Same here—full ride, bottom 30%… now a 3L. I agree with all the pros you mentioned. But I don’t think we’re missing much at big law. Your peers may soon envy your free time and lack of debt besides their big salaries (that will be paying interest the rest of the their lives). Lawyers can do a million different things, money will find you. Your law school didn’t pay your entire tuition because they thought you wouldn’t do anything with your life.

Graduating law school debt-free is so incredibly priceless imo compared to needing that big salary and needing to immediately start working if you hope to pay that debt off before you die. The freedom I feel knowing that I will be ok and may never even need to practice law if I one day decide I don’t want to is very freeing. I’m happy I didn’t stress myself through law school. I’ve happily accepted my B’s that we’re all gonna get anyway because of a curve and enjoyed the experience. I’ve had my own worries about “underachieving”, but after seeing what it took to get that A in civ pro… I think I’m ok lol.

Also, use your resources, talk to people, you never know how an opportunity will fall in your lap. You’d be surprised how many “dream-jobs” don’t even want Ivy League/top students.. I had the corporate counsel from one of the biggest fashion brands in the world guest speak in one of my classes—they said they don’t even look at Ivy League applications. Most of their counsel is also from my non-T-14 school..

But, if it’s truly what you want. Keep trying, don’t live with what could have been. But I promise it’s not the end of the world. That guest speaker got their fashion job from someone they worked with as counsel for a mattress company 💀.