OK, I'm finally doing it - Starting the Process at 32

[BMC]

So Law School has always been something I wanted to do, but haven't.   I have 10 years working in recruiting, and I'm tired of it.  Married, one kid, another on the way.  This isn't going to be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

My goal is to be a solo practitioner or a member of a small firm in the small town I grew up in.  I've lived in the big city 100 miles away from where I grew up my entire adult life, and I don't want to stay here and raise city kids.  That being said, my goal for law school is to get through it with out taking out any loans.  I'm open to any area in the country, as my wife is a Nurse and can work anywhere.  My undergrad GPA was 3.69, I'm taking the LSAT in a couple of weeks, right now I got a 159 on the fist practice test I took, so I"m hoping to get that up to 165 before taking it, if I can't I'll probably postpone the LSAT till June.  I think my best bet is to plan on starting law school in Fall 2010, but I'd love to be able to do it sooner, though it doesn't seem feasible.

Any suggestions on schools that will offer the most in scholarship money are appreciated, I'm not looking for top tier, just want to find the best situation to fit my specific needs.  I doubt many of my future clients will care that much what school I went to when I'm doing their will, or DUI or Divorce case.

Thanks!

[SavoyTruffleShuffle]

If you can indeed get up to 165 or so, you're probably set up to get some good scholarships from a number of tier 2 (and below). If you wanna practice on your own and not do the law firm thing, just apply to a bunch of schools that would be safety schools for someone with your stats and see what location/scholarship combo is the best. Is there an area of the country where you actually want to live after school?

[BMC]

Yes, I want to live and practice in a small town about 100 miles from a large city in the Northeast.  Do I need to go to a school that is in the state I want to practice in?  I was kind of hoping to spend a few years in a warm climate to be honest, but that could just be because its cold and snowy right now  .

[r6_philly]

well I know Drexel has been offering scholarships left and right, and if you can get 165+ most likely they will offer you a good package. I went to an information session this month and it's pretty enjoyable. I think local connections will be pretty good too as their co-op program is already placing their students in area firms, offices and courts. If biglaw is not your goal maybe thats not a bad deal. You will get alot of practical experience before graduating.

My personal situation is about the same as you, also 32 now and planning on going fall 11. Probably looking at eventually have my own practice down the road. I plan to live in a small town 10 miles from a large city and not raise city kids. Philly is like that. One of the best school district in the state is only 5-10 miles from the city limits. A suburban life in philly area is not like any other suburban life. I can drive 15 minutes east to get to center city and the bar/clubs or 15 minutes west to see cows and fields... small town life in the shadow of a city.

[Connelly]

The best bet will likely be an in-state school.  If you're going solo, it doesn't matter to an extent, but also consider that most students at a local school will be staying local...and will thus be colleagues in the years to come.  It could prove to be very beneficial from a networking standpoint. 

You are also in direct control of the biggest factor in law school admissions and scholarships - the LSAT.  You have a great UGPA, and pairing it with a 165+ could easily equal good money at a T2.  Even a handful of points in the 160 range either way could make a big difference for you financially, so it is worth the time and money invested in getting the best possible LSAT score. 

Identify a few schools in the area, and then take a look at lawschoolnumbers.com to get a bit of a sense of what you need to do to get in and/or get money at those schools. 

[BMC]

Thanks for the advice.  I'm thinking now it would be better to put off the LSAT till June and get a couple of Months of study in, especially since a few more points could mean so much, I only started studying for it a week ago, so 3 weeks is just not enough, I just don't want to lose the momentum, its pretty easy to get caught up in other things with work, family, ect.  The more I read about it, the more I want to just go right in to solo practice straight out of school, so not having any loans to pay back will be very important, since it will probably be lean the first year or two.  My biggest concern with scholarships, is that I've read a lot of them are given with the expectation that they'll be able to pull it after the first year by setting the curve so that only 15% or less of the scholarship students meet the grade to keep their funds, I'll have to read more about that and make sure I know what I'm getting into.