mom2toby (2022-2023)

if you had applied in November or December, you would have had replies on at least two of your pending picks. I'm rooting 4 u. I 2 m a bit up n age. Keep us posted.

since you're looking at MS n AR, did u ckout Mississippi College ( MS), University of Memphis (TN), UTKnox (TN), and Jones (AL).

Gonzaga is 27 for 3 years. Thanks and good luck this cycle!

We're applying to many same schools. Wish you the best luck!

a metro city w/small town feel. Their Bar passage rate is the highest in the state 98% I believe. Just a thought. The acceptance would certainly be a boost. I definitely could use it... (smile) Have a friend that graduated from MS College. She speaks highly of it, not certain of the location though.

I did not receive any $$ as of yet. In the letter, they stated that awards range from 5-24,000 and are awarded based on extracurriculars, employment and community involvement. It said "if you qualify and scholarships become available in your qualification category, you will be notified of a decision as soon as possible." Of course, I'm sure those with better stats are awarded $$ upon admission. Best of luck.

Sorry to hear that about Gonzaga's delayed report. I know Gonzaga took like a couple of weeks until requesting the report. As far as Toledo, I really don't remember how long it took to request, but I do remember they weren't the one of the slowest schools to request the report. The schools that took forever were Gonzaga, California Western, and Idaho.

You will get in somewhere so keep your chin up. To make you feel better, I studied lsat for a long time... But our numbers are still fine. I mean if we get into some decent T3 and study hard and get good grades, we'll be better off than someone from T2 or T1 who barely graduated with 2.1... so yeah still plenty of chances to be successful. As far as number wise, you're better than me. This waiting period is a pain in the ass though. Which state are you from?

No wonder you applied to many schools in the pacific NW. I'm rooting for your acceptance at Seattle U as well as mine!

Actually you told me you were. :P

Hey thanks for the kind words. Your question spurred me into applying for two additional programs. Best of luck with law school and everything else.

Are you taking your SIU offer then? Moving there shouldn't be hard. Email or call the school asking them for their housing listings. There are PLENTY of apartments/studios/houses for rent. I was able to find mine through craigslist. While visiting this past week, I saw plenty of "for rent" signs. The residential areas are going to be your prime choice since near campus gets pretty loud (and crummy). It's a nice town. Small, but I liked it.

I will be considering USD if my top choices fall through. Chances are there is little to no diversity at South Dakota, if that's what you are looking for. If you are thinking about USD you should look at the University of North Dakota. Much nicer community and from what I have heard it is an all around better law school. It is ranked T3 whereas USD is T4. GOOD LUCK this cycle!!!

Yeah I think you'll hear a good news from Willamette and Gonzaga. If accepted at Seattle, it will be no brainer to go there but I'm having a hard time deciding which would be better b/w Willamette and Gonzaga. Any ideas?

me

The Appalachian scholarship came a week or two after the acceptance. The scholarship is for full tuition and is awarded to applicants with a 153 LSAT and above. Shouldn't be a problem for you.

Getting into L&C sounds like the most ideal deal for you. L&C does really well in the NW. There will be many schools on your accepted a month from now and I think choosing school will eventually come down to where you wanna work afterwards. I applied to a whole bunch of schools thinking I might not get in anywhere. Now I have many choices including Willamette. I wanna work in the NW (most likely Seattle) where my family and all my friends are. Once I thought I would go to the best ranked school accepted regardless of the loc. I think I'm gonna pass on better ranked schools like Rutgers, Denver and FSU for Seattle U (or even Willamette). I'll definately keep you posted with my progress. It's been quite interesting so far. I wish you the best luck, especially with L&C!

I would die to get into Seattle U. I am constantly checking their online decision checker and its driving me crazy. I realized I still have 20 more schools to hear from. I guess my 100 meter mailbox dash will continue for a long time.

on Your Acceptances. I have your email and will definitely keep in contact. Have u decided on the school yet?

You may have been to visit these two and your opinions on them may differ greatly from mine but because you seemed to appreciate my advice on Grundy so much I thought I would add this as well. I have been to visit SO many law schools I could give you a feel for at least 30 of them. Anyways Ole Miss was AMAZING. It is beautiful, small but not too small and the people in the town and at the school were great. I loved the town and I loved the school. BEAUTIFUL campus and it seems them have a great program. If you get in there I would definitly consider it. On the other hand...I see what you are saying about UALR, however, if you haven't been there to visit you might want to especially if you have kids. When we pulled up we thought it was a prison. It is surrounded by fencing just like at prisons with the spiral wire at the top, not in the best part of town and only a few living accomodations close. The people were super nice but the school was nothing to brag on. I had them on my list of schools to apply to but along with Grundy they came off right after my visit. I hope that helps even more in your deicision making process and that you end up somewhere that you love...cause I know that is what we all want!!! Good Luck, and let me know if you need anything other information on any of other schools!

Thanks for the sympathy. I was feeling kind of bad for about 5 hours the day I got the rejection from SU but yeah now I'm feeling much better. Yeah I have Willamette as a back up and it's a good school. Hey Congrats on Gonzaga by the way!!! Wow They gave you lots of scholarship too. You must be very happy. I'm sure the choice will be difficult to make as you get more acceptances and scholarships. Nevertheless, I hope you will get a lot of choices!

Not considering it very srongly. Full tuition is nice, but I'd rather just take out loans at this point and go to NYLS or Albany.

App. gave you a lot of money. I can see you considering it more so than me. I am 23 years old, just out of undergrad and still love to go shopping, out to eat and hang out with friends. Plus I love the big city life still a lot more than I think I will later on in life. I too eventually want to do the small town general practitioner thing...but maybe not right at first. To be completely honest I have changed my tune a lot since before I went to visit all of the schools. Seems kind of weird for most people that I went and visited all of the schools before I started to apply but I wanted to be able to make good decisions about where to put in applications. Where are you from? I would suggest taking a visit to Grundy then you can see for yourself what there is to offer...it might be something great for you. One thing I would have to say, you will have plenty of time to study! I honestly don't know anything about SIU but I will take your word for it. I hope you find something that you really love and it fits you well. I am looking forward to picking a school and getting started....

Looks like you've already gotten some good information from the comments above. I'm only considering ASL because of the scholarship. It is a very regional degree, but it should travel to southern WV, which is where I'm from. However, right now, I'm leaning towards paying full price to WVU over ASL. Reputation is something that can't be built overnight.

I just recently heard back from them. Are they high on your list and have you gotten to see the campus yet?

I noticed that you already withdrew from South Dakota. May I ask if there was a particular reason? Did you visit the campus and get a bad vibe? TIA

I noticed that you already withdrew from South Dakota. May I ask if there was a particular reason? Did you visit the campus and get a bad vibe? TIA

Its up there on my list because I qualify for in state tuition. However I really want to go to Stetson. I think I may go visit SIU over summer though.

I'm in FL now, grew up in AL, and I definitely have a problem with extreme cold. I loved Denver but the weather was miserable at times...SD gets much colder. Still, the cheap tuition is always an enticement... As for UALR, no, I have not visited the campus, though I have been to Little Rock. In fact, I was stranded there when my car broke down on my move out to Denver about 10 years ago. Haven't been since, but I liked what little bit I saw. LR seems like your typical medium-sized Southern town. A guy who posts regularly on lawschooldiscussion.org under the handle "Rev" is a 1L at UALR. You should contact him there if you have any questions about it. He has been more than helpful to me in answering them. He's also a non-traditional (older, married, etc) so I found his insight particularly valuable. As for Appalachian, I actually have a completed app sitting there at LSAC.org waiting to be sent. From what I've read I would probably get significant money there. I just can't see myself attending, though. It is, at best, no better than Barry in terms of reputation and cost, and I am already established here in Orlando, so it would simply make more sense to go to Barry over Appalachian (plus Barry offered significant $$$). I figure the $60 that I'd have to spend on the app could be better used elsewhere (same goes for UDM and Wyoming, two other schools waiting in the wings). And big congrats on the Gonzaga acceptance and $$$! I almost applied there but I didn't figure my GPA would make the cut.

I'm put out!!!! U know, during the 2/10 test break, I realized the test was a bit much and it had really consumed me, so I prayed 2 God Jehovah 4 his holy spirit and asked that he give me peace, and remove from me the anxiety, tension, and stress associated with this whole process. I returned 2 the test and finished the remaining 2 sections and when the proctor called 'TIME', I set my pencil down, gathered my things, and walked out the building. As I was leaving the building, I really felt a sense of calm and peace. As I saw faces of persons I had seen before, I thought 2 conversate about the test difficulty and the experimental section. Of course I had to remind myself of the things I asked God Jehovah for and to recognize I had received them and to resolve to do my part. I would not discuss anything LSAT or the challenges associated with the overall process. I even had 2 bite my fingers and refrain from commenting on LSD. If asked, I would simply respond everything went great and leave it there. A part of me was trying not 2 put any thing negative out into the universe (I had just watched Oprah's 'The Secret' episode which spoke about the LAW of Attraction; the short explanation is 'we attract what we put out' and I wasn't trying 2 attract anything negative.). U know, I'd placed everything on hold and needed 2 start moving forward with the other things in my life. Got my score yesterday, and thought: U know U should have cancelled. So now I wait again.

just that bad. But as it goes: "When life knocks you down try to land on your back cause if you can look up you can get up!!! - Les Brown

We have identical stats and it appears we are applying to many of the same schools. What is your top choice? Has your status at Baylor changed yet?

My wife and I are both from California so if I get accepted to any of the schools in the west then they have an upper hand on Valpo. But seeing as I have not heard from any of them it is all up in the air.

DEFERRAL today, I know it isn't an ACCEPTANCE, but I am tickled pink. It really made my day...

I haven't visited just yet but I have seen the school from the distance. I'm from Little Rock and I love it. The school is next to McArthur Park. I didn't know there was a lving area attached. I don't know about surround apartments or houses, because if I do go to UALR I will live with my parents. There's plenty to do downtown, which the school is located a few blocks from, which also brings a lot of job opportunities from surrounding firms to students. It is not in a BAD part of town, and there's no reason to be scared, at least not in the day time, of that area. I wouldn't walk alone at night, but I wouldn't do that anywhere. I'll be able to let you know more in about a week, I'm visiting on the 16th.

Concerning UALR...My scholarship offer came a few weeks after my admissions letter, which I think is pretty standard. Also, if you're out of state, from what I understand, all out-of-state residents are automatically given "scholarships" in the form of out-of-state tuition waivers. So essentially, you'd be looking at in-state tuition prices. As far as the campus...the building certainly isn't eye candy, and it is indeed surrounded by a fence which has some type of razor-wire at the top. Personally, I found this comforting, since there's a guard at the entrance, and your car is inside a gated parking lot. The law school is located a few blocks away from where I'd say the "seedy" part of LR begins. However, I haven't heard of any crime issues around the campus. My cousin just graduated from there, and he has told me that security isn't a concern.

Also, I would note that the inside of the law school is pretty nice. I mean, once again, it's not the Sistine Chapel, but it's certainly not a "prison." The facilities are up-to-date, they campus has wireless access everywhere, there are serveral lounges where you can study/talk/snack, and the library is very nice. They even had digital bulletin boards, which I found a little strange and unecessary, but whatever floats your boat.

Can you feel it? Can you taste it? Can you hear it knocking at your door? How bad do you want it? How bad do you need it? Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming With that one thing on your mind? How bad do you want it? How bad do you need it? Cause if you want it all You've got to lay it all out on the line

ME.. I feel like my life is on hold until I get an acceptance. There is nothing I want more...awwwwwww

I visited UALR today....I really enjoyed it. The faculty and the students are both very positive. The library really is GREAT. It is not like a war zone. The inside really is very nice and has a very "new" atmosphere. Like I said there is a park, and there is a nice view of it from the inside. I looked at Barrister Hall....I wouldn't live there with children, its way too small.

I hope you get into Willamette. I'm very excited about the school and the fact that I'm gonna stay in the NW. You said you might take the offer at Appalachian. Is that because you got a full scholarship there? I don't think it's an ABA approved school. You have many good tier 3 ABA schools on your list already such as SIU or Gonzaga. Of course it's your decision ultimately but it just sounds risky to me.

I didn't know the school became ABA because it was not found on USNews ranking site. If you wanna practice in a small town, I guess that school will be good for you. The cost is really an important factor. Sometimes I get a chill in the backbone thinking about how much debt I will have coming out of law school and how much I will be making notwithstanding my hope of how much I want to make. Willamette is so far my top choice and unless U of O accepts me, I'm pretty sure I'll be attending. Coming out of Willamette, I hope I can practice at a decent paying firm (65K+) in either Seattle or Portland. Having lived in Oregon, do you think Willamette Law is a highly regarded regional school with a good job prospect? I worry if the job competition is too fierce for Willamette grads among L&C and UO graduates.

I see you are no closer to a decision than me! I really wish I would hear something from FIU; even a rejection would be okay at this point.

Good question. FIU is still my top choice, but the longer it takes for them to get back to me the less confident I am that I will be accepted. I'll probably wind up sending a seat deposit to Barry and hoping I get in at FIU. I'm also still waiting to hear from SD, but there is little more than an outside chance I will wind up there. I would go to Willamette in a heartbeat if I could get in there! I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest. You should be proud you got in there! I do find it interesting that you seem so high on ASL given the impressive list of schools that have made offers to you this cycle. What about the school (other than the big $ scholarship) makes you more likely to attend there than, say, SIU, Gonzaga and UALR?

I went to Michigan last week and checked out Cooley (Grand Rapids) and Ave Maria in Ann Arbor. I was actually very impressed with the brand new facilities at Cooley and they even offered (suggested) I take the LSAT in June and they would honor the score with scholarship money. I know, taking the LSAT again! But I know I can do better and there is no harm giving it a try as it can lead to thousands of dollars in free aid. I really do like Ave Maria though...I had a great feeling being there and they coming up quick in the rankings. I guess I'll know where I'll be when I get a final decision from Ave Maria and get my scores from June's LSAT. Thanks for the inquiry!

It certainly sounds as though you have done your homework regarding ASL. I agree about my feelings about Barry. One of the things that I like most about Barry is the fact that it is located in a major metropolitan area, making internship opportunities much more immediate (at least ostensibly). Like you, I am much less concerned with prestige than others. That said, you can only read the "Go-to-the-highest-ranked-school- as-possible!" advice so many times before some of it begins to influence you. At this point I am MUCH more concerned with my post-grad debt load than prestige. ASL has all but eliminated that as a factor for you, though, which is really awesome. Still...given NALR statistics it's hard to argue against those who claim that, ceterus parabus, you're better off with a degree from a higher-ranked school.

I screwed it up. Here's what I was trying to say: -------------------------------------- It certainly sounds as though you have done your homework regarding ASL. Many of your apparent feelings about ASL mirror mind about Barry. One of the things that I like most about Barry is the fact that it is located in a major metropolitan area, making internship opportunities much more immediate (at least ostensibly). Like you, I am much less concerned with prestige than others. That said, you can only read the "Go-to-the-highest-ranked-school- as-possible!" advice so many times before some of it begins to influence you. At this point I am MUCH more concerned with my post-grad debt load than prestige. ASL has all but eliminated that as a factor for you, though, which is really awesome. Still...given NALR statistics it's hard to argue against those who claim that, ceterus parabus, you're better off with a degree from a higher-ranked school. There is a good possibility that I will wind up somewhere like Barry, or ASL, only to transfer after my 1L year if I do well.

So what is taking Willamette so long? My wife and I are flying out there in two weeks to see if we like it. I just hope I have an acceptance letter by then to make the trip worth it. A guy I went to school with got accepted on Saturday, What about us?

How did you contact Willamette? Via e-mail or telephone? Did they seem upset that you asked about your status? I am getting extremely anxious, it is currently my top choice.

So I got impatient, broke down, and gave them a call today. They were really nice about it and said a decision was sent in the mail yesterday. A couple more days to wait now.

Wow congratulations on Seattle U!!! That school used to be my top choice... hehe I'm so jealous! But hey I don't understand how you got waitlisted at Willamette. That's pretty odd considering how Willamette has lower median numbers than SU for admissions. But are you happy about your acceptance at Seattle though? How important is that admission towards your decision on where you want to go to law school? We should trade our SU and WU acceptances! haha

Congrats on all your acceptances! I'm hoping for SU to admit me off the WL, since I had such a great time visiting the campus. Interesting that you got waitlisted at Willamette and accepted at SU, since I got the exact opposite. What school are you leaning towards attending?

Somehow I got outright rejected, not even a waitlist to keep my hopes up, that stinks. I hope Gonzaga turns out better.

So what is the minimum GPA you have to maintain to keep you scholarship and what is their forced grading curve at Appalachian?

I see. That's not bad at all. Your grades from those classes are impressive. I'm sure you can make it. Well as for me, I am handling things well still regardless of the fact that Willamette dropped to T4 recently. So many people are getting discouraged by this as well as myself at least at the moment I first saw the updated USNews report. I have been doing more research since then and concluded that I cannot let this controversial report affect neither my decision nor judgment about the school. Its bar passage rate somehow dropped lower for one year which contributed the most to their dropped ranking but I believe one day the school will make it to T2 again. Without a doubt, the school will come back to T3 next year. I am attending the preview day tomorrow. I'm really excited about this. After hearing so many good things about the school, now it's time to see it for myself. I hope you get off the deferment at L&C and the waitlist at Willamette so you'll have a variety of options to choose from!

Hey, I'll be attending ASL's open house on the 14th. How's the decision process? Hope all is well

I just visited Willamette yesterday for the law preview day. Well I must say my obsession with ranking did end right there. The school was amazing and I fell in love with it. I sent my seat deposit to Willamette and I am certain now of attending this school in fall. You're right. I should end my obsession now. I have been arguing with some people on lawschooldiscussion.org little too much lately about ranking and all. Oh yes, Virginia Linder, Oregon supreme court justice came to the preview day and spoke. She was truly amazing and inspiring...

My friends who are attorneys gave me the exact same speech! Good luck at Appalachian! I'm pretty excited about OCU, and like you, I had many other options but picked the school that felt like the best fit for me.

Congrats on making your almost final decision. My wife and I have decided to put Law School off a year in order to get our finances under control and to give me an opportunity to study for and retake the LSAT. I know I can do much better than my 153. At the time of the test I was working about 50 hours a week and getting between 3 and 4 hours of sleep a night because we had twin daughters that were premature and required a lot of special care. I figure with a little more studying, and a lot more sleep which I have been getting lately, I can improve that score substantially and get some scholarship money and have more options. Thanks for the encouragement and enjoy the next three years of hell that will be the Law School experience.

Congratulations on your decision to attend ASL. Be certain to BLOG, it's always interesting to read about law school from the non-traditional view.

I would just like to thank you for articulating all of my thoughts and feelings regarding the law school admissions decision for most perspective law students. I have been an active lurker of law school message boards throughout the process and have had thoughts very similiar to your above insight. While I don't have the life experience of a non-traditional student such as yourself, I have a similiar viewpoint as you. I was raised in Illinois and went to undergrad at Iowa where I fell in love with the geniune sincerity of the Iowa people. This has lead me to choose Drake University over apply to more prestigous schools in major metropolitian areas. I have seen the state of Iowa and Drake referenced numerous times as a fly-over state and don't bother with it. Your insight above describes what to me is flawed with the current law school situation. To many enter 1L's choosing a school because it is 10 spots higher on the US News rankings when in the grand scope of life will never make a true impact. I enjoyed reading your thoughts and second the notion to follow your heart and head not just the numbers.

It looks like you have made a decision. Good for you! I wish I could say the same. It is (essentially) down to FIU and Barry for me. I still have a pending app floating around the two Wideners, but unless they offer a full ride (which isn't likely considering other offers they have given and how late I applied) then I won't be attending there. As for your message above, I have come to agree with most of it. My primary concern at this point is not law school "prestige" but, rather, the amount of debt I will face after graduation. This has weighed heavily on my thoughts in recent weeks. This has probably driven me toward Barry more than any single factor. No matter what a law school's "tier," it would be much nicer coming out with little to no debt. This in and of itself will serve to open up job opportunities for you that won't be available to those who are saddled with massive debt loads. My only regret about this process is that I did not apply earlier. I am convinced that I would have been accepted by FIU by now and/or I would have gotten a much more lucrative offer from Barry (or Dayton or perhaps even Tulsa) had I sent off my applications before November 1st. BTW, if you have not already picked it up, I recommend that you purchase a copy of 'Law School Confidential.' I just finished reading it and there is a ton of useful information in there. Good luck! Be sure to blog!

It looks like you have made a decision. Good for you! I wish I could say the same. It is (essentially) down to FIU and Barry for me. I still have a pending app floating around the two Wideners, but unless they offer a full ride (which isn't likely considering other offers they have given and how late I applied) then I won't be attending there. As for your message above, I have come to agree with most of it. My primary concern at this point is not law school "prestige" but, rather, the amount of debt I will face after graduation. This has weighed heavily on my thoughts in recent weeks. This has probably driven me toward Barry more than any single factor. No matter what a law school's "tier," it would be much nicer coming out with little to no debt. This in and of itself will serve to open up job opportunities for you that won't be available to those who are saddled with massive debt loads. My only regret about this process is that I did not apply earlier. I am convinced that I would have been accepted by FIU by now and/or I would have gotten a much more lucrative offer from Barry (or Dayton or perhaps even Tulsa) had I sent off my applications before November 1st. BTW, if you have not already picked it up, I recommend that you purchase a copy of 'Law School Confidential.' I just finished reading it and there is a ton of useful information in there. Good luck! Be sure to blog!

Anything new or exciting? I'll be attending FIU!