Fulbright Scholarship vs Working for a Year

lsatings

So, I have a question for everyone about what will benefit me more. I was recently accepted into the Fulbright Scholarship program and will get funding to work abroad for a year. The program is extremely competitive to be admitted into, and I'm thrilled at the chance of traveling and working for a full year before going to law school -- especially because I have career interests in international/transnational law.

However, I have no money of my own and my parents will not be paying for law school. I will not be making money during my year abroad, and I will be coming back just a month or so before law school starts and won't have much time to get a job or save any money at all. My undergraduate loans during my year abroad will have to be deferred.

Obviously finances are a major concern for me, and graduating a top law school with minimal debt but with solid job prospects is my ideal situation. But, turning down the Fulbright scholarship because of financial reasons is a hard pill to swallow, especially when considering all the months of work, time, sifting through painful feedback, and interviews I went through in order to get it. I would like to have a better idea of what others are doing, or what other people know in terms of financing law school so I can be pushed in the right direction or set up a game plan for myself, because at this point my joy at being selected for Fulbright is being met with my anxiety about paying for law school.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sean_333

First off, congratulations! I know this issue is a tough one but it's a good problem to have. I cannot give you a straight answer without fully understanding your finances, not asking for that. From the sounds of it though and with your credentials, you should be okay taking on the amount of debt you would incur from a top school. With that background and work ethic you will be able to pay off the loans. If this is what you really want, don't let anything get in the way of that. You've worked too hard to get here. Now is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Life is full of uncertainty. You wouldn't want to look back on this decision in 20 years and think to yourself..."What would it have been like if I took the scholarship and followed my dreams?". Push the limits and step outside of your comfort zone. Best of luck with whatever you so choose! If you have a paypal/google wallet account, send me a private message. I would love to make a small donation.

Sean

Pacifico

In all likelihood you're not going to be able to save that much money in a year to make a significant difference. The Fulbright will pay far more dividends in the long run than saving up $20k or something like that. I'm very debt averse having graduated UG with $90k in loans but this would be a no brainer to me. You'll get a priceless experience doing the Fulbright and I highly doubt you would regret taking the opportunity. And it's another feather on the scale for admissions so there's that as well. You're graduating law school with debt regardless, so I say go for it.

Cant Get Right

Do both. Unless you have already applied and accepted an offer somewhere, why not? If you can't pay for school without working, then you've got to work. So your real decision is are you more committed to your one year timeline or to the opportunity the Fulbright gives you. I say take the Fulbright all day long. Law schools will still be there the following year. Congrats on winning that, it's a huge deal and is going to look great on your apps.

runiggyrun

It's not clear from your post if you've already been accepted to a law school, because that would change the circumstances a bit.
Not enough to turn down a Fulbright though - as @Pacifico already alluded to, the kind of job you would likely be getting straight out of undergrad won't make that huge of a dent in law school debt burden - once you factor in taxes, cost of living and so on, I doubt you'd be able to save more than 15-20k. That wouldn't be enough (in my very humble, very personal opinion) to turn down the once in a lifetime opportunity the Fulbright would offer - not just in terms of experiences, but also in terms of making you stand out at OCI's after your first year of law school.
If you haven't been accepted, it would definitely be a strong soft that would help with admissions. I'm not sure what the rest of your application and numbers look like, but I'll go ahead and assume they look pretty good. You have the credentials and work ethic to get a super competitive scholarship, you probably did well in school and with the LSAT. If you're aiming for HYS then the debt burden is yours alone, but you shouldn't have much trouble getting a good job to take care of that debt. If you're aiming anywhere lower, you should be able to "trade" a couple of ranking points for scholarship money (I'm not talking full ride at Arizona Summit vs sticker at Harvard, but rather significant money at Penn vs sticker at Harvard).
Either way, congratulations, and hopefully you enjoy your year abroad!

7sagelsatstudent180

Take the Fulbright... Unless you have a six figure Wall Street job lined up, this is a no brainer. This will pay off ten fold any money you could possibly save by working

Cant Get Right

I still say do both. Working a shitty job for a year is great life experience. Wait tables or something.

Alejandro

what @Pacifico said; do the Fulbright!! If minimizing debt is a must then go to a school that will give you a large chunk of scholly money. There is a balance between going further down the ranks for more money though so be mindful of that!

twssmith

@lsatings Congratulations on an amazing opportunity! I have so much respect for you and your deliberate evaluation about your future. As a mom of daughters not far behind you in age, I would hope they would seize such an opportunity without regrets to expand their world and experiences that will have a far-reaching impact on their life and their future.

@lsatings said:
I'm thrilled at the chance of traveling and working for a full year before going to law school -- especially because I have career interests in international/transnational law.

@lsatings said:
especially when considering all the months of work, time, sifting through painful feedback, and interviews I went through in order to get it.

If you need any help packing, just let me know. All the best:)

lsatings

@"Sean_333" said:
You wouldn't want to look back on this decision in 20 years and think to yourself..."What would it have been like if I took the scholarship and followed my dreams?".

This is true. I haven't traveled in a while due to financial constraints, which was part of the reason why I needed this Fulbright grant to do so. I have to keep a perspective on things, thank you.

@Pacifico said:
The Fulbright will pay far more dividends in the long run than saving up $20k or something like that.

$20K was actually what I had calculated my projected savings to be. I didn't grow up with a lot of money so to me, having a year of living expenses figured out for my target cities (DC/NYC) was a pretty good deal. But you're right, I need to start considering the value of actually *being* in Fulbright and move beyond just looking at the numbers.

@7sagelsatstudent180 said:
Unless you have a six figure Wall Street job lined up

A girl can dream!

@runiggyrun said:
It's not clear from your post if you've already been accepted to a law school, because that would change the circumstances a bit.

Sorry, I should clarify. I'm not accepted into law school nor have I applied. I have all of my application materials completed (essays, letters of rec, resume updated/formatted, transcripts submitted, fee waivers processed, etc) and am only waiting on sitting for the June LSAT (fingers crossed it all goes well) before I go ahead and apply. I'll be submitting applications this fall.

@runiggyrun said:
If you're aiming for HYS then the debt burden is yours alone, but you shouldn't have much trouble getting a good job to take care of that debt. If you're aiming anywhere lower, you should be able to "trade" a couple of ranking points for scholarship money (I'm not talking full ride at Arizona Summit vs sticker at Harvard, but rather significant money at Penn vs sticker at Harvard).

I'm don't think I'm HYS material! I wish! But I am aiming for top 14, preferably top 7. I was hoping I could get a high enough LSAT score to negotiate scholarships.

@runiggyrun said:
Either way, congratulations, and hopefully you enjoy your year abroad!

Haha thank you. I was really unsure about it all until I read all the lovely comments. I'm feeling better, but definitely think I need to do more research so I can relax.

@"Can’t Get Right" said:
Working a shitty job for a year is great life experience. Wait tables or something.

I currently work at an NGO on weekdays and as a barista in a coffee shop on weekends. Between all of that I do LSAT studying. Providing customer service in a food industry builds lots of character. Shitty jobs I can definitely do.

@Alejandro said:
There is a balance between going further down the ranks for more money though so be mindful of that!

Oh, definitely! I'm very committed to 'top14 or bust' (regardless of how critical people can be of that mindset -- it has its merits)!

@twssmith said:
As a mom of daughters not far behind you in age, I would hope they would seize such an opportunity without regrets to expand their world and experiences that will have a far-reaching impact on their life and their future.

I really enjoyed reading your comment! I grew up with a single mom so being money conscious was pretty big in our home. Thank you for the lovely advice!

Cant Get Right

@lsatings
Sounds to me like you're ready then! Give 'em hell!

tamnRNC2

Do you enjoy working at the NGO or coffee shop? Do they offer opportunities for growth? Would you be able to align either jobs with your future law school goals? For example, a future legal-related position at the NGO? Would you continue either jobs during law school? If either of these jobs lead to a future where to want to be either during or after law school, then continue employment and turn down the Fulbright. If not, then I would take the Fulbright and work aboard. Congrats and best of luck with your decisions.

runiggyrun

I just wanted to say that you sound like you have an excellent head on your shoulders, and that's an asset that no amount of prep can give you and that will serve you very well in life. You're humble but "gritty" and willing to work hard, and you haven't had things handed to you on a silver platter, and the mother in me thinks you deserve to get out and enjoy that year abroad you worked so hard for. After all, you're not here asking if you should take a year off and surf the world's 10 best beaches (although I would probably be inclined to say yes to that as well, because you only live once and that sort of thing gets a lot more difficult to do later in life, but I digress).
Worst case scenario, you get accepted without money somewhere you really want to go to and you defer a year to save up some cash. Best case, you kill June and T14's trip over themselves to accept you with big scholarships.
I'm really rooting for the latter. Hang around and let us know how it all unfolds!

Nicole Hopkins

Just plan on financing cost of living like the rest of us without financial support. That's what big law is meant to do

lsatings

When I decided to publish this post I did not anticipate all the support and encouragement I would receive from everyone. I want to thank you all for being so reassuring and pushing me in a direction you would want for yourself (or your kids!).

@tamnRNC2 said:
Do you enjoy working at the NGO or coffee shop? Do they offer opportunities for growth?

Yes, at the NGO I do, but at the coffee shop I like my coworkers and not much else.

@tamnRNC2 said:
Would you be able to align either jobs with your future law school goals?

Nope very little room for growth currently and even if there was, not exactly where I'd like to see myself 5-10 years from now.

@runiggyrun said:
I'm really rooting for the latter. Hang around and let us know how it all unfolds!

Thank you! When I wrote this post I never imagined I would get this much support.

@"Can’t Get Right" said:
Give 'em hell!

Will do

DumbHollywoodActor

I’ll keep it simple: Take the Fulbright! You can’t put a price tag on that kind of experience.

Pacifico

But if you could it would be well over $20k!

Chipster Study

Well, from someone who has worked many, many years - there are going to be enough work years in your life, but only one chance likely to do the Fulbright. Congratulations, take the Fellowship and be careful talking to strange men ;-)

mes08

Congrats, that's a great dilemma to have! I wish I was in your shoes As others have voiced, I would definitely go for the Fulbright. I have many friends who won the Fulbright (as did my mom) and from what I've been told, it's been an amazing, rewarding experience. Not only is living abroad a life-changing experience, but as far as I know, for graduate and law school, being a Fulbright scholar is highly prestigious and unique; I think it'll definitely boost your chances of admissions/scholarships.

Like Pacifico mentioned, if you forego the Fulbright in order to work and save up, you're not really going to be able to save up a substantial amount of money and as far as boosting admissions chances, you already have work experience under your belt.

If you don't get the LSAT score you want in June, do the Fulbright and then take the following year to work and re-take the LSAT. No matter what though, I strongly advise you to go for the Fulbright; you might not ever get such a chance again. You'll always have the chance to go work lol...

As far as law school debt, there's loan repayment assistance plans at T-14 schools and big law jobs after law school with good salaries. I think you'll be ok