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11
Acceptances / Re: Avoid Tier 3/4, and 5 Law Schools- End of a Golden Era!
« on: November 08, 2009, 01:08:39 PM »
For couples that only have one set of student loans, great. I don't have any hard stats on this, but I think if you talk to a lot of couples where both partners are young professionals, you'll find that they BOTH have student loan debt. In many cases both partners will have hefty student loan debt. Reason being that most professional careers require a grad degree of some sort and most grad degrees involve going into at least SOME debt.

Quote from: cpierce11 on November 08, 2009, 10:36:16 AM
Your numbers are not accurate. Also you are not taking in to account many law graduates will be in relationships or marriage by the time they graduate. Like most couples today both people work. So the numbers you portray are not accurate because lots of times you have two people working off one debt.

12
Acceptances / Re: Avoid Tier 3/4, and 5 Law Schools- End of a Golden Era!
« on: November 08, 2009, 01:04:09 PM »
In my experience, attending a tier 2/3 and a t14, I'd say most students don't really know what they are getting into.

At the tier 2/3/4 schools, a lot of students think they're on the fast track to a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle because "everyone knows" lawyers make good money. Certainly, none of them expect to make $30-50K, which is what a lot of small law firms pay. They also think that a law degree entitles them to something and gives them some kind of edge in non-legal employment over MBAs and such. A lot of them remain delusional about job prospects even up until after they take the bar exam. Reality doesn't really hit until they start looking for post-grad work and find out what the jobs available to them really pay. (if there are jobs available to them)

At the t14, a lot of students are delusional about what it's like to work at a big firm. Many have a hotshot attitude and think they'll make partner and will take on a lot of responsibility for big cases or deals very early on. The public interest/govt people all seem to think they'll end up at a place like the DOJ, EPA, or Amnesty International after graduation.

13
Affirmative Action / Re: Howard University: lol funny idea
« on: November 08, 2009, 07:30:57 AM »
Looking at the ABA guide, the 25 whites and 25 asians are for total enrollment, not entering 1Ls.

For entering 1Ls, they had 11 whites and 10 asians (out of 180 1Ls) at the time the most recent ABA guide was put together.

In general, I think you'll find that it's a lot harder to get into Howard Law if you're not black, even if your numbers are higher than average for that school. I would imagine that if you're white and trying to get into Howard Law you need a really compelling reason for wanting to attend over other schools. Not surprising given the school's mission.

Not sure what you find "funny" about all this...

14
General Board / Re: Any advice?
« on: November 04, 2009, 05:13:19 PM »
Flame?

You're graduating in May but have 1.5 years left? How does that make sense? And what have you been doing with your summers?

15
Where should I go next fall? / Re: Top School for Negotiation/Mediation/Arbitration?
« on: November 04, 2009, 05:09:18 PM »
I've met exactly one student who was serious about going into ADR and had done the research. Basically, what he said is that it was nearly impossible to get a job doing ADR stuff right out of law school. He said most people who did ADR were former litigators with years of experience. And this was a guy who was at a t14 school and had an article published in an ADR journal put out by another t14 while he was a student.

16
Where should I go next fall? / Re: Where should you go? Anywhere but law school
« on: October 30, 2009, 10:15:11 PM »
Con Law in law school is just as bad, probably.

Quote from: nealric on October 30, 2009, 07:04:39 PM
Undergrad conlaw gives you a completely distorted picture of what law practice is like (at lest if it's anything like the one I took).

17
Where should I go next fall? / Re: Really no jobs for T14 grads?
« on: October 30, 2009, 09:17:25 PM »
I am in law school, finishing up my last year at a t14.

Most 2Ls at my school did not get SA jobs and a good number of 3Ls do not have jobs lined up for after graduation. Some may find jobs before graduation, but not everyone will. There just aren't enough jobs to go around. If anyone doesn't believe me, talk to current 2L and 3Ls and ask them in person what the job outlook is like for their classmates.

For government jobs, you can look at the Arizona Honors handbook and see what kind of competition you're facing there. For public interest jobs, get a list of public interest employers where grads have been placed in the last few years. Call them up a dozen or so and ask them how many positions are open for 2010 grads and how many apps they've received thus far.

18
Where should I go next fall? / Re: Really no jobs for T14 grads?
« on: October 30, 2009, 09:53:07 AM »
Just because someone got a 2L SA position last summer doesn't mean they have a job lined up now that they are a current 3L. Many students were "no offered" after doing 2L SA at big firms.

19
Where should I go next fall? / Re: Can a Chicago Grad find Employment in DC
« on: October 23, 2009, 08:57:05 PM »
I believe UVA is the only t14 with prescreening. Agree that grades are very important for the DC market, regardless of what school you go to.

20
General Board / Re: Grad Plus loan problems
« on: October 23, 2009, 08:52:05 PM »
Is your school a FFELP school or a Direct Loans school? If it is a FFELP school you can use any lender for the GradPlus you want. You may have to make special arrangements to get your loans disbursed and really stay on top of things to use a lender that isn't on your school's preferred list but it is totally possible.

In years past, many lenders offered the option of getting a cosigner or endorser if you couldn't qualify on your own. Some companies may have ditched that due to the financial crisis. I would just start calling lenders and ask them. Make sure you ask if they will lend a borrower attending your school before you do anything else though.

Here is a list of lenders I found online. It's probably not comprehensive but should get you started:

http://www.edfund.org/pdfs/FFEL_Program_Lenders_Schools.pdf

Make sure your cosigner or endorser understand that they will have to pay back the loan if you can't and make sure they have good credit. If they don't have good credit, you will not get a loan. Also, keep in mind this person will have to re-authorize and sign off each year for your loans. If they decide not to during 2L and 3L, you could be screwed.

In general, I would try to clear up any credit issues before going to law school. Even if you can get a grad plus loan somehow for all 3 years, you may have trouble with the character and fitness portion of your state's bar exam.

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