School Choice Forum

[sdo476]

Hey guys,
Here is my situation
3.79 GPA and 162/161 LSATs
Fordham with 20k a year scholarship versus OU with a full tuition scholarship (not including books). If I graduate from Fordham I am looking at 90k in debt before adding any interest (RIP life savings). I don't have any set goals with law, I just want to do the best I possibly can in school and see what my options are after. Of course something like big law would be a good gig if I could get it, but it isn't a guarantee at Fordham. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

[FN-2187]

Do you have any geographical preference? Choosing OU will make it difficult for you to get a lot of traction outside of Oklahoma and some Texas areas. Similarly, Fordham will keep you in NY and (maybe, probably) other areas in the northeast.

[sdo476]

Born and raised in Oklahoma, but I don't have a geological preference.

[Dr. Nefario]

I think you really need to define your goals. Its not advisable to go into law school wishy washy and unclear on what you want. If you sit down and evaluate your goals and what you want, it will be a lot easier for people to help.

Did you apply to any other schools?

[sdo476]

I applied to..
BC: Quick Deny
BU: Haven't heard back
USC: Haven't heard back
Texas: Haven't heard back
Vanderbilt: Waitlisted
ND: Waitlisted
Arizona State: 15k a year

This is how I was looking at law school. I know I wanted to do something in the legal field, but don't really have a particular attachment for a specific field. I figured I would wait until I get my 1L grades back and then make career decisions from there. Is that the wrong way to look at things?

Edit: If I had to pick I would want to be a judge

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Is that the wrong way to look at things?

Kinda, yeah. Your school choice should be informed by your career goals. You don't need to have a concrete idea yet of what you want to do, but you need some idea of which path you'll pursue. If you just want to do state-level government work then Fordham doesn't make sense, because you could attend a regional on a full ride. If you want biglaw, then neither make sense; OSU because it doesn't give you a good shot and Fordham because it's too expensive in relation to your chances of obtaining biglaw.

You should figure out where you want to work after graduating and what kind of job you're hoping to get, then choose your school.

[TripleM]

Is that the wrong way to look at things?

Kinda, yeah. Your school choice should be informed by your career goals. You don't need to have a concrete idea yet of what you want to do, but you need some idea of which path you'll pursue. If you just want to do state-level government work then Fordham doesn't make sense, because you could attend a regional on a full ride. If you want biglaw, then neither make sense; OSU because it doesn't give you a good shot and Fordham because it's too expensive in relation to your chances of obtaining biglaw.

You should figure out where you want to work after graduating and what kind of job you're hoping to get, then choose your school.

You should make this whole explanation a shortcut on your keyboard so you can just insert it into 87% of TLS "Choosing" and "Chances" posts. OP: listen to the preacher man/woman.

[deadpanic]

OU, assuming you are okay with living in Oklahoma, and maybe Texas if you get the grades.

Fordham does not make sense here financially or geographically. You are looking at six figures of debt. You may get lucky and hit it big at Fordham for one of the few small BigLaw slots, but the odds are not good.

[jillian.lane]

...I don't have any set goals with law, I just want to do the best I possibly can in school and see what my options are after. ...

That's a ticket to big debt and middling income. So, OSU it should be. But, there is no excuse for this. With the internet, you can do all the research you need to do in order to determine your field of practice in the time you have before entering law school. I can think of a dozen major fields of practice off the top of my head. Once you are in school, you will be too busy to figure all of this out. Do your research now and get some advice. Attorneys and counselors are typically willing give advice to students on this matter.