Quote from: nealric on March 23, 2009, 04:19:26 PM

Those who are unemployed now are probably bitter. Those who have a job waiting for them are not. Simple as that.

Meh, I disagree. I have a job offers but I’m probably not going to take them. I don’t have an offer doing what I want to, and I may not have one by the time I graduate. I may be without a job for awhile, but that does not mean I regret going to law school.

 I did not go in thinking I would have something handed to me, or that finding a job I was willing to take would be easy. I expected it to be tough, and my expectations where right. My hunch is those that went in with high expectations without much thought to what might happen if they did not work out are more disappointed than others.


I don’t think it comes down to job/no job only. I bet plenty of people are taking jobs now that they never would have thought of 3 years ago and that they are not happy with because they thought going in everything was going to come up roses. Call me a pessimist, but I always think things are going to come out crappy, so I’m rarely disappointed, or uprepared when they do.

I take the same approach and always have.  Just look at my name..."Hopeless."   

What exactly are they?  Where do you get them?  School-specific? 

Where do you get them? Does what school you go to have any bearing on which ones to get?

I will be attending Georgia State and the Fall classes will be Contracts, Property, Torts, and Civ Pro.

Thanks much to everyone who had something to say.  To my surprise, I realized that my GSU acceptance letter did not limit me to the part-time program that I had selected as my first choice.  I was actually given the opportunity to choose between 2 full-time programs and 3 part-time.  I chose full-time day, sent the seat deposit, and withdrew from all the schools I had applied to.

As for Mercer, I was actually considering sending a handwritten letter to thank them.  If you guys knew my personal story, you would probably understand why.  I was more than a long shot for any law school just a few years ago for a number of reasons.  I was far from a shoe-in and they accepted my application 3 days after it went complete.  I sent them an email thanking them for their consideration and how much I loved their law school and how I was withdrawing due to financial factors.  I don't know if they actually read beyond, "This is...I would like to withdraw..."  Nevertheless, it seemed like the right thing to do.  I'm still not completely convinced but it was time to make a decision.

GSU, here I come. Anyone on a Mercer wait list?   

Mercer Law Full-time Program (Ranked 100, 33k Tuition, no scholarship)

vs.

Georgia State Law Part-time Program (Ranked 77, 9k Tuition, no scholarship)

I have less than 48 hours to make a decision...well, at least a seat deposit.  The answer might seem obvious, but I'm having trouble because of the following:

1)  3 years at Mercer vs. 4-5 years at GSU.  I'm 28 years old atm.

2)  Mercer has less attrition and significantly higher clerkship placement, although Georgia State places more grads into the NLJ 250 by a very small margin.

3)  Mercer has the #1 Legal writing program in the nation.  (Which I actually care about)

4)  I don't think there is much of a difference between 77 and 100 in the rankings.

5)  I feel like my chances for moot court and law review would be enhanced at Mercer both from the standpoint of competitiveness and the distinction between PT and FT.  I'm not sure about the latter, I'm hoping someone can fill me in.

6)  I went to GSU as an undergrad and their law campus leaves much to be desired while the Mercer Law school building is much more inviting.  I know this isn't all that important, but it deserves some attention.

All comments and advice will be appreciated.  Please spare me the "don't go to law school" comments.  I know it's bad out there but I'm much more concerned about a long term career than instant NLJ 250 success.  By the way, I'm looking at roughly 75,000 in debt coming out of GSU as opposed to 150,000 out of Mercer.