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jzachman wrote:I never said I am not going to prepare for the LSAT, as I am studying for it and if I do bad in October, I plan on taking a prep class for the December one. To be honest, I don't think I am going to have an issue getting into these schools, with exception of maybe UNC. I am just seeking advice and information, especially from those who have already applied to those schools. Cost is a huge issue and I cannot move outside of the Triangle, so my options are limited.

Tiago Splitter wrote:UNC seems to be fairly stingy with scholarships, but at ~21K for tuition for in-state residents they don't have to be all that generous. Get in the 160's and you can probably take 30-50% off that already discounted price.

More importantly, don't tell yourself you can't get a high LSAT score. Study for it like you've never studied for anything before in your life. Take every practice exam, and then take every one again if you aren't scoring highly. Drill question types that you struggle with. Every single one. Then drill them again. The LSAT is very learnable, and with that GPA you should expect to waltz into Duke if you spend the time studying right.

For motivation:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/stoppingpowerofwater/jd
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Muffie/jd
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/accountx/jd

jzachman wrote:hanks for advice. This is my main concern when choosing a school... debt!

Considering I would need say $15,000 a year in living expenses, that's automatically $45,000 in debt Ill graduate with for 3 years. Give or take a few thousand.

UNC is currently 21,000, but has increase by about 2000 each year the past few years, so that at least 60,000 added to the 45,000 totaling AT LEAST 105,000 in debt upon graduation.

NCCU is only 10,000 a year and I really think I could get a full ride there (and I like their program better to be honest, they seem to have a more practical program). Considering if I can get a full ride there, there is a 60,000 difference between UNC and NCCU.

UNC= 105,000 in debt
NCCU= 45000 in debt

If we move out of state (My hubby is from MN), even UNC is not going to carry great prestige. Practicing lawyers have told me my main goal should be to stay out of debt....so, is UNC worth going into debt 60,000 more? Especially if I want to do some form of public interest or own my own practice. Sure, if I worked at a big law firm here in the triangle, my salary would definitely outweigh the difference in debt. But public interest lawyers do not make that much, so theoretically it would take me like ten years to make up the difference and then I really doubt anyone will be looking at where I went to school at. They would be more interested in my background and success level in court. Isn't that right?

I was basically an economics major, so for me everything boils down to cost and benefits. There seem to be way more benefits for me going the school that gives me the most money. I know the government offers programs where your debt can be repaid if you do public interest, but who knows if that will still be in place 10 years from whenever I become employed. So, I am not counting on that. I plan is to graduate with as little debt as possible, and live frugally for about 5 years while I pay down my debt as much as I can.

Is this logical or am I missing something? I know how hard it is to get a law job for any graduate right now, but quite frankly, I am not worried about finding a job. I have never had an issue with finding employment, even in this economy. Plus I have 1 year with the federal government under my belt already from an internship, so if I can get hired on with them, that's a huge plus!