The last couple of days have been very interesting and have produced many new developments. First, I received a phone call from one of my school choices advising me that I have been offered a seat for the Fall semester. EXCITING! Honestly, at this point the acceptance was merely an ego stroke, because I think I know where I will be attending law school (approx. 90% percent sure).
Second, I toured the campus of my 90% school and was BLOWN AWAY! The city is quaint and has everything you need. If you like to shop, the mall is nice. If you like nature, there are plenty of walking and bike trails. The cost of living is extremely affordable. The public school system is excellent. The campus was bright, clean, and modern. Add to this the fact that the students and faculty were all very welcoming. It just so happened that one of the Student Ambassadors I met with has a 5 year old daughter. Apparently they were running late and were unable to get the tike to daycare, so while I'm in the admissions office, in walks this cute little girl. All of the adults greet her by name and immediately offer her candy and a drink. It was really refreshing to see the exchange because it showed me that I didn't need to feel uncomfortable about bringing my little girl into the admissions office if I ever needed to. At this point, I don't have any reason NOT to attend this school, however I hold out the 10% because I believe that you can never be 100% sure about any decisions made in life.
Third, I received a letter in the mail from CLEO, advising of my acceptance into the CLEO Summer Institute. The program boast of a scholarship upon completion (ranging from 1K-5K), which is matched by my 90% school. Also, it is an excellent opportunity to get a head start on the teaching methods used in law school and while I am happy that I got accepted, I'm bothered by a few things. First, I have to pay a total of $2K by February 23 in order to hold my seat. I have the money, but it is money that is set to go towards my credit card debt, debt I'm trying to rid myself of before I move on to law school. Second, it is going to require me to be out of state for six weeks. This is a problem because it means I would have to quit my job 9 weeks earlier than I initially planned. Quitting my job earlier would take a huge chunk of money out of my pocket, further hindering my ability to rid myself of credit card debt. You may say, but you'll get a scholarship, Milla! True, but because I am not considered low income, the most I could hope for is 1K from CLEO and 1K from my school. At that point I've only recouped what I paid to reserve my seat. On the other hand, if you look at from the standpoint of gaining the knowledge and what it's worth- I've already located a program that teaches the same thing for 1/6 of the time, 1/2 of the cost, and is scheduled during the period AFTER I plan on resigning from my job.
So now I wonder how other future 1L's made the decision about which school to choose. How do you know when you've found "the one"?!
And, if anyone has an opinion about the my CLEO debacle, please feel free to share. I would appreciate another perspective.
Second, I toured the campus of my 90% school and was BLOWN AWAY! The city is quaint and has everything you need. If you like to shop, the mall is nice. If you like nature, there are plenty of walking and bike trails. The cost of living is extremely affordable. The public school system is excellent. The campus was bright, clean, and modern. Add to this the fact that the students and faculty were all very welcoming. It just so happened that one of the Student Ambassadors I met with has a 5 year old daughter. Apparently they were running late and were unable to get the tike to daycare, so while I'm in the admissions office, in walks this cute little girl. All of the adults greet her by name and immediately offer her candy and a drink. It was really refreshing to see the exchange because it showed me that I didn't need to feel uncomfortable about bringing my little girl into the admissions office if I ever needed to. At this point, I don't have any reason NOT to attend this school, however I hold out the 10% because I believe that you can never be 100% sure about any decisions made in life.
Third, I received a letter in the mail from CLEO, advising of my acceptance into the CLEO Summer Institute. The program boast of a scholarship upon completion (ranging from 1K-5K), which is matched by my 90% school. Also, it is an excellent opportunity to get a head start on the teaching methods used in law school and while I am happy that I got accepted, I'm bothered by a few things. First, I have to pay a total of $2K by February 23 in order to hold my seat. I have the money, but it is money that is set to go towards my credit card debt, debt I'm trying to rid myself of before I move on to law school. Second, it is going to require me to be out of state for six weeks. This is a problem because it means I would have to quit my job 9 weeks earlier than I initially planned. Quitting my job earlier would take a huge chunk of money out of my pocket, further hindering my ability to rid myself of credit card debt. You may say, but you'll get a scholarship, Milla! True, but because I am not considered low income, the most I could hope for is 1K from CLEO and 1K from my school. At that point I've only recouped what I paid to reserve my seat. On the other hand, if you look at from the standpoint of gaining the knowledge and what it's worth- I've already located a program that teaches the same thing for 1/6 of the time, 1/2 of the cost, and is scheduled during the period AFTER I plan on resigning from my job.
So now I wonder how other future 1L's made the decision about which school to choose. How do you know when you've found "the one"?!
And, if anyone has an opinion about the my CLEO debacle, please feel free to share. I would appreciate another perspective.
Honestly, I don't think the pre-law programs like CLEO are worth the time. And in this case, the money--you'd barely be recouping the costs that you incur, if you do at all!
ReplyDeleteI'd invest instead LEEWS, supplements and finding 2/3Ls who've had your professor. I'm sure your school will have an outlining/exam session. You should also look into the quality of your school's Black Law Student's Association if there is one--the one at UIUC lets me rent out supplements and gives out outlines. I really don't believe that these pre-law programs will tell you anything you won't be able to learn for free, whether on the internet or from your school. And then there are just some things about law school that you have to learn first hand. : )
As someone who also has credit card debt, I advise you to get as much of that taken care of before law school as possible. I hate that so much of my monthly budget goes towards paying those things down.
And lastly, because this is getting long, visiting the school goes a long way towards finding the right school. Knowing what you want to do in the future and seeing if the school offers programs that will take you closer to your career goals help. (Study abroad, journals, clinics, etc.) I hate to say it, but rank is important. Financial aid too, of course.
Congrats on the acceptance!
Thanks so much for the advice! My 90% school pretty much meets all the criteria (rank [Top 100], affordability, atmosphere, programs), although it's no UIUC.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I wonder if I need any of the pre-law programs because of my paralegal background. I've sat in classes and completely understood what was going on, but I also don't want to leave anything to chance. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Thanks again!