i am about to start the application process & i too am looking for advice on whether i should apply to p/t or f/t programs. i have been leaning towards leaving my job & going f/t b/c if i continue to work f/t & go to school during the evenings, that will probably leave me w/about 1-2 hrs a day to be w/my son during the wk. i'm also afraid to leave him free bet the hours that school lets out until 10 or 11 o'clock @ nite. he's 13, so he can take care of himself, but he's 13 & i remember being very curious & experimenting w/alot of things @ during my early teens. my son is a good kid for the most part, but i think that i would be asking for trouble if i were to leave him alone 4 evenings out of the week.does anyone have any thoughts on which program i should choose? if i go f/t, i'll definitely have to take out more money for loans. if i go p/t, the loan amt will be lower, but i almost feel as if i would be paying a heavier price, time lost w/the kid. (who by the way, thinks i should go p/t. he's afraid of me quitting my job.)
Quote from: ADL on March 07, 2007, 10:34:51 AMi am about to start the application process & i too am looking for advice on whether i should apply to p/t or f/t programs. i have been leaning towards leaving my job & going f/t b/c if i continue to work f/t & go to school during the evenings, that will probably leave me w/about 1-2 hrs a day to be w/my son during the wk. i'm also afraid to leave him free bet the hours that school lets out until 10 or 11 o'clock @ nite. he's 13, so he can take care of himself, but he's 13 & i remember being very curious & experimenting w/alot of things @ during my early teens. my son is a good kid for the most part, but i think that i would be asking for trouble if i were to leave him alone 4 evenings out of the week.does anyone have any thoughts on which program i should choose? if i go f/t, i'll definitely have to take out more money for loans. if i go p/t, the loan amt will be lower, but i almost feel as if i would be paying a heavier price, time lost w/the kid. (who by the way, thinks i should go p/t. he's afraid of me quitting my job.)Isn't it little late to apply to this cycle? A lot of schools have March deadline and application process takes a lot of time (writing statements and such).Your GPA and LSAT combo would largely determine where you should apply.
In talking to people that I know who have gone through law school and are still in law school, I've gotten mixed reviews on the FT/PT programs. Those that I know who are in PT programs have always said it is a challenge. You HAVE to manage your time wisely. (Which is a given) Since you will still have responsibilities with your employer, it can be difficult. Those that I spoke to who had employers that knew they were in law school, stayed PT all the way through. The one person who didn't, transferred into FT his 2nd year. (Most people I know that are FT tell me it's best to go full time)The main thing is knowing whether or not you can handle the time contraints and pressures while still devoting yourself to a job, as well as the cost. If it isn't feasible to go FT, then at least there is the option of going PT. The jury is still out for me...
the people that i work for seem to want to make the situation even more difficult than it already is. i've seen 2 employees who have worked here & attended ls during the evening. my employer, along w/the other attys who work here would still demand that these 2 employees would work late hrs (making them late for class) & they would make several phone calls to these people while they were in class. i know that if i continued to work here & go to school, i would still be responsible to my employer, but i also see the way the attys are here. the phone calls during class seem to be a form of sabotage.if i decide to go p/t, i wouldn't continue to work where i am now.
I definitely agree with everyone here that going PT means you need to manage your time very effectively. I really think it all depends on what is most important to you. Having gone 1 year FT and now 2 years PT, I can say I MUCH, MUCH, MUCH prefer PT, I think its has many more benefits than FT, and the determents can be mitigated pretty easily. But that is me, and everyone’s law school experience is different. I think you need to talk to more people who go PT. There is a real problem in getting advice from law students and lawyers, its called precedent. And it permeates everything we do. Ask a lawyer who went FT if you should go PT and they will say no. Why? Because they went FT and it’s all they know. They think in precedent, I did it this way, you should do it this way. You will get a lot of advice like this. I now have a standard second question, “what did you do?” just so I know where they are coming from.I would recommend checking out nontradlaw.net there are a lot of PT law students FT workers with families that post on that site (post on the registered side). Maybe they can share with you their stories and give you some advice from people who have been or are there now.
I envy you... My wife, who will be the cash cow of the household (just two of us) if I go FT LS says I either go to school FT and not work or go PT and work. Then again, I wouldn't feel right slacking off while she works to pay the bills.
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