Florida Law School Options?

[PrettyPistol]

Hi everyone. New to the forum.

I graduate from FAU (not prestigious at all) this December with a overall GPA of 3.68. My area of study is Criminology with a minor in Political Science (Major GPA of 3.. It is my desire to eventually become a prosecuting attorney. I truly have no other ambition in the legal profession...ultimately this is what I truly want. My LSAT score was 167.  I am currently pregnant and due in May. I am not a traditional student. I waited to go to college until I was 23. I am married and already have a two year old son. My options are limited to South Florida. This is because my husband's job is here and we own a home in Coral Springs. My school options are limited to some pretty inferior schools. The only option I would consider would be UM.  Clearly I can't just take off to another state given my circumstances.

If I apply at UM next week I'm still looking at 120-160k debt (even with possible scholarship aid). Is it worth it in this economic market or should I look into getting a masters degree in a related field.  (note: the 10 year forgiveness program would not benefit me much given they will count my husbands income when figuring a monthly payment)

[livinglegend]

If you want to be in Miami and be a prosecutor then Florida International might be a good decision. They have in-state tuition which will save you an insane amount of money. I believe FIU is only 15k per year http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/publications/2012og/aba5831.pdf and all ABA schools basically give you the same legal education.

If you want to be a prosecutor there is only one way to do it and that is by going to law school and passing the bar. Any ABA school will get you a ticket to the bar exam and then it is up to you to pass.

With a 167 and 3.3. it is also possible UM will give you a scholarship, but odds are there will be some sort of condition on it that will be hard to comply with. I.E. be in the top 35% of the class and there is a 65% chance you won't be in the top 35% and there is a chance you will lose the scholarship.

Hope that initial info is somewhat helpful.

[Coffeebean12]

OP, I'm going to second the above suggestion of FIU. While it's not the highest ranking school in Florida, it's still a pretty decent law school and is doing very well for how young of a school it is. It's in Miami and is public, which means it's super affordable (somewhere in the 13-15k/year range). I am sure you will be fine with job prospects if you go to FIU, perform your best, and network well. And your your stats, you're pretty much a shoe-in at FIU.

Like the above poster said though, it won't hurt to apply to UM and see if they offer you a scholarship. If they do, definitely consider that as a good option too!

Good luck!