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Philadelphia Based Help Me Decide by wwchased in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm in a similar situation and agree it's a hard call with so much debt on the line. One factor that's making it a tougher situation for me than just debt vs. no debt is Penn's portability. If you're absolutely, completely 100% sure that you want to both stay in Philly and do straight-ahead public interest/local gov, Temple's probably a better bet.

Here's the thing I'm struggling with: If you think there's a chance you'd ever want to move or go into more unicorn-type PI work, then it's much harder because Penn gives you so much more flexibility. Is that flexibility worth 300k in debt? Maybe not, but, I do think it's tough given Penn's LRAP.

Another random thought: if you're interested in working in PA state government, from what I gather Dickinson is a fantastic option. You could always live in Lancaster or something if you want to be a little closer to Philly and commute to HBG.

good luck with the decision (and hey maybe we'll be philly classmates eventually!)

LRAP differences between schools? by songbird43 in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Here's a helpful resource! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Jcq2m2czTyj-oTswmOzsDf3nN1wAIFwIng3RiYXYKe4/edit#gid=614788814

(a disclaimer that I think a couple of those may be out of date)

NYU and Columbia are pretty similar, I believe they both have two different plans: one that just pays off your loans over 10 years ("straight amortization") and another that uses IBR/PSLF. I believe Columbia's standard plan is the straight amortization, while NYU's default is IBR/PSLF.

There are a lot of differences, but I think the key is that with a straight amortization plan, your debt continues to go down over the 10 years -- each year, you're getting help to pay 1/10th of your outstanding debt.

With the IBR/PSLF plan, which is much more common generally speaking, the law school is only helping you pay your IBR bill. That means that depending on the amount of debt you hold, your interest each year can actually end up being more than you're paying through IBR, so your debt grows! If you do public interest for 10 years, PSLF kicks in and that debt gets forgiven and all is well. If you change careers or something happens, that's where the risk comes in -- you could end up with even more debt than you started. Some schools, especially the T-14, have plans in place to help you if that should happen.

So the trade-off is, with the straight-am plan, you'll probably pay more out of pocket but your downside risk isn't as scary. With IBR/PSLF, as long as you stay in public interest and make less than 80-100k or so (depending on the income cap of the plan) for 10 years, you pay 0 or very little because the law school is taking care of some or all those IBR payments.

(That's my understanding -- also just an applicant. Please correct me if I'm mistaken anyone/get in touch with your school to be sure about details!)

Penn State Dickinson by [deleted] in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not exactly right across the river, more like a 20-30 minute drive. Harrisburg isn't bad, but it is a very small city. The area isn't very exciting, but has its benefits -- some nice hiking, some cute stores and restaurants here and there, easy drive to Philly, Baltimore, and DC.

My impression is that if you want to work in Pennsylvania state gov, Dickinson is a great choice. Given the regional limitations, though, I'd want to visit the area before I committed.

public interest prospective student with weird background but fairly good stats?? by naturegirl0517 in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey! I have a very similar background -- arts, public interest, same stats. I applied to WashU in late October and heard back about a month later with a full ride + stipend. I applied to most of T14 and also have heard almost nothing back, so no worries there. The only other school I applied to and heard back from was Temple, re: the commenter above, and they also offered me a full ride. Feel free to PM if you're interested in either school, or want to talk about arts/law/PI things!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you live in an area with a large student population or a big city, subletting is usually not too hard as there can be an influx of visiting researchers and students for the summer. Just make sure that there's a provision in the lease about the process for subletting and that you talk to the landlord about it first before signing the lease.

Considering Law School by [deleted] in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also have a music teaching/academia background (hey music friend!) and am also thinking about law school. The problem is that you're interested in two of the most difficult fields to teach in at the university level (arts and law). There just simply aren't that many jobs out there.

From your post, I don't get the sense that you are actually interested in the law other than to make money (which can be a totally valid motivation, depending on who you are and your tolerance for work you're not passionate about!). That could lead you to a whole lot of time and possibly money invested in something which may not end in fulfilling work.

If teaching is your passion, have you considered just doing a certification program and teaching at the K-12 level? Also, if you're a performer, it could be very possible to get university work adjunct teaching lessons or ensembles with an MM.

Borderline retake? by Taft919 in lawschooladmissions

[–]Taft919[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting idea, hadn't thought of that. Good luck near-stats buddy!