I checked out my final exam schedule earlier this week and received a pleasant surprise. Our final exam schedule runs from April 27-May 8 but both of my final exams are in April. That means next month is my last month of law school. My graduation isn’t until May 9 and I don’t leave for my hike until May 11 so I’ll have plenty of free time at the beginning of May. I do still have to finish my R&W but I should be close to finishing by then.
Law School
Final Semester Over Halfway Done
I have passed the halfway point of my final semester of law school. I wish I could say I am getting excited about getting my degree but I’m just looking forward to being done with law school. At this point I just want it to be over with. We did have our grad fair this week which made me feel like the end was getting somewhat closer. I had to pay $60 to rent a cap, gown, and hood for the graduation ceremony. I probably wouldn’t even walk but I know my mother and others are looking forward to it. After I graduate though I’m going to start doing things more for me and less for others.
The Research and Writing Requirement
In order to graduate my school has a research and writing requirement that can be satisfied by the completion of a 30 page paper. Most schools have a similar requirement. It is actually an ABA requirement that law students must take at least one course as a 2L or 3L that requires the writing of a paper for credit.
As with most things in law school I have procrastinated in fulfilling this requirement. This is my last semester though so I can’t put it off any longer. I’ll have to write thirty pages over the next two months which I’m not looking forward to. I like writing in general but not legal writing. I plan on working on it an hour at a time and it will eventually get done.
For any of you current or soon to be law students I would advise starting your R&W before your last semester or at least starting on it promptly at the beginning of your last semester.
Consolidating My Student Loans
Now that I have received all the student loans that I am going to receive I have begun the process of looking into consolidating my student loans. I have Subsidized Stafford Loans, Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, and Grad Plus loans with two different lenders. I’m not sure if my lenders would send me one bill each for all of my loans but I know when I log into my accounts they calculate the payment separately for each loan. Consolidating my loans will make paying back my loans simpler.
My primary reason for wanting to consolidate my loans is to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. In order to qualify for this program you need to have your loans in the Direct loan program. It is my understanding that even if you have already consolidated your loans you can switch to the Direct loan program to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This program will forgive remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments. That could end up being a great deal for me. The only downside is that the forgiven debt will be considered income which would result in a large tax bill.
Once I have completed the loan consolidation process I will provide an update on my experience getting my loans consolidated.
Complete Your Character and Fitness Application Early
You have the option of submitting character and fitness application for the state bar early during your first two years of law school. You’ll receive a discount of about $200 for filing early. A more important reason for filing early is to get it out of the way so it is one less thing for you to worry about when you are preparing for graduation and studying for the bar. I didn’t submit my application early and I wish I had. I have not started my application yet but just looking at it I can tell it is going to take a major chunk of time to complete.
One of the requirements of the application is that you list everywhere you have lived since you were 18. That might not be a big deal for a 25 year old but for a peripatetic 41 year old like me it is going to be a major pain in the ass. I have lived more places than I can remember. Hopefully, I will be able to come up with all of the addresses by looking at my credit report and my tax records. This will take a lot of time though and it isn’t the only part of the application that will require a lot of time. If you have the option to apply early for your character and fitness determination in your state I highly recommend you do so.