Many people who take the public interest jobs aren't taking them because they can't find other employment. They're taking them because that is the area of law where they want to practice. $10K a year may not mean much in your life, but it's significant for a lot of people. 

Not all schools have LRAPs. Sometimes, when they do have LRAPs, there can be some fairly limiting restrictions.

This sounds like a good thing.

It does. In fact those restrictions at my school mean that non-tuition based loans do not qualify for LRAP assistance. I will be about $75K in debt in the end and the majority (`62 K) will be non-tuition based. So this may end up changing my life if this flies through the senate and bush signs it. Hopefully, by the time I am done (Class of '09) I'll be able to take advantage of this rather than take a job which I ultimately dislike.

Awesome news!

Oingo

Quote from: Papa Bear on April 29, 2007, 01:35:05 PM

There's no guarantees, but based on my conversations with a couple current students it shouldn't be too difficult to get redesignated after my first year. I just have to do it all right - get a MN license, register my cars there & register to vote. My wife will be doing some sort of part-time work during my first year and we won't be going anywhere in the summer.

Here's to hoping!

Even if I don't, Minn will still put me less in debt than W&L. I can count on a PT job during 2L & 3L at Minn and I can work locally the summer between 2L & 3L; I don't think I can count on either of those things at W&L.

I think the fact your bringing your family with you should earn you some points in gaining residency. I do remember the panel discussion at the campus preview voicing their opinion that MN wasn't one of the easier states to transfer into. However, there was one 3L on the current students panel that had gone through the process and said that he thought it was possible for those who start early on and put in the legwork. He also got married and had a job lined up at Dorsey downtown which he thought contributed as well. He said it was a fairly arduous process and really stressed getting started on the application as early as you can. It seemed like he did get help/advising on the process from someone in the administration (not sure which dept it would've been).

I can attest to the difficulty of attaining residency in MN. What actually helped us was that my wife and I moved here early (at the end of May), we were pregnant with our first child and my wife worked before the baby came. All that added to registering our cars here and registering to vote.

Oingo

Quote from: xerofactor on May 23, 2007, 07:06:19 PM

Quote from: Booyakasha2 on May 23, 2007, 04:45:19 PM

jeeebus

i know dells arent up to par as a thinkpad (consistently up to par, though mine has been fine 2.5 yrs in)....but i can literally get 2 dell laptops with similar performance for how much you paid for your thinkpad.  No flame.....but just trying to put it into perspective.  i know the thinkpad lovers r gonna hate me....but cmon.  if you just backup your important data on an external or something...you should be ok. 

Dell only sells two models with similar specs, the 630 and 830, and both are more expensive.

here we go....i know that those who already bought it will feel the need to point out every reason that their thinkpad is better than a dell, despite the fact that during ls, you will need no where near the computing power that some of these laptops boast.  If you can wing it, more power to you. 

So let me rephrase. You can get a dell that will perform above and beyond what is needed for law school.  2 of them depending on how above and beyond you want.  Now i agree that thinkpads seeem to be more reliable consistently than Dells.  I say seems because i had a thinkpad R40? about 2.5 yrs ago that had its motherboard crap out.  I needed a computer immediately so thats when i bought my current laptop Dell 700m and got it within 2 days.  IBM fixed the mobo after a few weeks..  Sold the thinkpad on ebay since i had no need for two, and the 700m was lighter.  I bring this up to show that no laptop is beyond malfunctioning (albeit some are more prone than others).  So this brings me to my original point....why not just get a cheaper dell (with a 3 yr full-warrenty), still for a little over 1/2 of what 1 thinkpad costs?  Thinkpads are pretty sweet though....

I can attest from surviving 1L year that a couple of days or even a week without my laptop would be too much. I had two classes this past semester (crim law) where the prof just basically spat out an unabiguous outline each and every class but spoke so fast that there is no freaking way your able to write quick enough to keep up.

I mention this because the logic of holding a Dell or some other brand with a 3 year warranty in the same or similar light as a Thinkpad similarly situated is faulty. That admittingly steep increase in price buys you a machine that will spend less time being repaired but also is a, tangible and intangible, better deal. I can't put a price on being able to type on a keyboard that doesn't flex or sound tinny or simply has keys that fall off after typically heavy law school use. My X41 tablet was fine in this regard - had my needs not changed (read: feeble Centrino processor and slow hard drive unable to support specific programs) I would still be using it.

Oingo

Quote

All right, I'm about to pull the trigger on a MacBook Pro 15" and I need some advice.

Ignore those who said not to wait. Unless you absolutely must have the laptop now - unlikely, as school won't start for several months and you're posting here anyway - you should hold off. The Santa Rosa update (perhaps with LED display...) is coming in late June; my bet would be for a WWDC announcement.

IMHO the LED display is the only thing worth the wait. Santa Rosa is overrated. I do agree however that waiting doesn't hurt as Apple rarely, if ever lately, changes their prices.

Oingo

Quote from: Old and in the Way on May 20, 2007, 03:19:56 PM

Thanks -

oh and what's that airport extreme card all about? Does the MacBook Pro not come with a wireless g/n/card installed?

Is this something I'll need?

Okay, the breakdown -

$2047.00
MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.16GHz
Part Number: Z0DP
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Accessory Kit
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB


vs.

MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.33GHz - $2389.00
Part Number: Z0DQ
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
Accessory Kit
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Is it worth it?

I think it's worth the extra $300 or so.  Also, you'll need an airport card to use wireless Interent.  I don't know if the MacBook Pros come with them by default.

Not worth it. Go with the 2.16 - you won't miss the difference in speed. I have the exact machine you've priced out and am greatly satisfied (I did however go for the matte rather than glossy screen - personal preference). The absolute must for any computer right now is 2 gbs of ram (which you've accounted for).

Oingo