<p>I'm interested in going to a school with a decent public interest program, as well as financial support/debt forgivement for graduates who choose to work for the government or for nonprofits. I know that NYU has one of the best programs, can anyone tell me what other schools might be a good match, or reasonable given my 3.3 GPA from Amherst? (I haven't taken the LSATs yet.) I also have 3 years of work history, all at nonprofit organizations, some national and some local.</p>
<p>Additionally, I am curious to know if people think that stating that I have little to no interest in doing corporate law in the essay will hurt my chances.</p>
<p>Generally, the better, more well-endowed schools have better debt forgiveness. Harvard is supposed to be excellent (but is a very big reach with a 3.3</p>
<p>Depending on the type of law you want to practice, it might not be necessary to go to a good school. Federal prosectutor's jobs are incredibly competitive; however, there isn't much of a line for public defenders. </p>
<p>Consider that, if you cannot get into a school with excellent debt forgiveness, that you have other routes. Some schools may offer you merit aid - so apply to a lot of schools to increase your chances of this. If you don't want a job upon graduation that is competitive, that might be a good route - letting a school "buy" you with scholarship money. You can also reduce your loans up-front by going to a less expensive school. If your state doesn't have a law school, you can probably get reciprocity from another state nearby. You can also move to a state and establish residency before applying. Also consider that schools in rural areas and schools that are not part of a large university tend to have lower aggregate costs than those in urban areas (about $5k/year extra in tuition and about $10k/year in housing) or that are part of larger universities (I've noticed that there is probably about an extra $5k added on to the cost of those schools - not sure why).</p>
<p>IMO, it depends on the school. Some schools are all about producing the attorneys who will dominate big-city law firms; others are very interested in producing citizen-lawyers who want to do more than make money.</p>
<p>windycity: Bill Gates just established full-ride scholarships at the Univ of Washington LS on the occasion of his father's 80th birthday. The recipients must agree to practice public interest law for 7 years.
[quote]
So when Bill Gates Sr. turned 80 Wednesday, his son surprised him with this: an 80-year scholarship program for the University of Washington School of Law in the elder Gates' name.</p>
<p>The length of the scholarship is a nod to Bill Gates Sr.'s age; the law school is his alma mater.</p>
<p>The cost: $33.3 million. The deal: Five students get a full-ride scholarship each year. In exchange, they commit to working seven years in public service after graduation for instance, for a legal aid or advocacy agency, a nonprofit, as a public defender or prosecutor.</p>
<p>The idea behind the scholarship is to encourage young lawyers to pursue public-service careers without the burden of huge student debt. The scholarship is unusual in that it goes beyond paying tuition and also covers room and board, academic supplies and internship costs.
<p>"I hadn't heard about this - I'm not sure if I would want to live in the Northwest, but it's definitely worth considering. Thanks for the find."</p>
<p>I have a couple friends that attended UW. Rainy it may be, but it is a great school with a gorgeous campus according to them. FWIW.</p>
<p>The better it seems, actually. . . I'm glad that more law schools have been funding public interest programs. Also thanks to Ariesathena for her advice.</p>
<p>It will not hurt your chances to be honest in your personal statement.</p>
<p>It's basically impossible to point you in the direction of particular law schools without at least a ballpark on your LSAT. That being said, given the 3.3, your best bet is probably aiming for merit scholarships (not only those aimed at public interest scholars like the Gates program) rather than for schools with debt forgiveness. Some kinds of public interest work are vastly more competitive than others. If you want to be a state public defender, a respected 2d or 3d tier local law school that gives you a merit scholarship may be an excellent choice. If you want to do appellate litigation for the ACLU, there will be much greater pressure to go to an excellent law school, and taking out loans might make more sense.</p>