'Distance Learning' = TTT trickery

[DOWNY]

Law543,
 I don't have time to respond now as I am preparing for exams but I will say that you have made some good points.

Oh yeah, I am DOWNY. Hence you shouldn't take my posts all that seriously, as I obviously don't.

HTH

[Wild Jack Maverick]

This month has really made me reconsider my options.

As a low-income individual, I am very concerned about the cost of law school. The nearest law schools are a two to three hour drive from where I live, and at this time there is eight inches of snow on the ground. I also have personal responsibilities which would be difficult or impossible to 'pack up' and take with me at this time if I would choose to relocate.

For example, Cooley is not highly regarded by the students which post on this board. But Cooley has a program which would allow a student to be at home (or work) during the week and attend law school only on the weekends.

John Marshall--Chicago is expensive, but has some excellent courses which aren't offered at all of the other law schools.

IU Law School--Indianapolis/Bloomington is much less expensive, but requires a better undergrad GPA and LSAT score.

The other law schools for my consideration are Kent--Chicago, Valpo, Notre Dame, U. of Illinois, and U of Chicago.

Of course, I have some time to think about it, and my circumstances might change for the better by the time that I have to decide, but I have just added distance learning law schools to my list of options.

 http://www.ncf.edu/CareerServices/Documents/PreLawHandbook.htm

[DOWNY]

Don't pay attention to criticisms of Cooley on this board unless they are posted by current or former Cooley students.  Certain individuals seem to take a lot of pleasure in putting everyone and everything down.

JeffJoe is right- unless you attend or did attend Cooley, you cannot criticize it. How do you know Cooley is TTT? The abysmal bar passage rates and employment stats? The horrific attrition rate? HA! You don't know anything unless you went to Cooley.

Wait a minute...that doesn't make any sense...I've never cut my male private part off with a pair of scissors but that doesn't mean I can't tell people that doing so would be a bad idea. Do you think the same is true with Cooley?

DOWNY

[dgatl]

This month has really made me reconsider my options.

As a low-income individual, I am very concerned about the cost of law school. The nearest law schools are a two to three hour drive from where I live, and at this time there is eight inches of snow on the ground. I also have personal responsibilities which would be difficult or impossible to 'pack up' and take with me at this time if I would choose to relocate.

For example, Cooley is not highly regarded by the students which post on this board. But Cooley has a program which would allow a student to be at home (or work) during the week and attend law school only on the weekends.

John Marshall--Chicago is expensive, but has some excellent courses which aren't offered at all of the other law schools.

IU Law School--Indianapolis/Bloomington is much less expensive, but requires a better undergrad GPA and LSAT score.

The other law schools for my consideration are Kent--Chicago, Valpo, Notre Dame, U. of Illinois, and U of Chicago.

Of course, I have some time to think about it, and my circumstances might change for the better by the time that I have to decide, but I have just added distance learning law schools to my list of options.

 http://www.ncf.edu/CareerServices/Documents/PreLawHandbook.htm

I do not know if you are aware of this, but if you attend an ABA accredited law school, you are entitled to a yearly loan of $18.5k of which $8.5 is subsidized by the federal government.  There is no questions regarding credit history.  Additionally, numerous schools give need based grants and scholarships, even to law students.  How do I know this?  My housemate is really really poor and somehow he got a %25k scholarship/yr and I got no scholarship even though I had much much much better qualifications than him.

[sharkfish]

" My housemate is really really poor and somehow he got a %25k scholarship/yr "

And thus the middle class is left out and must fend for themselves.

[Coregram]

This month has really made me reconsider my options.

As a low-income individual, I am very concerned about the cost of law school. The nearest law schools are a two to three hour drive from where I live, and at this time there is eight inches of snow on the ground. I also have personal responsibilities which would be difficult or impossible to 'pack up' and take with me at this time if I would choose to relocate.

For example, Cooley is not highly regarded by the students which post on this board. But Cooley has a program which would allow a student to be at home (or work) during the week and attend law school only on the weekends.

John Marshall--Chicago is expensive, but has some excellent courses which aren't offered at all of the other law schools.

IU Law School--Indianapolis/Bloomington is much less expensive, but requires a better undergrad GPA and LSAT score.

The other law schools for my consideration are Kent--Chicago, Valpo, Notre Dame, U. of Illinois, and U of Chicago.

Of course, I have some time to think about it, and my circumstances might change for the better by the time that I have to decide, but I have just added distance learning law schools to my list of options.

 http://www.ncf.edu/CareerServices/Documents/PreLawHandbook.htm

I do not know if you are aware of this, but if you attend an ABA accredited law school, you are entitled to a yearly loan of $18.5k of which $8.5 is subsidized by the federal government.  There is no questions regarding credit history.  Additionally, numerous schools give need based grants and scholarships, even to law students.  How do I know this?  My housemate is really really poor and somehow he got a %25k scholarship/yr and I got no scholarship even though I had much much much better qualifications than him.

I believe the loan program you are referring to are Stafford Loans.  They are available to anyone going at least half-time in any degree or certificate program; ABA accreditation isn't required (my non ABA accredited school offers them; you can also research them on line.)  That's not to say all schools may offer them, but ABA accreditation isn't a requirement. 

The annual $8.5K subsidized portion is need based ( you have to qualify) and the interest is deferred; the govt. pays it while you are in school, you pay it after.  You can also get the annual $10K unsubsidized portion where you pay (or the interest accrues on your balance) while you are in school. 

[dgatl]

i'm taking the subsidized portion for the hell of it to ease the punch I give to my parents wallet.  but I didn't think it was need based.  i though everyone got the stafford.  i mean, if it's need based, i would never have qualified. 

i better call the financial aid people tomorrow.

[Coregram]

My understanding is the subsidized portion is need based; why else would Uncle Sam subsidize it?

But I don't think the unsubsidized portion hits your parents wallet (or yours) now; I thought the interest accrues while you are in school (you are charged for it) but gets tacked onto the balance borrowed, and actually paid, when you leave school.

The only real difference in the two plans is the subsidized one doesn't have any interest tacked on when you graduate.

But I may be wrong.  Let us know what you find out.  Thanks.

[Wild Jack Maverick]

"I do not know if you are aware of this, but if you attend an ABA accredited law school, you are entitled to a yearly loan of $18.5k of which $8.5 is subsidized by the federal government."


The thought of accumulating $20K or more debt per year during law school is not encouraging, and is one of the reasons why I am thinking about DL. 
I know almost all schools of higher education list grants and scholarships as a way of encouraging students to enroll, but what I find as a non-traditional student is that most of those grants and scholarships are meant for younger, traditional students.

[sharkfish]

For those who do not know, the cost of Taft University and Concord is much less compared to traditional routes and they both have affordable no-interest payment plans.  I know that Taft offers grants for professionals with law enforcement and CPA credentials.

Not only is the tuition affordable for older people with other responsibilities, but they also offer Sallie Mae financing which is very low-interest.

I'm not saying go DL or non-ABA for the hell of it; it is a very big decision. I'm just saying that these schools have advantages most people ignore because they are too busy justifying their $100,000 investment 

If you need some information from a more balanced perspective, I would suggest visiting www.degreeinfo.com discussion board and asking your questions there.  You can also do a search using Google (degreeinfo's search isn't that great) by using the following syntax:  distance learning JD site:degreeinfo.com  http://www.google.com/search?q=distance+learning+JD+site%3Adegreeinfo.com&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

Of course, you can also visit my blog for some good info, too:  http://www.dljd.net

--sharkfish