I haven't logged in here in months, but I had to join this conversation because it is something that has been bothering me lately.  While I would love to say that our country will always need lawyers, and in abundance, part of me is still worrying about our future.

I do have to say that I agree with everything previously stated.  It is not a question of when we will fall but how far..

Don't you think that the Federal Reserve, which just prints money at will with no value behind it, is the main source of our problems?  Sure, the fact that our military has troops in 130 countries is not helping our deficit spending, but I think that if the dollar was still on the gold standard, we would be in much better shape than we are now.  For example, these stimulus checks have me really pissed off.  So, we're just supposed to take this money and go spend it immediately?  Where do billions of dollars come from to pay from those checks??  Ohh, thats right, it comes from the weakening value of the dollar itself. 

</Rant>

What do you think about this??

I totally agree with you.  Abolishing the Federal Reserve doesn't seem to be a topic that most people consider up for debate.  But really, how much more undemocratic can you get than giving a private bank the power to print money and inflate currency at will?  The Fed's inflationary mechanisms are essentially taxation without representation.  Our purchasing power is being eroded because prices are rising but wages are not keeping up.  Rising oil prices are only worsening inflation that is already the inevitable result of the Federal Reserve's monetary policies.

I'm a fiscal libertarian.  I don't believe in tinkering with the economy, and that includes the corporate bail-outs of which our so-called "conservative" administration is so fond.  The longer we postpone the fall, the worse it's going to be.

P.S. I don't have an economics background, so feel free to correct me if anything I've said is wrong.

I have a theory. It's not based on much, but it might be true.

The schools get to see where else you applied.  Possibly they sent you the letter about the scholarship based solely on your numbers.  Then, after realizing that they were potentially your best option, waitlisted you in order to then accept you with little/no scholarship.

I hope it's not true.

That would be really sad if it's true, although I suppose it's possible.   

The real question is: why the hell did you apply only to those schools with your numbers?

I want to practice law in Philly, and since I didn't have a shot at the t14 (where it would be worth it to take out the $40k+ in loans), it made the most sense just to apply to the Philly regional schools.  I'm happy paying $8k a year at Temple even though I probably could have gotten in to a better ranked school.

Is there any explanation for this?

I was complete in November, with a 165 and 3.4 from an ivy league school, only to receive a letter at the end of February stating: "Based on your personal statement and outstanding academic accomplishments the Committee has designated you as a student who we have a high interest in admitting to the full-time fall class and nominating for available scholarship monies."  The letter then invited me to their admitted students open house in April, and indicated that they would have all of their decisions made by then.  In response, I emailed them saying I would attend the open house.

Last week, I still hadn't heard from them, so I sent them another email reiterating my interest in Rutgers and asking if they could anticipate when a decision would be made on my application.  They never acknowledged receiving my email.  Instead, eight days later they sent me a letter wait-listing me!  The language is similar to the original letter, but now with a different spin: "The Committee has designated you as an individual we would like to admit should space become available.  You therefore have been placed on a Wait List."

So, what happened between the end of February and the end of March that dropped me from scholarship consideration to not even getting a spot?

It looks a little funny on law school numbers (I'm teeks): http://lawschoolnumbers.com/search_schools.php?action=search&cycle=5&school_code=2092&sort=index_number&order=d&application_type=0

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Do you already have a score, or are you retaking in February?

I took the LSAT in June, retook in September and ended up cancelling the September score.  That following Monday, I called the admissions offices of the schools I'd applied to, and told them I'd cancelled my LSAT score and that they shouldn't wait for my new score before reviewing my application.  Some of them asked me to send them an email to that effect so that they'd have it in writing.  It wasn't a big deal.

If you don't already have an LSAT score, I wouldn't say anything.  But if you do have a score, I'd suggest calling the admissions offices on Monday.

I have a score already from the September test which I'm content with.

Did you end up emailing the same individuals that contacted you through email when you sent your apps in? (Generally dean of admissions or assistant dean).

I'm pretty sure my emails went directly to admin staff (not dean or ass't dean) in the admissions offices.  I'd still suggest calling just to make sure you send to the correct email address.