Law School

I love how perspective means everything. I absolutely wanted to get into the University of Denver's Law School. I visited it two years ago and had a distinct impression that it is where I need to go. After many different phases of life I still thought it is. I still feel that way now. But I threw out a University of Colorado-Boulder application also just to see. I was rejected. I wasn't very sad actually. I knew I wanted to go to DU, but the instate tuition was tempting, and the instate tuition not being connected to GPA was very tempting. So I started to think that CU was for me.

Well, I was accepted to the University of Denver with a 15,000K/year scholarship conditional on a 3.0 GPA. When I started studying for the LSAT and was practicing at pretty bad scores I would have been ecstatic about this. But now my rejection at CU makes me kind of bummed. Not that I would have attended, it is mostly a pride thing--I just want to say I got in and chose a lower ranked school. I am an idiot, I know, but it was still my feeling.

Well, that really isn't a big deal. I wanted to go to DU and I got a great scholarship. Also, it should be known that I am a horrible student, and by some stroke of miracle I somehow did well on the LSAT and did well at BYU. I don't know how it happened, but it happened. So I just feel so grateful that things have turned out so well.

But then I went to the DU admitted student's open house last weekend. It was rather depressing. Mostly because I thought that the student loan package that they give you would be increased because I have a wife and children (you can only take out as much as they anticipate the cost of living for a single person to be). You are not allowed to work your first year of law school, which further complicates the situation. When I asked the lady if they increase the cost of living for married people she said that they don't--it was their choice to get married, so they can reap the consequences. The strange caveat that she put in though was that if we put the kids in daycare they would increase the loans by 795$ per child/per month. I thought this was ludicrous. If you want your wife to raise your children and not put them in daycare they give you nothing, if you want to put them in daycare even if your wife can watch them they will give us 1590$ per month. I think it is insane to force people to put their kids in daycare even though a spouse can watch them. I just don't get it. It is going to be hard to go from a very family friendly school like BYU to a rather family unfriendly school like DU.

So that has me nervous about paying for law school. It is almost impossible to find an apartment for 700$ a month in an area that is safe. And the law says we have to have two bedrooms, so we can't skimp there.

So the point of this blog was to say that even though I should be beyond excited that I will be able to pursue a law degree at a great school with a half tuition scholarship I am now kind of feeling downtrodden. It is all perspective. I just want to go to school there and pay my bills, is that too much to ask?

I need to talk to some people who have done this and see how they did it. I knew having kids so young would be tough, but this particular trouble is very taxing mentally on me. Suggestions are welcome.