Midwestprincesse (2022-2023)

Big 10 Undergrad school
Masters earned in 2009

Interned for important national county HQ and was involved with local campaign efforts and beyond.
Involved in Alpha Phi Omega and won awards through this involvement.
Interned at top notch sports organizations.
Currently work in community relations for a large health care firm.

Will add more info later.

12/4 - First update of the site in awhile. Working on a bunch of applications. This will be a big application week the next few days. This is where the list stands as of now but I could add more as the process goes along. We'll see how frazzled my brain is.

Good luck on your cycle everyone!

12/5 - Submitted UW's application today. Big reach school but obviously I have to attempt it. Will keep working on the other applications. My list isn't in its final stages so I could add more to the mix. I'll see where it stands in the next 2-3 days and what's been accomplished.

Just as a side note, both FIU and MSU have quick response teams that are very cordial when emailed. I contacted them about an application correction today and shortly after, was given a response.

12/11 - Working on another bunch of applications. Hopefully getting them in later tonight. I'll also be rooting for Tebow even though he's playing against my fave team (Da Bears!).

Happy Holidays everyone!

12/12 - On my second cup of coffee as I type. Came across two interesting articles for all to keep in mind. The first is Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2011/10/11/the-case-against-law-school/2/

Essentially, accept law school at your own debt risk. And I found the following quote the most intriguing, "A recent survey by U.S. News of the priciest law schools showed many in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. One thing the survey didn't measure (but I observed): there is no correlation between the price of tuition and the quality of the school."

The other article is more generic & also linked from Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mkl45emhe/miami-fla

Now this doesn't talk about the legal market, but it's still an important trend to note.

I won't normally link to articles, but I think it's important for a lot of people to be realistic with expectations before, during and post-law school because as the first article mentions, law isn't as glamorous as people think. Times have been changing and what is being talked about in these articles about law debt and job availability aren't just words in an article, but blunt reality. I know that about a year or so ago, I talked with a family friend who is an attorney (I worked one Summer for the firm - national law firm with many office locations). She talked about how there was a hold and downturn in the industry and to only pursue law school at this time if it was truly what I wanted because nothing would be guaranteed. I've always wanted law school and have been flexible with location, rank and cost. I'm fortunate. But I hope others examine all of the facts out there. Lecture over. :)

Back to coffee and applications.

12/16 - I've sent in more applications over the past few days. Relaxing weekend ahead - celebrating Christmas with both sides of the relatives (bringing out the Santa slippers and all - 'tis the season!). I probably won't get much time to look at applications, but I'll be submitting more Monday and Tuesday. I'm in a good zone. Or at least as good of a zone that you can be during this whole process. I always went into this process thinking that every school is a no until they're a yes. If you do that, you will get through it.

And for those in need of some cheer, I found an individual on LinkedIn (friend of a friend) who went to a non-brand name law school (won't say which one but people would literally think wow if they heard it) and he has a stellar (and I mean really stellar) resume of top notch organizations. Do not let others or this process get you down. Do your best and the rest will come back to you as positive karma. And when you receive or if you have already received your first (or more) acceptance(s), cherish them. Happiness now, debt later. :)

1/4/12 - Happy New Year everyone! I'm looking forward to all 2012 offers - tears or joy!

Just came across these recent article about LS:

http://www.jdjournal.com/2011/12/30/why-its-not-a-good-idea-to-go-to-law-school-straight-away/

I'm not in that particular boat, but I thought it was a good read for recent graduates nonetheless.

And then the most recent article:

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/law-admissions-lowdown/2012/01/02/look-for-these-3-law-school-trends-in-2012

I only cared about the third section. I strongly believe this is in large part due to loans. Do not go into debt if you can't handle the debt burden. I think a lot of people have lofty goals of what law school might be instead of what it actually is so really consider if this is the right step for you.

No news on the LS front, other than receiving the normal emails. I didn't expect to hear back so soon though so that's expected. I've applied to a lot more schools since my last update so now it's all just a waiting game. Thankfully, college bball exists to keep me entertained. :)

1/5 - Received my first ding of the law school season. Bye bye DePaul.
Accepted to Barry.

1/10 - Rejected at MSU. This one hurts more than the first rejection because it's a school tied to an athletic program.
Received my FIU rejection in the mail. Too bad - this school was one of the most reasonable on tuition price.

I don't expect to hear anything for awhile from the others. I've heard back from most of the first schools that I've applied to.

I have a trigger ear when it comes to the post service car though - haha.

1/19 - Just received the ding letter from Marquette. This one hurts because it's the closest to home.

The count stands at 4-4.

1/27 - Accepted to NSU via the conditional program option. I'm not ruling the program out and I do like Nova from what I've seen of it online. I'll make trips to all of the schools over the next few months.
Current temp in Ft. Lauderdale: 77.
Not too bad.

I still have a lot of schools to hear back from so I'm just doing my best to wait it all out. Going a bit crazy at times though. I think we all are. Good luck!

2/3 - Received denial from UC-Irvine and University of St. Thomas - MN in the mail. Bummed but still so many schools to hear from.

Count stands at 5-5 as of now.

2/6 - Just checked my St. Thomas - FL checker and I think I was WL'ed. Not sure what that means quite yet or how they handle WLs so we'll see what happens over the next few days.

2/11 - Received my ding letter from Drake in the mail a few days ago. No big shocker - would've been nice to go to school in such a political savvy part of the nation though. Also, received my WL from St. Thomas - FL. Will mail response on Monday. Count stands at 5-6-1.

In the process of planning a road trip to various states to check out regions/schools.

2/16 - No movement. Filled out FAFSA yesterday.
Scratch that: Denied at Tulane via status checker. Not as bummed as I thought I would be. A rejection always hurts, but surprisingly, I am at peace with it.

2/17 - Dinged at Stetson via email.
Accepted at TJSL via snail mail. Excited to have a West Coast option as part of the mix.

2/18 - Dinged at the U of Arkansas.
This is ok. I only applied because I heard that Fayetteville is gorgeous and as an out of state applicant, the tuition would've been very cheap.
Excited to tour the Southeastern States next week. Hello Atlantic Coast!

2/21 - Started the road trip with my parents to check out various schools.
Today, my dad and I did a drive-by of the campus IU-Indy. I took a few photos so if anyone is interested in these or other photos from the other schools mentioned, please let me know. The school is the main campus for the city of Indianapolis and is set amongst an urban backdrop but it has a more residential feel. I thought it was a nice campus and while I didn't go into the actual law school to tour it, it felt very collegiate.

2/22 - Dad and I drove through the states of Tennessee, Kentucky (love the twang) and arrived in North Carolina. We did a drive by of Charlotte School of Law. The law school has excellent parking conditions and is located just outside the city of Charlotte. The city of Charlotte is actually really cool. It's the outer skirts of the city that I'm concerned about without knowing much about it. The downtown area made me think of a Midwestern New York.
Mom flew in from NY to meet up with Dad and me.

2/23 - We drove back to the Charlotte campus to show it to Mom. Then we went to South Carolina and checked out U of South Carolina. I thought it would have a more residential feel, but it was more urban than I thought. Not good or bad, just different than what I was expecting. We also stopped in Savannah, GA and toured the DAR park in the region. I've never been to New Orleans so this was my go at seeing the South. Super cute houses.

2/24 - Arrived in Jacksonville and toured FCSL. Went on an official tour. Will update this later. Have other things to get to tonight so I will edit this section in the near future.

2/25 - Toured the Nova Southeastern campus. Went on an official tour. Spent time at the beach. Super windy. Will be checking out the Miami area out tomorrow.
There has been no movement via status checkers this past week. I thought there might be. Hopefully some movement comes next week. I'll still be in FL. but it would be nice.

2/26 - Toured the Miami region today. It was totally different than what I was expecting. Details to come later.

2/27 - Hung out in the Ft. Lauderdale for a bit longer. Drove through the downtown, stopped by the marina and drove through the campus one last time to see what it was like during the weekday.

2/28 - Will see Jacksonville's downtown area today. We'll head to Orlando in the afternoon. Depending on how quick the stops and driving takes, we may head over to the West Coast tonight too. We had planned to stop by the Jacksonville beach (it's FREE!), but the weather may not be the best so we may just head along to the next stop.

There hasn't been any movement but a simple in review status update. Since there was no movement last week, I at least expect a little movement this week.

2/29 - Toured the Tampa area. Have landed in Fort Myers. Love it here!

3/1 - Denied at Hostra. Not bummed at all about it. I thought I would apply to this one so that I would have options on the East Coast. Moving to the East Coast was never really appealing to me in general, but thought I should have at least one option available. For those interested, I applied to the part time option.

3/4 - Arrived home after two full days of driving with the parents. Overall, it was a solid trip. We put on 4,557 miles in 12 days and saw 11 different schools. Craziness.
Looking forward to collecting the mail that built up over the past two weeks while it was put on hold.
Missing the 80 degree temps already.

3/5 - Received official rejection letter from Tulane.
Received rejection from Loyola - LA. Bummed, but not bummed because I had applied to the PT Program and I really didn't want to have to deal with LA traffic if I didn't have to. Anyone who applies to LA schools thinking that even close commutes are going to be close has merely never experienced LA traffic.

3/8 - Top Gun is on tonight. Perfect status checker distraction!

3/10 - Rejected at Miami. This was a late application as I only recently saw the campus. It's always possible to transfer but not even thinking of those options at this stage.

3/13 - No movement on the school front.
Planning a trip to San Diego next week. Love CA so it should be fun! We'll also spend a couple days in Vegas. I've never been to Vegas in the daylight so I'm looking forward to this mini-vacay!
Finishing my NCAA Tourney bracket today - love the min-distraction!

3/21 - Have arrived in CA and have already consumed In N Out.
Since I last updated, I have been dinged at UW-Madison and JMLS.
I was put on hold with Creighton today.

3/22 - Received ding from USD via email. Received ding via status checker at Hamline.
Hanging out with fashiongirl at the USD ding bar.
Checking out various law schools today.

3/25 - Hanging out in Vegas for a few days.

3/30 - Ding letter from South Carolina today. I hear that SC is a pretty insular market to get in to so it's not a big loss. I did enjoy SC when I visited though.
Will be working on some LOCI's this weekend.

4/3 - Dinged at Whittier. Not bummed. Toured the school a week or so ago and wasn't impressed. I enjoyed the mock class, but the campus didn't feel right for me.
Interview tomorrow. Doing my best to not get too stressed about it. Sent out one LOCI today. Will send out a couple more in the next day or so.

4/22 - Four schools remaining to hear back from and per contact with three of them, I should know their decisions in the next couple of weeks.
Looking forward to Summer and can't wait for sunshine and boating. Storms, storms go away.

4/24 - Getting out of town for the night. Looking forward to it!

5/7 - All schools have officially sent me their decisions. My decision comes down to two schools, both which I have visited. I will spend the next few days considering these two schools, making a pro and con list. Then I will celebrate the decision, drink champagne, enjoy the Summer and start preparing for law school. Can't wait for the process to start wherever I go!