<p>Back in the dark ages , my brother was rejected from every single law school he applied to. He got into a start up which wasn’t even accredited those days, and worked his way through there in abject poverty. No one thought he made the right choice. He married and the wife pretty much carried the living expenses. As everyone predicted, he could find no job after graduating and passing the bar, and took a job as a lowly clerk making little over min wage at a county office, not a job even requiring a college degree. </p>
<p>Won’t go into detail any further but in about 5 years he had a law practice that was in the black and then took off. LOves what he’s doing. Knew he loved law. He actually had a master’s in education and pretty much guaranteed job as a college coach but hated it. He really wanted to be an attorney, and he got there. BUt it was a long detour that meant some lean years and it could have had different results. </p>
<p>CP…good on your brother and if I ever get caught in a felony I would like call someone who was darn near the bottom of our class but is a great lawyer. The point I was attempting to make is these kids hear about the big salaries at big firms and base their dreams on that. But it’s so many people chasing just a few spots. Few people get there even when they really want to and really work. Fewer yet maybe capable of succeeding as a high dollar solo/entreprenuer.</p>
<p>I’m happy in my not-corporate life but no law student would go to law school for my salary. </p>
<p>The question was “how is law school feasable for middle class families.”</p>
<p>The answer is that students take out loans if their parents won’t or can’t pay.</p>
<p>When you get out you pay down your debt <em>if</em> you get a good paying associate position.</p>
<p>The legal market seems to be contracting, generally, so I would expect it to be a shrinking profession going forward.
“Our state supreme court has exactly one T14 JD. Three of other four have JD’s from U of A or ASU (although notably, most twenty years ago). Our Court of Appeals are about evenly divided.”</p>
<p>State courts are generally not considered prestige positions by T14 JD’s. The brass ring is clerking for the U.S. Supreme Court. So, state positions are wide open to regional/state school students and I would expect this to be true across careers.</p>
<p>I would much rather have a six figure FedGovJob like ALJ than I would be a member of the state judiciary. It’s not even on my radar as a professional destination. </p>
<p>Granted, I don’t even have an interest in the law, so I’m not sure how much my thoughts are helpful. </p>
<p>I picked this career out of the career vending machine when it still worked.</p>
<p>Tempemom, he graduated at the very top of his class, but it was not a school that was much recognized then. It was accredited by the time he got his degree. Not when he started. And he is not in criminal law. He wanted to do this and so he did, and showed that he could be done successfully. And, yes, in his field, in his area, he is known as top dog.</p>
<p>And with the exception of UC Davis, most students attending those privates as undergrads are full pay. Thus, there is no doubt that there are plenty of full pay ability families for law (and med) school. But they are generally not considered “middle class”, the object of this thread.</p>
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<p>Sure they do, lots of 'em. Just mosey on over to the blog focused on law school admissions and search for all of the threads that say, “Columbia/NYU at sticker vs. lower T14 with merit money? But, parents/grandparents et al will pay tuition and/or will pay housing and/or will contribute xx $ so loans will not be a big concern…”</p>
<p>“Sure they do, lots of 'em. Just mosey on over to the blog focused on law school admissions and search for all of the threads that say, “Columbia/NYU at sticker vs. lower T14 with merit money? But, parents/grandparents et al will pay tuition and/or will pay housing and/or will contribute xx $ so loans will not be a big concern…””</p>
<p>I was talking about middle class students.</p>
<p>Lots of wealthier parents pay for law school.</p>
<p>My other roommate was fully funded by his parents, who had plenty of money.</p>
<p>The Columbia/NYU question is more of a “do I want to live in New York question”, which has nothing to do with money. I mean, you go where you feel like going when you have the money to go.</p>
<p>You also go where you feel like going when you don’t have the money to go, thanks to the magic of massive loans!</p>
<p>The answer is that middle class parent’s don’t pay for law school.</p>
<p>Because they generally <em>can’t</em> pay for law school, since they normally don’t have $200,000 laying around not doing anything.</p>
<p>@Hanna, I agree re: the deleterious effects of the current situation.</p>
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Hey, I dropped out! @dadofsam can confirm this. Of course, my reasons for leaving were more about personal issues, but I saw little reason to be railroaded into finishing in three years. </p>