Law School Discussion

Does anyone know what a fair price would be for one-year-old BarBri books?

I'm graduating this year, and I'm thinking of self studying with the BarBri books from the July 2009 / February 2010 bar exam.  I saw last year someone posted on LSD about paying $150 for the books, but I see on eBay that books from the July 2009 exam are going for $400 - $600 (maybe because it's so soon after the exam, even before results have come back).  I think students can turn their books back in to BarBri at the end of the course for $250.  Anybody have any ideas on what I should pay (and whether I should wait until after the July 2009 results come back to purchase because maybe people will be more willing to sell after they find out they have passed and don't need the books)?

Does anyone have MBE-type questions for Evidence, or do you know where I can find some?  My prof uses a multiple choice test for Evidence, and I'd like some practice.  There are a few CALI lessons, but those are typically subject-specific and not great substitutes for bar exam questions.

Some schools offer scholarships that include living stipends.  This list is incomplete.  Please help add to the list if you have information about schools that offer scholarships with living stipends. (For reference, I've also added the 75th percentile LSAT/GPA numbers from the ABA).

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School:  Cardozo
Stipend Amount:  Unknown annual
Name:  The Monrad Paulsen Scholarship
Application:  None
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  166 / 3.70
Link:  http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10344&contentid=1050


School:  Drake
Stipend Amount:  $10,000 annual
Name:  Dwight D. Opperman Scholar Program
Application:  Separate
Renewal:  Top 1/3 of class
75% LSAT/GPA:  158 / 3.72
Link:  http://www.law.drake.edu/admissions/financialAid/?pageID=opperman


School:  Emory
Amount:  $3,000 annual
Name:  Robert W. Woodruff Scholars and Fellows Program
Application:  Nomination letter and interview
Renewal:  unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  166 / 3.62
Link:  http://www.law.emory.edu/admission/financing-an-emory-law-degree/fellowships-and-scholarships.html


School:  Kentucky
Amount:  $1,000-$3,000 annual
Name:  Ashland Scholarship
Application:  None, must be KY resident, interview if selected
Renewal:  Good standing
75% LSAT/GPA:  162 / 3.79
Link:  http://www.uky.edu/Law/prospective_students/combs_ashland_scholars.html

Amount:  About $10,000 annual
Name:  Combs Scholarship
Application:  None, interview if selected
Renewal:  unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  162 / 3.79


School:  Mercer
Amount:  $5,000 annual
Name:  The George W. Woodruff Scholarship
Application:  Separate and interview
Renewal:  Good academic standing
75% LSAT/GPA:  158 / 3.69
Link:  http://www.law.mercer.edu/admissions/financialaid/scholarships

Amount:  $6,000 per summer, up to two
Name:  Walter F. George Foundation Public Service Scholarships
Application:  None
Renewal:  Must work in unpaid position for summer, good academic standing


School:  Miami
Stipend Amount:  $1,000 annual
Name:  Harvey T. Reid Scholarship / Law Scholar's Program
Application:  None
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  160 / 3.63
Link:  http://www.law.miami.edu/finaid/ofa_03_04.php?op=3


School:  Michigan
Stipend Amount:  $7,500 one-time
Name:  Darrow
Application:  None
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  170 / 3.79
Link:  http://www.law.umich.edu/PROSPECTIVESTUDENTS/ADMISSIONS/FINANCIAL/Pages/finaid-faq.aspx#scholarships


School:  Oklahoma City University
Stipend Amount:  Unknown
Name:  Hatton W. Sumners Foundation
Application:  Separate and interview, only available to student/graduate of college in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska, or New Mexico.
Renewal:  Top 1/3 of class
75% LSAT/GPA:  152 / 3.50
Link:  http://www.okcu.edu/law/admissions/HWSApp.php; http://www.hattonsumners.org/scholarships.htm


School:  Southern Methodist (SMU)
Stipend Amount:  Unknown
Name:  Hatton W. Sumners Foundation
Application:  Separate, only available to student/graduate of college in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska, or New Mexico.
Renewal:  Top 1/3 of class
75% LSAT/GPA:  165 / 3.84
Link:  http://www.law.smu.edu/JDFinancial-Aid/Scholarships; http://www.hattonsumners.org/scholarships.htm


School:  Vanderbilt
Stipend Amount:  $5,000 annual
Name:  Law Scholar Merit Awards
Application:  Separate
Renewal:  Good standing
75% LSAT/GPA:  168 / 3.83
Link:  http://law.vanderbilt.edu/prospective-students/costs--financial-aid/scholarship-programs/major-merit-scholarship-programs/index.aspx


School:  Virginia
Stipend Amount:  Varies, up to $20,000 total
Name:  NA
Application:  None
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  171 / 3.87
Link:  http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/prospectives/finaid/scholarships.htm


School:  Wake Forest
Stipend Amount:  Varies, up to $1,000 annual
Name:  NA
Application:  None
Renewal:  Top 2/3 of class
75% LSAT/GPA:  166 / 3.69
Link:  http://law.wfu.edu/admissions/aid/scholarships/


School:  University of Washington
Stipend Amount:  Room and board and incidental expenses
Name:  William H. Gates Public Service Law Program
Application:  Separate, agreement to work in public service for 5 years
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  165 / 3.82
Link: http://www.law.washington.edu/GatesScholar/about.aspx


School:  Washington University St. Louis
Stipend Amount:  $5,000 annual
Name:  Webster Society Scholarship
Application:  Separate, public service
Renewal:  Unknown
75% LSAT/GPA:  167 / 3.70
Link:  http://law.wustl.edu/Admissions/index.asp?ID=74

My law review passed on my case note.  Has anyone heard of a student who had luck getting a case note or article published by another school's journal?  Are there any other publication methods I should be looking at?

Thanks!

If anybody has questions about Mercer, I'm happy to answer.  

In the meantime... (and I could elaborate on any of these issues if you like)

Pros
1.  Nationally recognized legal writing program (courses are taught by tenure and tenure-track professors; 8 graded credit hours over 3 semesters; and a legal writing certificate program)
2.  Award-winning, unique curriculum (including required ethics course for 1Ls; "intro to law" course, which acclimates 1Ls to reading/briefing cases and taking a law school exam during the week before regular classes begin; upper-level 1 credit hour required courses including client counseling, negotiations, and statutory interpretation).
3.  Great profs (both in my opinion, and recognized by student survey ranking from Princeton Review)
4.  Small, close-knit student body with a student to faculty ratio of about 13:1.
5.  Many large scholarships (including about 6-10 each year that include living stipends).
6.  Large endowment (a semi-old study by Leiter ranks it fourth in the country after adjusting for number of students and COL).

Neutral
1.  Location in Macon.  Lots of people don't like the city, but I personally enjoy it.  It's a small Southern town with a decent amount of infrastructure (about 100K people in Macon, 350K in surrounding areas).  Traffic can sometimes be bad, and it's crime rate is above the national average (last time I checked).  People are generally nice here.  It's about 80 miles Southeast of Atlanta.

Cons
1.  Private tuition rates, which are much higher than resident tuition at GSU and UGA.
2.  USNWR typically ranks it third or fourth in the state.