For those considering going back to school

Going back to grad school isn't easy. Obviously Jim and Waylon had solid approaches and I also feel like I've planned well and made good decisions. But the bottom line is there are going to be risks involved. If it's not worth it to you it's not worth it. To me it was, mostly because I'm 23. Those with families are going to have it a little tougher. My biggest concern is getting a job to get me by. I can handle being flat broke for 2 years though if it means being OK in the future.

 

Believe it or not, Michigan has a dorm.

 

And a scholarship like Jim talked about would cover that?

 

A scholarship typically won't cover living costs.

My fellow UT students on scholarship who aren't lucky enough to have a talented wife who covers Ford and GM for USA Today typically borrow enough to cover their living expenses. What does this cost? Depends on how cheap you want to live and where you live. Toledo is CHEAP - I know people with a 1BR apartment for 300 a month, and it's not a rat trap. Other places are obviously more expensive.

 

Well, I can't speak for other schools. I know that scholarships of any sort at Michigan are few and far between. Not sure if there are room and board scholarships at other places. Perhaps some other JDs or prospective JDs can chime in.

It sounds like your decision is already made, and that's fine. But I detect some bitterness in your resistance to the idea, and that troubles me just a tad. I know it can feel like the game is rigged sometimes, but even where this is concerned, you just have to realize that there is no perfect situation. At some point, everyone has to decide if it's worth it to them. Every day, my brother who is a practicing attorney tells me what a huge mistake I'm making, so there is certainly an opposing viewpoint to the MIT economist's thoughts.

But then, I pick up the newspaper and read about the next Supreme Court justice, who was raised in public housing in the Bronx and had every reason in the world to just write off her crack at an elite education as someone else's privilege. Same with our president and his wife.

For me it came down to this: Even if it means incurring some amount of debt, while trying to minimize it, wouldn't most people rather play than just watch from the sidelines?

(FYI, a lot of schools have debt forgiveness programs if you end up in a low-paying legal job after graduation. Something to think about).

 

I don't fall under the group of those looking for MBA's or law degrees (for right now at least), but this will make it easier to tell my parents that I'm interested in going back to school to get my communications degree.

 

If I seem bitter, it's because everything is moving in the wrong direction, and I have fewer options than are assumed on this thread. I can't elaborate, so I'll stop posting and get out of the way of those this thread can help. Thanks.

 

Oh, and this is probably going to make me sound hopelessly idealistic, but if you care about such things, there are benefits far beyond just what you can scratch out on a ledger sheet.

As I told Jim when we got together the other night, every day I walk to and from class, look around me, and just laugh because I absolutely can't where I'm at.

 

Just curious why law schools or business schools would give out scholarships based on entrance exam scores. Wouldn't those who do well on the tests be the likeliest to pursue law or MBA degrees, period? So wouldn't scholarships be cannibalizing their surest customer base? What's in it for the schools to give away their educations -- prestige when those graduates go on to do "great" things?

A lot of folks considering going back to school won't have much flexibility in location -- they have families to consider, with jobs, schools, etc., in the equation. So getting a scholarship offer from five states away won't mean much.

Friend of mine scored in 99th percentile on GMAT and was lucky to have some tuition reimbursement from his employer, because the school in the town where he worked didn't lift a finger in terms of a tuition break.

 

U.S. News & World Report ranking.

 

It's all a bit of a game.

Let's say you score a 167 on the LSAT.

That's enough to get you into Michigan, but Michigan is such a good law school they don't need to give you much money for that score. The same score could get you a full ride, or near a full-ride, to schools in the top 20 to top 30 of the US News rankings (Notre Dame, Illinois, Southern Cal, BU, etc.). Why? Because they have trouble stealing people with those scores away from schools like Michigan. They need more high scorers in hope of improving their own US News rankings.

And so it goes down the rankings. A 162 on the LSAT will get you into the lower half of the Top 25 ... or a full-ride to many schools in the 50 to 100 range.

Rinse and repeat, depending on the score, as it goes down the scale.

But you have to know how to play the game. In many cases, you have to ask for the money, or ask for more. LawSchoolNumbers.com is a great resource for gauging who's getting into what schools with what scores, and what kind of money they're getting offered.

 

I guess I'll trust you, but you make it seem awful easy to get a free law school education. Kind of like that Matthew Lesco guy on those "free government program" commercials. Not meaning to criticize, I just find it hard to believe it's easy to go to school for free and score such a score on the LSAT.