Law School, Finally

October 19, 2017, Montgomery, AL

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I’m in law school and I’m living in Alabama. It all happened so fast. Life is funny. It’s like I got a 2^nd chance. I was accepted into University of Alabama for college and my parents begged me not to go, so I stayed home and ewent to Purdue Calumet. I ended up droppinmg out twice before I finally got it together and transferred down to West Lafayette.

                Anyhow, circumstances prevented me from going to law school for so long. Some real, some imagined.

                Finally, 17 years after graduating college, I took the LSAT. I took it in June, the last possible chance for the coming school year. My original plan was to go to IUPUI in the evening and keep my teaching job. That seemed the most sensible and required the least amount of change. I would have had to go to class M-F 5:30 – 7:30 pm and some Saturdays. I began to worry that it might be too much for me. I asked Mr. Gavia last year for his advice and he said that working full time and law school is doable – but not teaching full time and law school. Teaching is a whole other ball game.

                Speaking of ball games, the Cubs lost tonight and are out of the playoffs. They made it pretty far, but no back to back championship.

                Anyhow, back to law school. I applied to IUPUI in April, around the time I registered for the LSAT. They said they wouldn’t be able to make a decision until my score came back in July.

                Now that I was registered on LSAC (Law School Admission Council) I started to receive recruitment emails from schools all across the country. The key word that interested me was, “scholarship.” A couple of schools offered up to full tuition, so I applied there. One was Barry in Orlando, Florida. My brother, Brian, had just moved to Tamp with his family, so I thought it might be nice to be down there with them. In addition, my boyfriend, Geoff, was being (or attempted to be) persuaded by his ex to move to Florida because she wanted to move there (and the kids, of course). I thought it was kismet. Then on LSAT message boards, I saw Barry being ridiculed and found out they had some bad stats on bar passing and work. In the end, they didn’t offer me a full scholarship, so I definitely wasn’t interested.

                Another school in Arizona offered scholarship. My cousin, Teresa, lives in Arizona, so I thought thatmight be nice. After a google search, though, I found that thy were on the verge of losing their accreditation. That was a no.

                The LSAT scores came in. I got 156. It was about 67% percentile if I remember correctly. I thought it was just average. Apparently, it was better than I thought.

                I got an email from a school in Alabama with the magic words, “up to full scholarship.” Of course, I have family in Alabama. This school was in Montgomery, which was far from family (l further south) so that was a little disappointing.

                However, I had come to visit Montgomery earlier this summer during my road trip. I went to the ADAH (Alabama Department of Archives and History) for genealogy research. I only briefly drove through the town, but I thought it was nice enough. Definitely a better impression than I got of Birmingham.

                So I did a google search and there were no scandals, ridicule or accreditation issues. Their rank was lower than IUPUI, but the stats for post grad employment and bar passage rate seemed comparable.

                I emailed the place back. “Tell me more about the scholarships.” I got an email back from Director of Admissions, telling me to give him a call to discuss. So I did. 

                I remember lying down on my bed in Beech Grove (Indianapolis) during our conversation. I grabbed whatever I could to take notes. Based on my stats he said I could qualify for a full scholarship! What about living expenses? You have to take out loans for that. Oh L

                I was REALLY hoping to have room and board included like they do sometimes for undergrads.

                Full scholarship is still good, so I apply.

                I’m still waiting on IUPUI.

                Faulkner gives me the okay! Full scholarship - $39,000 a year for all three years. Awesome!

                But then panic. I have to quit my job and move over 500 miles away in less than 3 weeks! And I have to take out EVEN MORE student loans. I already have undergrad and Masters loans.

                I’m hoping IUPUI can match it. They finally admit me and give me the number - $3k scholarship of $11k tuition.

                Wah wah.

                I had already explained to them that I had another offer. When I wasn’t happy with $3k, they asked me to send them a copy of my offer letter from Faulkner so they could, “see what (they) could do.”

                There’s some back and forth and they offer $10.5k – but not of 11k – it’s for about $20k. It ends up being about 50%. This is their final offer.

                I. Am. Torn.

                I absolutely can not imagine packing up my entire life in my 2008 Dodge Caliber and moving to Alabama.

                I really don’t want to take out loans for living expenses.

                But I’m going to have to take out loans either way.

                I talk to my boss, Tamara. Her niece just graduated from IUPUI law school. She calls her on speaker to ask for her take. “Got with the full ride,” she says.

                Then my parents weigh in. Just as they did 22 years prior, they beg me not to go. My dad even texted me about it. It pushed me to the edge. I sobbed. I was completely torn.

                I remembered how I missed the chance to go to University of Alabama before. I remembered flunking out of the “safe school” I remember the unhappiness.

                So I quit my job. I packed my car. And here I am.