

oklahomabreakdown wrote:I am indifferent on where I practice, in fact what I prefer to do is some type of in-house councel or land law. I know FSU has land law listed as a focus, along with a focus on Econ. Maryland offered no money. One huge difference is fl in state tuition v Maryland out of state.

if you're indifferent about where you want to live then i'd say FSU... you get in state tuition, you get a grant and it has the concentration that you want.

Yeah you'd be spending a fortune at Maryland to get something that may not really be any better. If I were you I'd go FSU.

The real problem for me I guess is the job market for my fiance. Baltimore seems to have a fairly strong job market compared to Tallahassee. Does anyone know a few more details about these two job markets? She has a degree in Econ and has been a financial aid analyst for a school in CO. I am just worried about her not being able to find any type of job in Tallahasse V Baltimore. I couldn't agree more if it were just about the schools and cost FSU is the obvious choice.

While I think this would be an easy decision if it was just you (FSU, in-state obviously), I think you should consider that the career opportunities present for your fiance are just leaps and bounds greater in the Baltimore-Washington area. I think the extra ~70k of expenses are justified if your S.O. plans on having a career for an extended amount of itme.

I sure hope that is the case. I have always liked fsu, just can't seem to make a good arguement for passing on the md job market.

oklahomabreakdown wrote:The real problem for me I guess is the job market for my fiance. Baltimore seems to have a fairly strong job market compared to Tallahassee. Does anyone know a few more details about these two job markets? She has a degree in Econ and has been a financial aid analyst for a school in CO. I am just worried about her not being able to find any type of job in Tallahasse V Baltimore. I couldn't agree more if it were just about the schools and cost FSU is the obvious choice.

That explains a lot of the indecision.

As someone who spent the last 4 years in Tallahassee at FSU UG, I will agree that options for someone of her background are much more limited than in Baltimore (though she would have some opportunities). OTOH, your options would be more limited if you went to UMB after the 3 years were up.

If you two could handle the stress of long distance and you were dead set on FSU, I could maybe see her working in Jacksonville; it's only 90-140 minutes away. However, given the ambivalence, it obviously wouldn't be worth the stress in your case.

How long do you have to decide?

Also, where in FL are you/your family from originally?

Actually, I am not from Florida. Do you really feel fsu presents better job prospects than umb? I would like to hear your reasons. Not that I don't think u r right, just seems the bal/dc area is loaded with legal job opportunities. How did you like fsu btw?

OK - just curious - how do you qualify for in-state when you're not from FL?

I'll be attending FSU in the fall, and am super excited. MY husband is also in the job market in Tally right now. Started sending out apps as soon as I got admitted a month or so again. Has his first interview a few days ago, with the city of Tallahassee,a nd is waiting on a call back. He's a civil engineer, and there are definately fewer jobs than south florida, where he has worked for the past 10 years. But FSU is worth the moe for us, so we are preparing to make this mvoe, job or no job, and hope for the best.

Fl. Has a very lenient process for applying for in-state tuition. In speaking with the fin aid dept. they said as long as you followed the instructions they gave you, it was a guarantee you would get it. I hope your husband gets the job. I just don't think with the fl. job market we can justify going to fsu.