3.38 / 152 what are my chances @........ Forum

[bomedtheLSAT101]

Hey guys....lol, give me your thoughts. Which one should I go to or get into? Should I just become a Nurse? <-- lawl. I also have a Master's degree. Thanks.

UF--- Decision Pending ( I think this means they will wait til next review cycle to make decision)
UM--- Decision Pending
Stetson--- Waitlisted
Texas Tech--- Waitlisted
Barry--- In/10k
Nova--- In
U. Detroit Mercy--- In/16k
Florida Coastal -- In/10k
FIU--- File Complete
thomas cooley-- In/25%
Pace--- File Complete
Penn State--- Under Review
Houston Law--- Under Review

[vanwinkle]

How much did you study for the LSAT?

If the answer is "very little"/"none" then the appropriate response is "study, retake, and reapply". On this board the general consensus is that the only schools you can get into with a 152 are not worth attending unless your expenses are fully paid and you have no other choice.

[Cara]

What vanwinkle said. If you studied hard for the LSAT and can only get a 152 I would stick to nursing.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

So... If I get into Stetson I shouldn't go to stetson?

[vanwinkle]

So... If I get into Stetson I shouldn't go to stetson?

If nursing is a real option, then it's better for you than going to Stetson, career-wise.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

Dam that's crazy... i've read on so many posts that if you get into UF, FSU, UM, or Stetson then it should be worth it and some even FIU. Have you heard anything about the legal job market? I bet it's been shrinking? What's field of law is the money at besides patent of course?

[vanwinkle]

Dam that's crazy... i've read on so many posts that if you get into UF, FSU, UM, or Stetson then it should be worth it and some even FIU. Have you heard anything about the legal job market? I bet it's been shrinking? What's field of law is the money at besides patent of course?

In the last year, more than 20,000 lawyers and legal professionals have been laid off. The job market for lawyers is shrinking, and yet something like 40,000 new lawyers are graduated from the 200+ law schools in this country every year. There's simply nowhere for all of them to go, and a lot of people who graduate from the lowest-ranked schools simply find themselves without options, no matter how well they did. Even with the best grades in their class it can be hard to get the high-paying jobs that people really want.

Health care is a much more stable job market right now. Nursing is a profession that is not going to shrink or go away anytime soon, as there will always be sick people in need of medical care, more certainly than there will always be an abundance of companies needing a fleet of lawyers to conduct mergers and acquisitions.

5 years ago it would've been different, but now... finding jobs is so much harder, at least for the time being. Once the economy recovers it will hopefully be easier to find work as a lawyer again.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

So what field of law, in your opinion, has the most potential in the coming years? and if I some how get into UF i should definitely go right?

[vanwinkle]

So what field of law, in your opinion, has the most potential in the coming years? and if I some how get into UF i should definitely go right?

Personally I'm pursuing criminal law, because in good times or bad there will always be criminal behavior. However, I'm also attending a top-tier law school and interning every chance I get in order to build up a resume and make connections. I interned in NYC over the winter break just last week and I'm interning in New Orleans this spring break instead of taking a vacation. I might be fortunate enough to get a job in a large market that pays well and has good benefits. But I might not. Even with all this I'm resigned to the possibility of having to move to some rural district in the middle of nowhere to find low-paying work as a public defender.

IMO it matters more what you want to do than what has the most potential for growth. If you're looking for financial stability, though, stick to nursing. The fact that I'm doing this is rooted in the fact that I love doing it, not because I think it will bring me wealth. The life of prosecutors and public defenders is not that glamorous or financially rewarding, certainly not compared to the big corporate lawyers everyone wants to be.

Going to law school means taking out a mortgage and then not having a house to live in. You're paying that mortgage off for as many as 30 years, so that'll cut into whatever decent income you come up with for the near future. This is a career path you should only pursue if you really, really want to do it, not because of any financial gain. If you're considering nursing because it's potentially a more financially rewarding/stable option, then do that. Seriously.

Let me put it this way: If I am capable of talking you out of going to law school, that means that you didn't want it enough to put up with the shit you'll face graduating from a school that poorly ranked anyway. You have to want it enough to know that it might not be a financially wise decision at all and still have it be what you want to do.

If you're in it for the money, right now only the Harvard and Yale kids are getting big-money job offers with any consistency, so unless you're going there this isn't for you.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

Yea, you have a really good point. lol and I have been thinking about this for some time. But quick question if you have time/when u have time: how is the typical life of a public defender for a city? Do you actually help people? or You are putting people in jail most of the time (hence helping society as a whole).

[vanwinkle]

Yea, you have a really good point. lol and I have been thinking about this for some time. But quick question if you have time/when u have time: how is the typical life of a public defender for a city? Do you actually help people? or You are putting people in jail most of the time (hence helping society as a whole).

Public defender is trying to provide people a defense, and assume the people are innocent, but their lose rate is typically really high (like 80-90% high). Sometimes the good you can do is by negotiating for someone to be put into an aid/rehabilitation program instead of jail, so they can get resources to help them stop being a criminal and start being a more productive member of society, things like that.

It's really rough. Last week I watched a kid get denied bail and remanded until his court date in mid-February. He's gonna spend a month in jail waiting for his trial before he even gets to have one, and he's like, 17. You do that a lot, you lose a lot, you manage to not help people a lot, and from what I hear you start seeing the same faces over and over and that gets depressing because you know what you're doing is sometimes not helping, they just keep getting arrested.

Also, defense attorneys are typically the least respected lawyers in a courthouse. The prosecutors and judges get all the respect. Plus the pay is low compared to a lot of legal jobs. But it's pretty stable work, once you establish yourself and get used to it you'd have to start fucking up pretty hard to get fired, and the hours at least aren't terrible.

You have to be Don Quixote to take that on and like it.

[hans3n]

So what field of law, in your opinion, has the most potential in the coming years? and if I some how get into UF i should definitely go right?

I think energy law is gonna get even bigger. Might want to look into that, and what schools you can get into that specialize in that field/have programs related to that field.

[vanwinkle]

So what field of law, in your opinion, has the most potential in the coming years? and if I some how get into UF i should definitely go right?

I think energy law is gonna get even bigger. Might want to look into that, and what schools you can get into that specialize in that field/have programs related to that field.

What the hell is energy law?

[84Sunbird2000]

Well, I really like Stetson as a school, but I wouldn't even consider it if it weren't for the possibility of ride and stipend. Paying full sticker is the problem at lower-tier schools. By the way, what's the requirement for keeping the scholarship at UDM? I think Barry is dead last in Peer and Academic Reputation.

I've never been someone to say "retake!", but going to these schools might be a gamble. Remember, though, the economy will likely be better by 2013. Does everyone on this site really think the economy will be the same in 3 years? From recent history, it's likely the market will be much better by then.

[vanwinkle]

I've never been someone to say "retake!", but going to these schools might be a gamble. Remember, though, the economy will likely be better by 2013. Does everyone on this site really think the economy will be the same in 3 years? From recent history, it's likely the market will be much better by then.

The only thing in recent history that this recession resembles is the 1930s. I think we're starting to hit another dip right now. I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm right we're going to see another wave of layoffs in the next year or two. Even barring that, there's a good chance a recovery will take years before hiring returns to 1990s levels.

[Grizz]

Don't go to Stetson unless you plan to be one of Stetson's most stand-out grads, kicking ass and tacking names academically. The same can be said for FSU or UF, but more so for Stetson. Do not go to FIU. No. I would do nursing if I was you.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

UDM scholly is one time deal. Can get more if I perform in top 40% of class. And yea, haven't heard of any energy law schools either... Man, I can't believe someone just threw UF under a train, lawl. It's the best school in florida.

[hans3n]

By energy law schools I mean programs that are strong in things relating to the use of energy, which will be a huge market/field in the future (think "green" revolution). Energy as it relates to technology and the environmental aspects of it. I should have phrased it better. Its hard to find info on schools for a specific field, so I would start by looking at Intellectual Property programs and environmental law programs. Thats just me though.

[vanwinkle]

UDM scholly is one time deal. Can get more if I perform in top 40% of class. And yea, haven't heard of any energy law schools either... Man, I can't believe someone just threw UF under a train, lawl. It's the best school in florida.

That should tell you how bad the the schools in Florida are.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

Yea, I see your point. Environmental law should start growing fast and soon. IMO too. For Intellectual prop don't you need a science background i.e. engineering

[hans3n]

For Intellectual prop don't you need a science background i.e. engineering

You dont need one, but it helps, and can provide more opportunities and take you more places career wise

[Grizz]

UDM scholly is one time deal. Can get more if I perform in top 40% of class. And yea, haven't heard of any energy law schools either... Man, I can't believe someone just threw UF under a train, lawl. It's the best school in florida.

You can get a job coming out of the middle to lower end of the class at UF, but it might be at a job you hate in a field which you don't give a shit about, making enough money to pay interest on you loans and drink your sorrows away when you're not busting your ass to buy ramen.

[bomedtheLSAT101]

major lawl @ the ramen comment. But, if I get into UF/FSU/FIU and end up of course with a crap job at least I would have a job and not be in debt. I have enough to pay for tuition w/ little to no debt right now. But yea you guys are all right I probably won't be able to work in the field I want or at the job/city I want. = /

[vanwinkle]

But yea you guys are all right I probably won't be able to work in the field I want or at the job/city I want. = /

You'll have much more flexibility finding a job at least in the city you want with nursing than you would with a low-tier law degree.

[84Sunbird2000]

FIU is pretty bad. UF, FSU, UM, and Stetson are the only really decent schools. Florida has 7 other positively craptastic schools. Ave Maria, Florida Coastal, Barry, FIU, Nova Southeastern, University of St. Thomas, and Florida A&M are all 4th tier schools and not really on the threshold of improving. There are some T4s that have their own markets, but these schools do not.