I’ve Been Accepted! Now What?

Jacob Griffith, 3L USC Gould School of Law

Hopefully, by now, most of you seniors and alumni who are 0Ls (that is to say, those of you applying to, waiting to hear from, and deciding between law schools) have started to receive your first acceptances. If so, congratulations! Your first and subsequent acceptances are important milestones on your way from being a layperson to a journeyman studying the law to finally becoming a lawyer.

Once you’re received your first few acceptances, it’s sometimes easy to decide which law school is right for you. Maybe one jumps out at you, is higher ranked, or dad(or mom!) went there. Maybe you always wanted to go there for undergrad, but didn’t get in, couldn’t afford it, or didn’t like the idea of moving across the country when your friends and family are local and now nothing interests you more than attending that school.

On the other hand, many 0Ls struggle with deciding where to attend law school. Especially for those who applied to many schools, the number of options can seem bewildering. What do you compare? Bar passage rates? The size of the library in a digital age? How about the student/faculty ratio? Or is the overall U.S. News and World Report ranking the only thing that matters?

Brown Bag Workshop Highlight: Alternative Careers After Law School

Alternative Careers After Law School, Wednesday Feb. 22nd, 5:30 P.M., THH 208!

If you’re planning on law school, but uncertain about whether or not you want to practice as an attorney, this panel is for you! Many lawyers practice for a few years before putting their law degree to use in a new way. Others plan on using law degrees to aid them in a new career right out of law school! Come and hear from a distinguished panel of speakers how they use their law degrees to excel in other areas.

Please note that the time is different from our usual and is at 5:30 P.M.

List of Speakers:

Nicole Ward, Associate Regional Director for Intensive Family Based Services SPA 6, Children’s Institute, Inc. and MFT Intern at Licensure

David Kirschner, Director of Admissions, USC Gould School of Law

Megan Wang, Associate Director, International Recruitment, USC Office of Admissions

Light refreshments will be served for those who RSVP.

RSVP to prelaw@usc.edu

 

Can I Afford Law School?

When considering law school, one of the first questions that may come to mind is, how will I be able to afford it?  Students are often surprised to find that they have several options to avoid debt.   A common misconception for students is that their only options are federal, state, and private loans.  Free money to obtain your J.D. sounds too good to be true, but it is out there.  PreLaw magazine (Vol. 15, No. 3) examines some frequently asked questions about obtaining the money you need to pay for law school.

1. How much is law school really going to cost me?

It depends.   Where you choose to attend law school will factor into the overall cost during and after graduation.  The cost of legal education could exceed $150,000, according to the Law School Admissions Council.  Tuition alone can range from a few thousand dollars to more than $50,000 a year.  When calculating the total cost of attending law school, you also have to include the cost of housing, food, books, transportation, and personal expenses.  For more information, go to lsac.org.