Top Law Schools

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Looks a little better than a coin flip...

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/jcpix09 (3.0, 169 - REJECT)
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/guyofall (3.05, 169 - ACCEPT W/ $$)
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Adon241 (3.08, 167 - ACCEPT W/ $$)
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/nbidwell (2.85, 170 - WAITLIST)

Full Disclosure: I'm just a 0L trying to read the tea leaves

You're probably in, but I'm not sure the wisdom of taking on the amount of debt you'll have to.

Your best bet is going to be to retake, get into as many schools above W&M as you can, and leverage acceptances and other scholarship offers against W&M. Apply very early in the cycle so there's more money available for you.

Goals?

I remember looking at WM for the same reason. The thing is, if you have an active duty spouse, you will likely move again (unless he's getting out) and a WM degree may not transfer very well if you end up in, say, San Diego.

Nope, he is out in 3 years and then we want to move to FL. While he is deployed for 6 months at a time, I will be able to study and hopefully not have time to miss him so much.

Penny07 wrote:Nope, he is out in 3 years and then we want to move to FL. While he is deployed for 6 months at a time, I will be able to study and hopefully not have time to miss him so much.

Wait four or five years, set down some roots in Florida, and then go to law school (but only if it's for cheapsies!). If you're already from Florida then you just have to wait three years before attending law school in Florida. Do not go to W&M to try and get a job in Florida. And definitely don't pay any money to do so. You will probably spend 3 years of your life and have nothing to show for it.

Post removed.

MistakenGenius wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

Penny07 wrote:Nope, he is out in 3 years and then we want to move to FL. While he is deployed for 6 months at a time, I will be able to study and hopefully not have time to miss him so much.

Wait four or five years, set down some roots in Florida, and then go to law school (but only if it's for cheapsies!). If you're already from Florida then you just have to wait three years before attending law school in Florida. Do not go to W&M to try and get a job in Florida. And definitely don't pay any money to do so. You will probably spend 3 years of your life and have nothing to show for it.

This. William and Mary has been hurting for a while now and their brand doesn't travel very well. You need to wait and go to a FLorida law school if you want to be a lawyer.

I do not want to go to law school in my 30's. This is something I have to do now. My husband makes plenty of money, so that's not really a factor. Also, I wish to work for the State Department or a non-profit when I'm done with school. Hopefully it won't matter what state I went to law school in for those types of jobs.

Not trying to be a dick, but you know the State Department (and the lions share of federal jobs) are located in DC, not Florida, right?

Just trying to give you the best advice possible here. If you want to be a lawyer in Florida going to WM doesn't make much sense. Are you using his GI bill or is this loans?

TheSpanishMain wrote:Not trying to be a dick, but you know the State Department (and the lions share of federal jobs) are located in DC, not Florida, right?

Just trying to give you the best advice possible here. If you want to be a lawyer in Florida going to WM doesn't make much sense. Are you using his GI bill or is this loans?

Yeah, Penny- can you link us to some specific job postings (or at least descriptions) for what type of jobs you're talking about in Florida?

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong here, but: it's my understanding that government/PI jobs are very competitive to get. I don't think that you can go to a random law school in random state A, move to random state B, and waltz in and say "Hey guys, I'm here for my State Department job!" Plus, it'll be a pain to intern and stuff in another state during the summers but that's a personal choice I guess.

Going to a middling Virginia school for Florida Government/PI makes no sense to me. Why does it make sense to you?

Penny07 wrote:

MistakenGenius wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

Penny07 wrote:Nope, he is out in 3 years and then we want to move to FL. While he is deployed for 6 months at a time, I will be able to study and hopefully not have time to miss him so much.

Wait four or five years, set down some roots in Florida, and then go to law school (but only if it's for cheapsies!). If you're already from Florida then you just have to wait three years before attending law school in Florida. Do not go to W&M to try and get a job in Florida. And definitely don't pay any money to do so. You will probably spend 3 years of your life and have nothing to show for it.

This. William and Mary has been hurting for a while now and their brand doesn't travel very well. You need to wait and go to a FLorida law school if you want to be a lawyer.

I do not want to go to law school in my 30's. This is something I have to do now. My husband makes plenty of money, so that's not really a factor. Also, I wish to work for the State Department or a non-profit when I'm done with school. Hopefully it won't matter what state I went to law school in for those types of jobs.

Where you went to school will very likely matter, and it will definitely matter that you went to a poor school. Seriously. I'm starting law school in my early 30s because I wasn't mature enough or smart enough to go in my 20s, when all of my undergrad friends went. It strikes me that this might apply to you as well ...

cron1834 wrote: Where you went to school will very likely matter, and it will definitely matter that you went to a poor school. Seriously. I'm starting law school in my early 30s because I wasn't mature enough or smart enough to go in my 20s, when all of my undergrad friends went. It strikes me that this might apply to you as well ...

To be fair, I don't think William and Mary qualifies as a poor school. It's actually a decent regional school for those looking to stay in Virginia, as long as they don't take on much debt. Their numbers are pretty decent, and what I've heard anecdotally is that the school funded jobs out of William and Mary actually aren't a horrible outcome. They pay for PI types to gain some experience, and have a pretty high success rate in terms of turning those school funded jobs into long term employment. Again, I can't cite any data with that as it's just what an alum told me, but WM apparently puts a lot of time and resources into helping students looking for government/PI gigs.

None of this really matters to you, though, OP. William and Mary is, in my opinion, a decent regional school, but it's the wrong region for you. If you and your husband were looking to stay in Hampton Roads and you were considering WM with a huge scholarship or you were using his GI Bill, sure. It'd be a great choice. For you, it's a complete mismatch.