A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble Forum

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InTheShadowofT14

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A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble

Post by InTheShadowofT14 » Fri May 28, 2010 7:43 pm

I never thought I'd be caught up in chase for prestige. I went to a god damn community college for christ’s sake (and it will likely show its ugly face in my terrible prose, if you bother to keep reading)! What business did I have thinking I could even compete with the best and the brightest the nation has to offer? Fuck you Berkeley and your "holistic" method of evaluating transfer qualifications. Was it really necessary to show me that merely being reasonably thoughtful (not even smart) was enough to get by at a good college at the undergraduate level? Fuck you TLS for introducing me to the concept of so-called elite Top 14. I could have lived a comfortable life...

Nevertheless, I was content to take my mediocre LSAT score and mediocre GPA and go to BU with 90k. The 18-story building wasn't much to write home about, but it had a great view and the professors were the best I've seen. On top of that, I could get by with a job I liked - my dream in high school was to be a great public defender or district attorney, always in court making arguments to a Jury of 12 - and get home at a reasonable enough time to enjoy the decent money I'd make after a few years. All of this in the city of Boston, the cradle of liberty! The Sons of Liberty were founded there, how much more could a kid want?

That all changed when I got off the waitlist for a school at tail end of the T14. Eight spots. Was I really going to trade in my spot at a school I had become particularly fond of, a future I had planned out for the next five years (at least!), for 200k worth of debt and 50/50 chance at either bankruptcy or slaving away for the man (remember, I went to Berkeley) and not having a family until my late 30s. It was my sorting hat moment, only Harry had the choice between two awesome extremes – Slitherin or Gryffindor. My choices were much more nuanced (read: boring) and with a much greater potential downside considering my life isn’t a work of fiction. I made my decision, it was irrational, and now I have to live with it.

I know these Gtown kids are smart and I know I’ll finish in the middle/bottom of my class. But kids who get into T14 schools (barely, and choose those schools over perfectly good options elsewhere) deserve no pity, no sympathy, and certainly no admiration from those who are content with living a comfortable life without being over schooled.

While I have no idea how the course of events will turn out in my life, I imagine it will be a lot like Ellie Woods. Only, I’m a guy, I’m not blond, and things probably won’t be as hunky-dory in the end when my professors and classmates find out there is nothing deeper behind the pseudo-intellectual silence I’ll exhibit in class.

So I guess this blog is a form of Judeo-Christian masochism. Cathartic to me and hopefully entertaining to those who are willing to read my journey through law school as a 1L.

InTheShadowofT14

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Re: A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble

Post by InTheShadowofT14 » Fri May 28, 2010 8:04 pm

50 views in 10 minutes. All you need to do is type the magical letters ‘T’, ‘1’, ‘4’. You never cease to amaze me TLS.

The one thing schools will never tell you about getting off the waitlist is how much they are willing to shit all over you, because they have 100 other applicants just as willing to be shit on, if you don't eat it with a smile. All the spots for on-campus housing are gone, most of the good/cheap apartments are taken by diligent undergraduate first-years, you have no idea what the school is like because you didn't go to ASD, and getting in was such a long shot that you didn't bother to even visit. But at least you've got that Gtown sweatshirt! It's pretty much the point where you fully realize the fact that you're a card carrying prestige whore. It’s an appropriately gloomy day outside today.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

InTheShadowofT14

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Re: A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble

Post by InTheShadowofT14 » Sat May 29, 2010 11:34 am

.............

InTheShadowofT14

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Re: A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble

Post by InTheShadowofT14 » Sat May 29, 2010 12:46 pm

I think there is something I need to clarify since I've been harassed (I mean that in only the nicest way) by adcoms and interested students via PM.

Despite the GeorgeTTTown and T13 monikers that float around these parts, it's a great school. No, a fantastic school. I see Gtown professors asked stupid questions all the time in 30 second clips on CNN.

For most people who don't get admitted to one of these schools - including me for a time - you see the bickering that goes on among their students as sort of like a family whose siblings pick on the youngest one, always just half-serious. You're an outsider to the discussion. And while your glad the HYSs of the world don't bother to take the time to bash your school (perhaps in part because it's too sad to see such an obvious mismatch?), you sort of wish they would just so you can feel part of an institution that is renown world wide. [I'm sucking huge GULC cock right now so I hope that makes my detractors happy]

But despite all that, I'm still not home free when it comes to the legal world in general. A couple people mentioned that even if everything I said about my possible future was true, there was still Gtown's LRAP program that would be there to save the day. There are a few problems with this.

[If by this point you think I'm a decent guy who just happened to be sucked temporarily into the T14 hysteria, stop reading now and preserve that sweet innocence that comes with ignorance. Caveat Emptor]

First, the LRAP program is designed only to forgive federal loans. Seeing as how only $20k is dispersed per academic year, and GULC's tuition is nearly 43k a year, I will have hefty and unresolvable debt for a very long time.

Next, of course, I only get LRAP, if I can find a government job after graduation. That assumes I do well enough to warrant such a job. I have no such expectations.

Finally, and most debaucherous of all, I don't want a government job or a public interest job (unless it's with some nationally known group like the ACLU). In for a dime, in for dollar. If I'm going to chase a reputation, why would I stop in the middle of the journey? To quote Lady GaGa, I'm a fame monster. This entire endeavor may end badly, but I've always been a fan of self-destructive behavior. I'm one of those kids that emulated 'jackass' in high school. Yeah, I'm one of those so.cal douches.

Ta ta everyone.

InTheShadowofT14

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Re: A T14 Mistake? My 200k Gamble

Post by InTheShadowofT14 » Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:09 pm

I recently received a PM that told me my posts were too long. So in an effort to be concise, I'll try to keep my rants to one paragraph. I turned in my deposit a few days ago. There goes over $1,400 in seat deposits. I'll be eating top ramen for the rest of the month. I'm not kidding, that shit is cheap.

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