Law School Discussion

I'm so glad this post is here because I am having the same problem. However, my school has several journals...I'm sure I won't make law review (mediocre grades/legal writing grade) but I may have a shot at one of the others. I have NO desire to do this at all and my goal is to work in a small/mid-size firm.

I do, however, have a huge interest in moot court/mock trial and I think my chances are very good at making one or the other (moot court, of course will be first priority).

I've been stewing over this all day...cause I have to buckle down tomorrow if so...

If I'm extremely confident that I'll make moot court/mock trial and have no desire to do a journal, do you still think a journal essential to get a firm job, and thus I should do it anyway?

I'm getting very mixed responses but if I decide to do it, my life is going to be hell for the next week (cause i'm in summer school AND have a job).

Thanks in advance!

(ps...I'm at a Teir 1 school but not a T14)

I posted this on the pre-law board but no one is responding and I am freaking out about this...so maybe someone could help?

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I thought I was being responsible when I went to talk to my financial aid office to get some help on how to finance law school.  The problem was, the fin. aid office at my school is for the entire university and seem to not know that much about the law school specifically.

They explained to me how to get my federal loans (up to the estimated COA) and that was easy.  However, I need more than what they are giving me as the COA only covers my rent, phone, car, and utilities.  I have to furnish my apartment (am moving from thousands of miles away so I have none) and get a computer plus , um...EAT.  When I asked them how to get additional loans, the woman looked at me like I was crazy.

She told me that the law school should have told me that law school was a sacrifice and if I can't live on the COA, I should reconsider going.  She specifically told me that the COA doesn't consider car payments and supplemental or NEW books (which EVERYONE recommends) and that I should find that funding elsewhere.  I said I have no assistance from my parents and that the law school recommended I have a one-bedroom so my only choice is additional loans.

Since my school is public, I don't have reservations about taking out private loans because my total debt won't be that bad after I graduate.  I'd rather be comfortable in my living situation and not have to constantly worry about money.  I'll deal with the debt when I get out and work in BIGLAW for a few years (by the way, I am a LA in the firm most notorious for its "sweatshop qualities" right now, so I know what I am getting into).

She said the school would not authorize any additional loans from a private bank and if I went and got additional loans, the government would reduce my fed. loans by the amount of my loans so that I was only taking out the cost of attendance.  In short, she suggested nothing to help me and basically patronized me for being high-maintenence.

I was so upset by this woman, my dad had to calm me down and reassure me that if I wanted a loan I could get one.

My question is: what was she correct about and what is she not?  I can't beleive that this office is so bad...but there's nothing I can do.  The fact remains, I need an additional loan. 

I applied for one from www.teri.com (because my sister has an undergrad loan from there) and I am waiting for approval...but I don't want this to take away from my federal loans.

CAN ANYONE HELP ANSWER MY QUESTIONS?

Thanks!

I chose Georgia within a day or so of my first post and I don't regret my decision one bit.  It's a better school and I learned that Tulane does close a lot of doors in the south (except LA) and I'm sure I want to be in the south.  If you want to live in Texas, LA, or the NE, then certainly Tulane is a better choice.

The in-state tuition at UGA is around $9,000 and the cost of living is lower so I'm not losing that much money--especially considering I will have no travel costs now whereas if I was in NOLA, I would have to fly back and forth to GA anytime I wanted to see my family, attend a wedding, homecoming, etc. 

You are right about UGA's staff not being helpful and the financial aid office is pretty awful too, but I have a professor at UGA that has been a mentor to me for years and through this whole process which has been an unbeleivable asset to me.  I wouldn't know ANYONE at Tulane, let alone have a professor that has known me since high school and is always available to help me with any advice I need.  That was a big factor.

Bottom line: Tulane is a great school but its not for me.  I "bleed red and black" so this, after getting over the initial shock of the scholarship, was a no-brainer.  And now they have given this money to someone else who really wants to go there.

I thought I was being responsible si I went to talk to my financial aid office to get some help on how to finance law school.  The problem was, the fin. aid office at my school is for the entire university and seem to not know that much about the law school specifically.

They explained to me how to get my federal loans (up to the estimated COA) and that was easy.  However, I need more than what they are giving me as the COA only covers my rent, phone, car, and utilities.  I have to furnish my apartment (am moving from thousands of miles away so I have none) and get a computer plus , um...EAT.  When I asked them how to get additional loans, the woman looked at me like I was crazy.

She told me that the law school should have told me that law school was a sacrifice and if I can't live on the COA, I should reconsider going.  She specifically told me that the COA doesn't consider car payments and supplemental or NEW books (which EVERYONE recommends) and that I should find that funding elsewhere.  I said I have no assistance from my parents and that the law school recommended I have a one-bedroom so my only choice is additional loans.

Since my school is public, I don't have reservations about taking out private loans because my total debt won't be that bad after I graduate.  I'd rather be comfortable in my living situation and not have to constantly worry about money.  I'll deal with the debt when I get out and work in BIGLAW for a few years (by the way, I am a LA in the firm most notorious for its "sweatshop qualities" right now, so I know what I am getting into).

She said the school would not authorize any additional loans from a private bank and if I went and got additional loans, the government would reduce my fed. loans by the amount of my loans so that I was only taking out the cost of attendance.  In short, she suggested nothing to help me and basically patronized me for being high-maintenence.

I was so upset by this woman, my dad had to calm me down and reassure me that if I wanted a loan I could get one.

My question is: what was she correct about and what is she not?  I can't beleive that this office is so bad...but there's nothing I can do.  The fact remains, I need an additional loan. 

I applied for one from www.teri.com (because my sister has an undergrad loan from there) and I am waiting for approval...but I don't want this to take away from my federal loans.

CAN ANYONE HELP ANSWER MY QUESTIONS?

Thanks!

Thanks for the input.  I'm not going to try to "get away' with anything--I've just heard that they compute your interest rates, etc, on your current income.  If I can defer payments on the private loans beyond the allowance, that would be better anyway.  I just hope that my parents will be sufficient co-signers since they have co-signed on my siblings' huge college loans and don't make that much.

But certainly, I wouldn't do anything that would be risky in terms of the loan or getting admitted to the bar.  It was just a question.