After a bit of consideration I decided to go ahead and apply to Alabama’s law school. The reason is really pretty simple. I stand a better shot of getting in there than I do Indiana (at least I think so) and in the grand scheme of things, Alabama makes a bit more sense than Indiana.
But what about Stanford (ha!), UCLA, and Georgetown? Yes, I’m still hoping to get in there… but as my father says “Wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one gets filled first.” Ok, it’s a bit crude… but you get the point, right? After all, Case’s decision changed things a bit. I’m trying to put one more level of safety in between me and “Really Bad Consequences.”
At any rate, there are some reasons that I like Alabama better than Indiana. The main premise here is that if I went to either the goal would be to work as hard as necessary to be at the top of the class (or very near it) in order to transfer to a school with a technology law program. Both Alabama and Indiana serve that purpose well. Alabama may actually be a BETTER place (slightly less competition, I’d guess) but since they’re both roughly the same, the pros and cons have to be sought elsewhere.
In Alabama’s favor, I don’t have to pack up and move anywhere. I’ve already got a place to live that’s INSANELY reasonable (price-wise), and a lot of the annoyances of moving all but disappear. To that end, I’m guessing that if I do get in to UCLA or Georgetown it’ll be after being waitlisted, so that means I may not get in until very late in the process… it would be much easier to pick up and leave here as I’m on a month-to-month rental agreement instead of a lease. From a less practical perspective, I’ve got a lot of friends around here and, while I wouldn’t really get to see them much, it couldn’t hurt to have some familiar faces around. Also one can’t forget about Football Season… and it’d be nice to see just one more before I leave.
To Indiana’s credit, they are ranked slightly higher than Alabama, so I guess that’d help when it comes to transferring. I also think if transferring DIDN’T work out, I’d prefer to get my J.D. from Indiana than Alabama.
If it came down to having to choose between Indiana and Alabama, I’m not sure which I’d pick, but it would be nice to have some options. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for UCLA or Georgetown, though.
Furthermore, this brings the application season to a close for every school that I’ve looked at except Tulane. If, for some reason, I get rejected at Alabama or Indiana before the middle of March I may fire off an application there, too… but I’m hoping I don’t have to do that.
Pete, I really don’t think you have anything to worry about with getting into Indiana. This waiting game does suck especially as certain places have deadlines that you have to meet not knowing what your other options are going to be. You either have to corner yourself into playing games with your future or relegate yourself to the fact that you could lose a good deal of money by playing it safe and keeping your options open. Whatever the case, I think you’re right on with your thoughts about ‘Bama and the ability to transfer. Everything I’ve read though says to assume you will not be able to transfer. Everybody goes in thinking they’re gonna finish in the top 25%, and as luck would have it, only 25% of the people get to do so!
Anyway, just some some food for thought.
Well, if you get into georgetown, at least you’d know somebody up here. I’m only a half hour away from there.
Yeah… a friend of mine goes to Maryland and actually lives in the same city that you do. Small world, eh?
yea, maybe, but having been in CircleK, I’ve got friends in more states than I don’t so…