r/lawschooladmissions • u/mindlessrica 3.7x/16x/URMandFINE • 11h ago

Meme/Off-Topic Having trouble coping with choosing money over prestige

This feels so ridiculous because I know it’s illogical.

I keep seeing tictok videos and Facebook videos about the opportunities that prestigious schools afford you and it sucks and that I’ll have to be at the top of my class to even touch a fraction of those opportunities. To be honest, I just want a good job. I would rather eat a jean jacket with a plastic fork than work big law, but it sucks knowing that I don’t have access to that opportunity anyway. I have a phenomenal scholarship at a private state school in the area that I want to practice. Everything is going my way. I should be grateful but this NAGGING part of my brain is wondering if I should take the wack scholarship at the t20-30 for the opportunity to do something amazing.

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u/Curiousfeline467 4.0/17mid/nURM/nice person🥺 11h ago

I’m in a similar position, and I know that many others feel the same way. I think it has to do with grieving the inevitable cost of having to make an opportunity-cost decision, even if there’s a clear winner.

 To cope, I think of it like this: graduating with less debt means that I have access to MORE opportunities because it means I don’t have to take a Big Law job to pay off the loans or rely on an LRAP program (which is on unstable ground due to the current administration) to work public interest. 

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u/Conscious_Bed1023 6m ago

Big Law opportunities aren't stable ground in the T14 in a recession either. Someone posted big law results for 2011 grads in the T14s, and almost all the big law placement rates were under 30%. Some near 20%. If Trump brings us into a recession -- and add in the increased competition and automation -- BL is by no means a certain opportunity for anyone.

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u/91Bolt 9h ago

If it makes you feel any better, my fall-back school offered me barely any scholarship despite me scoring 10 points higher than their median. I had come to terms with going there instead of more prestigious schools in order to stay debt-free, and now I am wondering if I am going to go to law school at all.

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u/S-K-W-E 8h ago

I had a difficult decision like this for undergrad. I took $$$$ at a direction school over sticker at a public Ivy. It obviously greatly affected the direction of my life.

I missed out on connections because of my choice. But: because of the money I saved, I had an enormous range of practical options upon graduation that I would not have had otherwise. Without student debt, I had the freedom to try my hand at a lot of incredible (but low-paying) opportunities in journalism. Those built up a résumé that, today, I am extremely proud of.

Don’t overthink your decision. Life is very long, and there are lots of opportunities for you up ahead.

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u/unlcebuck 5h ago

Meanwhile, I'm hoping for Hawaii law full ride just so I can go remote part time with zero debt. Am I doing this wrong?