I wanted to write a quick update on law school applications, and I’ll start by ripping the Band-Aid off: as expected, I didn’t get into Yale Law. I wasn’t expecting to at all - I did well on the LSAT and have more work experience than the average applicant, but I also had then-untreated anxiety and depression dragging down my undergraduate GPA and Yale, being Yale, can afford to weed out all but the most stellar applicants in the country. I’m pretty chill about it, though it’s very flattering how furious some of my friends are on my behalf.
On to the good news!
I’ve been accepted to 3 of the 5 places I applied: Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT, Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, and Western New England University in Springfield, MA. Quinnipiac offered me a $30k a year scholarship, which covers about 60% of tuition, and Roger Williams and WNEU both offered me full-tuition scholarships. I’m still waiting to hear back from UConn, my beloved undergraduate alma mater with an excellent law school, but I’m thrilled to death with the offers I’ve received so far.
One of my main fears about doing this was making it work financially. I’ve been lucky to have a job that pays quite well the past several years, and though I taught myself to be diligent about budgeting and spending wisely to pay off debts, I paid off my last source of debt in December 2019 and then got a lot more slack about budgeting. The pandemic was hard on us all, so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself about my Uber Eats habit or the online shopping, but I’m also aware I’m going to need to break those habits and be more financially responsible to avoid taking on too much debt when I stop working full-time to attend law school.
Knowing that I have the option to go to law school without having to worry about tuition at all is a huge relief. I have decent savings and I plan to work part-time to help cover expenses during law school. (I also plan to work in law over the summers, and these are generally paid positions, though not always.) With those sources of income, I can keep my debt to a minimum or possibly even avoid it altogether.
I don’t know yet where I’m going to go. I don’t plan to decide until after I hear from UConn, which likely won’t happen until January (according to my status checker, they haven’t started reviewing me yet), and after that I’ll have to weigh what the cost of attendance would be at each place, where will best set me up for a career in law, where I’d like to live/if I can avoid moving again, and the overall vibes I get once I’ve had a chance to visit each school. (I feel a little like I’m 17 again, visiting colleges!)
It’s hard to describe how it feels beyond sheer excitement and relief. When I got the first acceptance from Quinnipiac, I was so excited I actually felt dizzy, and part of me still feels that way. I haven’t even really gotten settled enough to think logically about next steps (I will in time, I know myself that well). It just feels like this crazy-ass plan of mine is actually working and it makes me so happy.
Alright, back to watching the Washington Capitals. I’m very grateful for streaming services allowing me to keep watching my favorite hockey team - even with the wonderful NBC Sports Washington TV team! - from Connecticut and so excited for Alex Ovechkin to catch and surpass Gordie Howe on the all-time goals list. Maybe even tonight!