Can I survive slumming it in San Francisco?

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by philopower

Thanks for all the recommendations guys! So SF doesn't seem realistic so I think I'm going to look at SD with more focus. Definitely not doing Sacramento (one of my main reasons in getting out of Texas is to get out of the heat) although it seems like a great place to live. I also have a car as well.

Just one more question about possibly moving to SF and please don't shoot me when I ask this: So I was talking to the veterans office and they told me I would qualify for the tuition fee waiver as long as I didn't make over the income requirement. I asked him how can people survive a year on that and he straight up told me I should get food stamps.

So what do yall think? If I moved to SF, spent 500 on rent, and had food stamps could I survive comfortably?

If you come here with no pretense, no sense of entitlement, and no shame you'll be able to live here pretty easily. You're not going to be buying BMW's, living in a trendy SoMa loft, paying top dollar at the best nightclubs.. just living cheaply with the collective income of you and a few other poor people, working your butt off and connecting with other law-type people. In that sense the poor have it much easier in SF because they don't have to think ahead. They'll always be able to hack it somehow.

[felinius]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

OP, of course you can do this. For God's sake, don't move to Sacramento. I used to live there. It is NOTHING like the SF Bay Area. Sorry, Sacto fans, but it's a totally different vibe in Sacto.

The colleges in CA don't get to ignore their own rules. If the rules say 356 days or whatever you said, then that's what it is. They aren't going to sabotage you because you are from out of state. If they wanted to do that, they'd say you had to be born here. Sheesh. There's no attitude about people moving to CA to take advantage of the tuition. Where do people get this stuff?

No, there is nothing like the SF Bay, and I agree. As a college student, it's THE best option when you are living on a very small budget. I used to pay $400 a month for a room, including utilities. You're going to struggle to find that in the Bay.

And I love how you're downplaying advice of people who have actually gone through the process. Have you attempted to become a CA resident as a college student? How long ago was that?

The residency rules are loose enough that they will get you for ANYTHING. They don't have to sabotage you: they will find anything of yours out of line and straight out DENY you based on residency requirements for that year.

They do not like when people come here for tuition purposes only. You have to want to stay in California to make it your home and you can clearly see this on all of the different residency pages.

[skyao]

I think the issue is that the acceptance rate UCLA Law is 20% and Berkeley Law is about 10%. Seems like people high doubt the OP will even get into either of these law schools. OP should at least post his/her GPA and expected LSAT score to give more information.

Throw on top of that it can be difficult to get residency for tuition purposes in CA. Let's put the chances are 50% the OP can qualify for residency.

Without knowing anything else about this student, that puts the chances of both coming through at a range of 5%-10%. I havent taken stats in a while so this is probably not exact but you get the idea.

When I applied for residency I was already an enrolled student. I think the tuition waiver says you have to attend a CA school, which implies you already have to be enrolled (not applying).

So it seems possible, but not very probable.


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[Ruth4Truth]

Well, the OP has plenty of input now on both sides of the coin. Let us know how you do, OP, and where you decide to do it. And let us know if you get into law school!

I'm still looking forward to reading a blow-by-blow report.

[philopower]

So I looked into it more and here's what I came up with:

My dad is currently 10% disabled but is applying for a 100% disability, if he's approved the 12k limit is null so I could actually find a decent job, make an unlimited amount, and still take advantage of the tuition waiver.

If he isn't approved, the 12k only refers to my income of Fiscal Year 2014. So I could move to the Bay in August, find a cheap place, go job hunting for something that pays around 2k a month and survive until December when I hear back from law schools. Take into account that my parents will be covering health insurance and cell phone during this time (we won't be reporting it of course). If I get rejected that December I pack my bags and head back to Texas. Oh and just FYI, if "**** hits the fan" at anytime during my stay my parents of course would buy me a one way plane ticket back to Texas, I'm grateful because I do in fact have resources at my disposal.

If I am accepted: I spoke with the counselor again and she told me that residency will actually be very easy since I'm going to be 24 by the time I matriculate. This means that I'm considered financially independent and exempt from having to prove that my parents didn't help me. Of course I'm still going to have a prepared budget to prove that I've been living on my own, but that's just a precaution. Also that would mean I could only make 12k in 2015, and that's when the real struggling will start.

And just for reference: I have a 3.7 GPA, shooting for at least a 165 on the test, and I'm an URM (if you don't know what that is look up "urm law school".

Thanks to everyone who commented and I definitely am set on making the move to the bay this August. Shoutout to NoMoreSnowForMe for the positivity!

[skyao]

URM sounds like an acronym for affimative action.

If your GPA and LSAT truly are what you expect and you are URM then I would encourage you to apply to all the top law schools, even those ranked higher than UCLA or Berkeley outside of CA as well. If that is the case you should apply to all the top law schools and perhaps get a scholarship.

It seems also you could get a full ride at UT Law with those scores, GPA, and URM status, but I can understand wanting to leave Texas. I left Texas for Berkeley and applied for residency and got it. Of course this was a long time ago when it was much easier to apply for residency.

good luck.

Originally Posted by philopower

So I looked into it more and here's with what I came up:

My dad is currently 10% disabled but is applying for a 100% disability, if he's approved the 12k limit is null so I could actually find a decent job, make an unlimited amount, and still take advantage of the tuition waiver.

If he isn't approved, the 12k only refers to my income of Fiscal Year 2014. So I could move to the Bay in August, find a cheap place, go job hunting for something that pays around 2k a month and survive until December when I hear back from law schools. Take into account that my parents will be covering health insurance and cell phone during this time (we won't be reporting it of course). If I get rejected that December I pack my bags and head back to Texas. Oh and just FYI, if "**** hits the fan" at anytime during my stay my parents of course would buy me a one way plane ticket back to Texas, I'm grateful because I do in fact have resources at my disposal.

If I am accepted: I spoke with the counselor again and she told me that residency will actually be very easy since I'm going to be 24 by the time I matriculate. This means that I'm considered financially independent and exempt from having to prove that my parents didn't help me. Of course I'm still going to have a prepared budget to prove that I've been living on my own, but that's just a precaution. Also that would mean I could only make 12k in 2015, and that's when the real struggling will start.

And just for reference: I have a 3.7 GPA, shooting for at least a 165 on the test, and I'm an URM (if you don't know what that is look up "urm law school".

Thanks to everyone who commented and I definitely am set on making the move to the bay this August. Shoutout to NoMoreSnowForMe for the positivity!

[philopower]

Originally Posted by skyao

URM sounds like an acronym for affimative action.

If your GPA and LSAT truly are what you expect and you are URM then I would encourage you to apply to all the top law schools, even those ranked higher than UCLA or Berkeley outside of CA as well. If that is the case you should apply to all the top law schools and perhaps get a scholarship.

It seems also you could get a full ride at UT Law with those scores, GPA, and URM status, but I can understand wanting to leave Texas. I left Texas for Berkeley and applied for residency and got it. Of course this was a long time ago when it was much easier to apply for residency.

good luck.

Yeah I'm applying to a bunch of top schools. UT Law is fantastic and I love living in Austin. I'd obviously go to UT if I get rejected from Berkeley, but I'd like to leave the Austin area for the sake of my health. The central Texas hill country region is notorious for "cedar fever" which is horrific allergies because of the abundance of cedar trees. Ughh.

[West Coast Republican]

I think you could, but it won't be fun. You would also be living in a very crowded apartment or small house because you'll need all the roommates you can get to share rent.

And some of the slums in San Fran are not safe at all!

The jobs do pay more here so it works out, but the main issue is going to be accepting a serious downsize in housing. I recommend you look for a much better paying job than minimum wage.
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[silverkris]

Originally Posted by philopower

Yeah I'm applying to a bunch of top schools. UT Law is fantastic and I love living in Austin. I'd obviously go to UT if I get rejected from Berkeley, but I'd like to leave the Austin area for the sake of my health. The central Texas hill country region is notorious for "cedar fever" which is horrific allergies because of the abundance of cedar trees. Ughh.

UT Law is pretty darned good - it rejected George W. Bush, which shows that it's got higher standards than Harvard B-School!

[hjt123]

You could do it in LA. You can get a room or even studio for $500-600 in a slightly hood but still central area. You wouldn't necessarily need a car either and it would be easier to be car-free in many parts of LA than in a Bay Area suburb like Concord. The Houston comparison is inaccurate, LA is far more dense, transit accessible, and vibrant.