How are single parents financing law school?

[hooloovoo]

sure sara... typical that you would be in Berkeley.  Whats funny is that if you went to an animal shelter to get a dog around Cal and told them you were in your first year of law school and single... you would be rejected.  They wouldnt allow you to adopt an animal.  And Rightly so...  Because it is cruel to have a puppy and be gone 8-12 hours a day everyday.  But a woman with a 3 or 4 year old... who are we to judge?

you should add that women should have to choose between having careers and having children.

[big - fat - box]

My advice would be to reconsider whether law school is even worth it for you. You may dislike your current job, but depending on what you make there, you could be making substantially less for the first several years as an attorney plus you will have a lot of student debt. And there is no guarantee that a career in law will result in some sort of big financial payoff because there is a huge oversupply of lawyers. I would not even think about going to law school unless you are confident you'll be able to slog it out for 4-5 years after you graduate and you can go to an in-state public law school.

Full-time job + single parent + part-time law school = disaster unless you have family that is willing to chip in big time with child care responsibilities. I know some couples who had one spouse in law school part-time + working full time and the other spouse working full time + taking on the brunt of child care responsibilities and things were very hectic for them to say the least.

[Freak]

Seriously, I have first-hand knowledge of a women who went to law school and provided excellent care of her child with autism. Better than most working people do. That's just it, she didn't work - except very part-time, she just went to school.

Unless you know a single mother who tried and failed - shut-up - you know nothing.

[Matthies]

Full-time job + single parent + part-time law school = disaster unless you have family that is willing to chip in big time with child care responsibilities. I know some couples who had one spouse in law school part-time + working full time and the other spouse working full time + taking on the brunt of child care responsibilities and things were very hectic for them to say the least.

My best friend in LS was single mother of 3, worked fulltime and went to school PT but fished it in 3 years and was number 6 in our class. I know lots of other people who did the same. You can work fulltime, have kids and go to LS part-time and do well. You just have to have mad time managment skills.

[Luxhx77]

Yea, but Matthies, that isnt the question.  Its not if the woman can handle it, but how her kid copes with having an absent parent.

And to freak...I actually do know a single parent who went through law school while her son was a toddler... she did very well, bought a house in marin while working in a decent law firm in SF.  Her son was my roommate as an undergrad and dropped out as a sophmore due to having a heroin addiction.  He absolutely hated his mother, and had major problems with self-esteem.

I also have a cousin who passed away from Methadone when he was 23.  Almost the same story... wealthy background but absent parents, no love, no discipline... both got into it around 12-14 cuz no one was around. 

The idea that people can have it all is a complete myth.  Everyone only has 24 hours to a day.  If you decide to have children, that necessitates sacrifices in other areas of life... thats just a fact.

[Matthies]

Yea, but Matthies, that isnt the question.  Its not if the woman can handle it, but how her kid copes with having an absent parent.

And to freak...I actually do know a single parent who went through law school while her son was a toddler... she did very well, bought a house in marin while working in a decent law firm in SF.  Her son was my roommate as an undergrad and dropped out as a sophmore due to having a heroin addiction.  He absolutely hated his mother, and had major problems with self-esteem.

I also have a cousin who passed away from Methadone when he was 23.  Almost the same story... wealthy background but absent parents, no love, no discipline... both got into it around 12-14 cuz no one was around. 

The idea that people can have it all is a complete myth.  Everyone only has 24 hours to a day.  If you decide to have children, that necessitates sacrifices in other areas of life... thats just a fact.

Some people are going to suck as parents, and some kids are going to suck as people. Law school won't make you a worse parent if you were a good one before, nor will it make you a better parnet if you were a worse one before.

[Freak]

Yea, but Matthies, that isnt the question.  Its not if the woman can handle it, but how her kid copes with having an absent parent.

And to freak...I actually do know a single parent who went through law school while her son was a toddler... she did very well, bought a house in marin while working in a decent law firm in SF.  Her son was my roommate as an undergrad and dropped out as a sophmore due to having a heroin addiction.  He absolutely hated his mother, and had major problems with self-esteem.

I also have a cousin who passed away from Methadone when he was 23.  Almost the same story... wealthy background but absent parents, no love, no discipline... both got into it around 12-14 cuz no one was around. 

The idea that people can have it all is a complete myth.  Everyone only has 24 hours to a day.  If you decide to have children, that necessitates sacrifices in other areas of life... thats just a fact.

It doesn't happen that way, if the single parent prioritizes time with the child. The mother I know had virtually no social life. In fact, she home schooled her child with autism while in law school.

[PaleForce]

sure sara... typical that you would be in Berkeley.  Whats funny is that if you went to an animal shelter to get a dog around Cal and told them you were in your first year of law school and single... you would be rejected.  They wouldnt allow you to adopt an animal.  And Rightly so...  Because it is cruel to have a puppy and be gone 8-12 hours a day everyday.  But a woman with a 3 or 4 year old... who are we to judge?

 

Presumably, the baby would be taken care of by another adult.  I don't see the OP filling a water dish and throwing a pudding pack on the floor and then leaving for the day 

[js11287]

I really don't think that a parent going to law school = heroin addiction or killing yourself. If the person in question is a good parent, the child is going to feel taken care of regardless of the parent going to law school, and if the individual is not a good parent, it won't matter if she goes to law school or not. And as has been pointed out already, law school is a ton of work but may actually provide more at home hours then would a regular job.

[hooloovoo]

Yea, but Matthies, that isnt the question.  Its not if the woman can handle it, but how her kid copes with having an absent parent.

And to freak...I actually do know a single parent who went through law school while her son was a toddler... she did very well, bought a house in marin while working in a decent law firm in SF.  Her son was my roommate as an undergrad and dropped out as a sophmore due to having a heroin addiction.  He absolutely hated his mother, and had major problems with self-esteem.

I also have a cousin who passed away from Methadone when he was 23.  Almost the same story... wealthy background but absent parents, no love, no discipline... both got into it around 12-14 cuz no one was around. 

The idea that people can have it all is a complete myth.  Everyone only has 24 hours to a day.  If you decide to have children, that necessitates sacrifices in other areas of life... thats just a fact.

i like that you've been able to deduce this based on two data points.

at any rate, you're saying that women should choose between having careers and having children, is that right?