How bad is Connecticut?

[tk421991]

What about Northeastern..and you can still commute to boston.
ggboy

I'm going to be applying to:

Yale
Haaaahvid (not the gun club)
BU
UCONN
Northeastern
Suffolk
Roger Williams

Yale and Harvard are no-brainers, if I get in, I'm in like Flint. I'd be happy with BU or UCONN. The last three are safeties. I took the LSAT on 6/6 (ironic) and I'm retaking again in October, right before I apply. I'm not crazy about Suffolk or Roger Williams. When I was in community college, I interned at the RI Attorney General's. Most of the prosecutors went to Suffolk and they didn't make much.

Wherever I go, I'm going to bust my ass as much as possible in order to get great grades and maybe transfer to a higher ranking school (say NEstern to BU).

I thought long and hard this year about where I want to be in 5 years or so and to be honest I want to get back to RI and get back to the good fight against the antis. NH is nice and "safe" and all for gun owners, but there's something in my brain that wants me to move back to RI and make a positive difference, if slight.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Higher property taxes, higher income taxes, higher sales taxes, and a sort of wash on gun laws. All things considered I go to CT for the income but stay in MA to keep the money in my pocket.

Exactly, even with having to pay MA every year, I make a lot more. Same job, same company, I make about $26k more a year to drive 30 minutes south to Hartford.

 

[JAD]

You can always go to UConn and live in Sturbridge 35 minute ride to UConn

UConn Law is in Hartford, not Storrs. Figure a bit longer- especially with traffic. 84 east out of Hartford in the later afternoon can take the better part of a half hour to get accross the river into East Hartford.
84 West going into Hartford is also rough at rush hour in the morning. Then figure in time to finagle Hartford city streets.

For example, I work in Hartford and decided to go to a bike race in Glastonbury on day after work. I took 84 to 2. My drive time was 45 minutes. (Thankfully they started later than advertised).

I drive about 10 miles to Hartford for work each day. My drive in is about 25-30 minutes. My trip home is usually about 40 minutes, sometimes longer. (And I don't go anywhere near 84).

 

[bigben111435]

No approved handgun list in CT would be the biggest firearms related benefit over MA in my opinion.

Your taxes may be higher depending on your income, CT has a sliding scale.


O ya, and you will be in a state where half of the people think they are New Yorkers, and the other half think they are New Englanders.

If there was a bridge over CT, I would take it.
Go to Suffolk.

 

[Peicemaker]

Yes. But you have to have a permit to purchase ammo in CT, and most mailorder places now require you to present a copy of it to fill the order. CT has a three permit system now, ammo, long-arms, pistol/carry. Ammo lets you purchase ammo. Longarm lets you purchase shotguns, rifles and ammo. Pistol/carry permit lets you purchase pistols, shotguns, rifles and ammo - and lets you carry. Since you have to go through permitting process for any of these permits, it makes sense to simply apply for pistol permit.

Sounds like Germany or England.

 

[crazymjb]

Why are you not applying to BC again? At the very least you can play their scholarship against other MA schools. Seems foolish to me to apply to BU with NEU/Suffolk as a safety and ignore BC. BC might be mildly less competative than BU, but the drop from BU to NEU is significant. Why close the door on the school that places the second most attorneys after Harvard in Boston, with less than 1/3rd the class size? Im biased(ish, I chose BC over BU, was in at both), but thats dumb. Howd you do on the LSAT? Score?

Xfers are easier said than done. As are getting excellent grades. Its a curve, so A work doesnt guarantee an A. Youd be better off retaking the LSAT if thats whats holding you back. Dont count on a transfer.

DAs dont make much no matter where they went to school. Suffolk is OK if you want to practice in Boston, but its OK at best. RW is meh, especially for boston. Same with UConn.

BigLaw's main draw is the money. Most dont want to do it, and most who do it dont stay with it. 160K a year out the door sounds good... until you realize you are essentially working 2+ jobs worth of hours. Some people thrive in it, most dont. The legal field is broad and ranges from compliance to business to legal aid to big law. Keep that in mind.

Harvard, BC, and BU rule Boston.


Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[tk421991]

Why are you not applying to BC again? At the very least you can play their scholarship against other MA schools. Seems foolish to me to apply to BU with NEU/Suffolk as a safety and ignore BC. BC might be mildly less competative than BU, but the drop from BU to NEU is significant. Why close the door on the school that places the second most attorneys after Harvard in Boston, with less than 1/3rd the class size? Im biased(ish, I chose BC over BU, was in at both), but thats dumb. Howd you do on the LSAT? Score?

Xfers are easier said than done. As are getting excellent grades. Its a curve, so A work doesnt guarantee an A. Youd be better off retaking the LSAT if thats whats holding you back. Dont count on a transfer.

DAs dont make much no matter where they went to school. Suffolk is OK if you want to practice in Boston, but its OK at best. RW is meh, especially for boston. Same with UConn.

BigLaw's main draw is the money. Most dont want to do it, and most who do it dont stay with it. 160K a year out the door sounds good... until you realize you are essentially working 2+ jobs worth of hours. Some people thrive in it, most dont. The legal field is broad and ranges from compliance to business to legal aid to big law. Keep that in mind.

Harvard, BC, and BU rule Boston.


Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

That's the thing though, I want to work in Rhode Island, not Boston. I'm not from Mass, I don't want to live in Mass permanently and RI is sort of a "medium" when it comes to New England. It's my home. Mass isn't.

I got a 153 on the LSAT so I'm going to retake in October. I originally started out with like 145s on all of the practice tests I took back in March/April so I went up 8 points. Now I need to go up another 10 or 20. To be perfectly honest I know I should've worked harder but now I know where my mistakes were made. I still have a 4.0 at my college.

I simply don't like BC. I took a LSAT prep course at BC. I have to pay for all these applications and they're $50 to $80 a piece. $75 x 8 with BC = $600.

You're thinking about getting a job in Boston. I'm looking to work in Providence or Newport or Warwick.

 

[CTpatriot]

Been weighing my options over the summer and I'm probably going to be attending law school in either Mass or Connecticut. RI only has one law school for me to apply to and it's not rated very well.

I would probably need an apartment close to the law school, which means I'd have to be in either Mass or CT. I wouldn't establish Mass residency because of how nutty Mass is in general.

But what about Connecticut? I saw the sticky in the CT gun laws area but it's three years old. I'm going to check out the CCDL website when I get home from work.

Also, how nutty is CT besides gun laws? I'd be looking at the area roughly a half hour away from Hartford, i.e. New Hartford, Avon, maybe along I84.

Canton, New Hartford, Barkhamsted, Winsted are cool. far enough from the libs. Easy to get permit.

 

[crazymjb]

BC will still have better placememt in RI than suffolk, NEU, RW, etc. You can also ask for hardship fee waivers from all these places for the apps.

Do you man, but I think your making a mistake, especially if you cant get your LSAT into the 160s. Also, if you dont want to live in the city, BC is one of the more easily commutable schools.

Law school is law school. Reputation is arguably most important. Its not going to be disneyworld no matter where you go.

Mike



Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[tk421991]

BC will still have better placememt in RI than suffolk, NEU, RW, etc. You can also ask for hardship fee waivers from all these places for the apps.

Do you man, but I think your making a mistake, especially if you cant get your LSAT into the 160s. Also, if you dont want to live in the city, BC is one of the more easily commutable schools.

Law school is law school. Reputation is arguably most important. Its not going to be disneyworld no matter where you go.

Mike



Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

I'm not expecting this to be easy however over the last couple years, I realized that I can pull off pretty much anything I want as long as I put in enough work, time and effort. Determination, commitment, you know, buzz words.

All I'm going to say is that if you look at attorneys who actually work in RI, they mostly go to one of two places - BU for the older guys who've been in the game since the 60s or 70s or RW.

I'll think about it.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

No approved handgun list in CT would be the biggest firearms related benefit over MA in my opinion.

Also, a much more effective appeal process for LTC denial; less application of "suitability" (it's a may issue system administrated like a shall issue one); and no "restriction" issue on carry licenses.

 

[crazymjb]

Not sure if those numbers even jive outside anecdotes, but that is probably more market driven than where people can get jobs. RW vs BC you are looking at a school with some of the best bar required placement in the US vs a school ranked close to 200th in the country. They dont compare.

BU is slightly more competative than BC, and BC is known to overlook LSAT for diverse/interesting students. Youll need that if you cant push your LSAT into the 160s. BU has slightly more national reach than BC, BC and BU are probably about on par regionally, with BC having a stronger network/more grad to grad loyalty.

If you can get harvard/yale, obviously go for it. But can you push your LSAT into the mid 170s? Its going to be tough. I was getting around 172 on the practice tests and dropped to 165 on the real one. My GPA was too low to bother retaking for Harvard, and that was enough for BU/BC with good scholarship money. I also was military and STEM which is very helpful.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[xtry51]

If you're choosing between MA and CT, it depends on where you want to live in MA. The only upside to CT over MA is the permit is guaranteed unless you are a felon. There's no effective "discrection" by local cops, its controlled by the state.

That said I'd live in a cardboard box while gathering cans for a living before I would ever move back to CT.

 

[tk421991]

Not sure if those numbers even jive outside anecdotes, but that is probably more market driven than where people can get jobs. RW vs BC you are looking at a school with some of the best bar required placement in the US vs a school ranked close to 200th in the country. They dont compare.

BU is slightly more competative than BC, and BC is known to overlook LSAT for diverse/interesting students. Youll need that if you cant push your LSAT into the 160s. BU has slightly more national reach than BC, BC and BU are probably about on par regionally, with BC having a stronger network/more grad to grad loyalty.

If you can get harvard/yale, obviously go for it. But can you push your LSAT into the mid 170s? Its going to be tough. I was getting around 172 on the practice tests and dropped to 165 on the real one. My GPA was too low to bother retaking for Harvard, and that was enough for BU/BC with good scholarship money. I also was military and STEM which is very helpful.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

The day before I took the June LSAT, I got a 155 on a practice test. Going into the LSAT, I was in a pretty good state of mind, so it's not like I was a bundle of nerves or barfed all morning.

I'm going to pay for the October LSAT tomorrow and re-start prepping. Where I screwed up was that at the end of the spring college semester, my brain was fried from working to get 5 A's in all my classes. So after Finals, I wasn't in the right mindset to jump back into 8 - 12 hours of studying a day. However I'd be able to do that now and in September.

 

[crazymjb]

LSAT studying is best done under test conditions. Everyone is different, but I benefited from spending the first month or so going through a tests worth of practice sections each under timed conditions, then finishing out each section after time had elapsed, and then analyzing why I got every question right and/or wrong. Leading up to the actual test I was taking a full exam a day at the library for a week or so, with the analog watch Id use on the test, etc. I assume you took a prep course?

Im confident I could retake in the 170s as I screwed up on a logic game by a fluke on the actual exam and caught it too late to grab the 8 or so points I dropped. By the end I was dropping at most 1 point on the logic games for the last 10 or so practice tests. I just had no need. I expected to only drop points on the RC section, as I was acing every other section... but it took a lot of practice, and you really need a prep course to lay down how to setup the games properly.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[tk421991]

LSAT studying is best done under test conditions. Everyone is different, but I benefited from spending the first month or so going through a tests worth of practice sections each under timed conditions, then finishing out each section after time had elapsed, and then analyzing why I got every question right and/or wrong. Leading up to the actual test I was taking a full exam a day at the library for a week or so, with the analog watch Id use on the test, etc. I assume you took a prep course?

Im confident I could retake in the 170s as I screwed up on a logic game by a fluke on the actual exam and caught it too late to grab the 8 or so points I dropped. By the end I was dropping at most 1 point on the logic games for the last 10 or so practice tests. I just had no need. I expected to only drop points on the RC section, as I was acing every other section... but it took a lot of practice, and you really need a prep course to lay down how to setup the games properly.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

I took a prep course at BC and it helped with logic games. This may sound odd but my weakness is the Logical Reasoning sections.

Timing isn't an issue for me, in fact I usually have three to eight minutes left over usually in a section.

Reading Comp is my strongest point, I usually get about 18, 19 right on that section.

What I need to do is spend a large amount of time on LR and understanding the questions and answers better. Everyone says "oh it's just like the SAT." I hated the SAT and I got like a 950ish? Ended up taking the US History SAT and only got one wrong

 

[crazymjb]

Its nothing like the SAT. It tests aptitude almost entirely and ignores stored knowledge.

If you have the Kaplan books they have thousands of LR questions and explanations for each.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[Carl in Ct]

I am born and raised in eastern CT. I want to leave but family obligations and my financial situation is making me have to wait. I tell anyone to never even consider coming here. That said, I would never tell anyone to go to MA either. If I had to pick, sheesh, I dunno. If owning an AR or AK or any sort of magazine that holds more than 10 rounds is important to you than CT is completely out. If carrying a pistol (open carry or concealed, both are ok with the same pistol permit) is more important and you can live with a 10 round mag limit than CT is far better than MA, especially in the rural towns where at least half the folks are still conservatives and getting a pistol permit is just an expensive bunch of form filling out as long as you are not a felon.

As far as taxes/economy goes, it doesn't get any worse than CT but the more rural towns tend to be better. I live in a small town about 20 miles east of Hartford. When I worked in Hartford the commute wasn't horrible. I took rt. 6 to 384 to 84 and I didn't hit that much traffic until I got to east Hartford most days. I started taking the bus from Columbia CT. It took longer but saved a lot of money on gas and parking and was more relaxed than fighting traffic myself.

Property taxes have been going up but in my town they are far, far lower than towns like Herbon, Marlborogh, Colchester and certainly no where's near Glastonbury, Avon, West Hartford, Farmington and those wealthier towns and again, much more conservatives than in those suburban towns.

As far as CT as a place to live, it can be really cool. Close to Boston and NYC, close to some nice beaches in far eastern CT and RI. Close to two major casinos if you like gambling or concerts/shows.

Malloy, Blumenthal, Murphy and Looney are some of the sleaziest, communist scumbag, corrupt filth you will ever find in politics and the FSA here keeps electing them over and over so it's not going to get any better. Drive 5 miles in CT and you can't even keep count of all of the houses for sale here. I will get out eventually but not to MA or anywhere in the northeast.

 

[Qwikdraw45]

Since you are going to be a non-resident, the one good thing is that CT has a 5 year NR permit vs. MA, where you have to pay $100 every year and drive to Chelsea for an interview. Also, IIRC (since mine's just been renewed for years), CT was a pretty much shall issue, whereas MA is "prove why you need it" every year. Just my .02

 

[dcmdon]

CT is worse than MA in many regards. They outright ban certain AR15s by name and all AK47 variants. AK74 variants are okay is my understanding. I believe prebans are grandfathered in but even then I know some are banned by name.

CT is a nearly universally better place to be a gun owner than MA. No licenses are required to possess any firearms and Pistol Permits are effectively shall issue.

The AWB can be circumvented by purchasing a pre-ban receiver or firearm. Figure an extra $800 for that.

Both have hot spots as far as job growth. In MA its the boston area in life sciences and IT. In CT its Fairfield county which is pretty much where all the Wall Street guys live.

Neither is near Hartford. There isn't much economically in MA or CT near Hartford.

- - - Updated - - -

Higher property taxes, higher income taxes, higher sales taxes, and a sort of wash on gun laws. All things considered I go to CT for the income but stay in MA to keep the money in my pocket.

The Hartford area economy is driven by the insurance companies who univeraally pay terribly.

I was born and raised in New Haven, then lived in SE CT for 20 years after college. Now I'm in Boston. With the extra money we make in Boston, we can have a summer/weekend home in SE CT to maintain connections with friends and family. And so I can continue to poke around the lower CT River which is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

 

[dcmdon]

To the OP. PM me with your mobile number and we can go over CT laws. I'm pretty familiar with them. I'd be happy to talk on the phone.

 

[SpaceCritter]

I don't know if this will color your opinion any, but...

Just when you think Connecticut/Malloy cannot get any more retarded (pun intended):
http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2016...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[tk421991]

I don't know if this will color your opinion any, but...

Just when you think Connecticut/Malloy cannot get any more retarded (pun intended):
http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2016...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

It's not really surprising considering how Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun is "competition." Plus there's also Twin River in RI and the Mass casino concept. Despite the fact that Connecticut's two Indian casinos lost 40% of their workforce between 2006 and 2012 and 43% of revenue.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwo...sun-hard-hit-regional-gaming-expansion-159537

RIDOT also made a deal very recently with a company from NJ to run a ferry line from Providence to Newport. RIDOT is going to oversee the ferry. It's supposed to be a daily commuter ferry but it doesn't run before 8am or near 5pm/6pm.

State run tourism is not good and will be as half-assed as state maintained roads, but its not unpredictable.

 

[JoeT]

I grew up in Mass and currently live in CT. In between I lived in 5 other states

I love my home, love the town we live in (although a little boring). But would pack my bags tomorrow and move to the most anti gun city in Mass rather than stay here. When we moved here, we promised our kids we wouldn't move again until they were out of high school. It wasn't fair to them how often we were moving.

4 years to go and I AM FVCKING OUT OF HERE. This state ****s you every chance they get. if you have 2 dollars in your pocket, they want $1.75 and will create "fees" to find it.

I don't know where we'll end up, likely not even Mass, but my willingness to move to Cambridge or Brookline rather than stay here should voice my displease with the state.

now for guns. Mass has shitty gun laws, I think we all agree. But I was willing to follow them, I have chosen to ignore all the new laws here. with the strike of a pen, the state not only made me a criminal, but made my collection that was worth some decent coin, worth shit.

 

[Crotchrocket]

Can you mail-order ammo and reloading components in CT? This has always been a big peeve of mine with MA.

You can mail order ammo in MA....

MA most handguns are banned
CT most rifles are banned

 

[browncoat]

You can mail order ammo in MA....

MA most handguns are banned
CT most rifles are banned

Not many handguns are banned in ma. They are just harder to get

 

[tk421991]

I signed up for the LSAT in September. I should be able to crack 160, 165 if I work hard enough. I think I'm going to scratch UCONN off of my list of law schools. Connecticut sounds like a loosing proposition in regards to gun ownership and probably wouldn't be very fun to live in. Also, more Mass law schools train RI lawyers than UCONN.

If I were to go to UCONN, and that's a big if, I could get a place in western RI and be within an hour, hour and a quarter from Hartford. I commute that long now for my summer job and it's doable. I'm probably going to be working in RI during law school also since I have a decently well-paying job and I don't want to pay two state income taxes. Ditto Mass in case anyone is wondering.

Oh, and most RI lawyers go to Roger Williams or UMass but I don't plan on going to either of the two:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/state/RI/

 

[rep308]

Which do you want, Strychnine or Cyanide? Different approaches, same result.

 

[Carl in Ct]

Which do you want, Strychnine or Cyanide? Different approaches, same result.

Pretty much. If you want to live free scratch MA off your list as well as CT. While you're at it forget about RI, NY, etc, etc. I would not bother with ME, VT or NH either. They seem ok now but they will flip eventually being in the northeast. Just get your education and beat feet to the south or west.

 

[JAD]

I signed up for the LSAT in September. I should be able to crack 160, 165 if I work hard enough. I think I'm going to scratch UCONN off of my list of law schools. Connecticut sounds like a loosing proposition in regards to gun ownership and probably wouldn't be very fun to live in. Also, more Mass law schools train RI lawyers than UCONN.

If I were to go to UCONN, and that's a big if, I could get a place in western RI and be within an hour, hour and a quarter from Hartford. I commute that long now for my summer job and it's doable. I'm probably going to be working in RI during law school also since I have a decently well-paying job and I don't want to pay two state income taxes. Ditto Mass in case anyone is wondering.

Oh, and most RI lawyers go to Roger Williams or UMass but I don't plan on going to either of the two:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/state/RI/

Connecticut is bad for guns, but it's not the ring of hell that many posters here make it out to be. Despite the obvious drawbacks associated with Connecticut, we have thriving shooting community and a surprising amount of options.

I'm not 100% sure what exactly you consider fun- but CT does have a lot to offer. I know from the other thread that you are into hiking- of which there is quite a bit within a 45 minute drive of Hartford and plenty more not much farther away. There is a pretty decent social scene in Hartford and WeHa, etc... (I'm not too into that, but it's there) and a lot to offer in general. However, you need to go where it feels comfortable for you.

This might be an important consideration for you.

The long commute turns to suck in short order. I spent a year (10 months, really) driving from the Hartford area to NWCT- a 40 mile drive, mostly on 44 each day. Especially in snow and ice, etc... it sucked. I'm not sure what your summer job is, but one thing that you learn with relatively long commutes is that time disappears. When you have to factor in time for class, studying, assignments, your job, commuting between all of your obligations, anything from work that follows you home, and some snippit of a personal life you're going to have to figure out how to juggle it all. (I never was a law student- but I have completed a couple of (much easier) grad programs and understand what a black hole grad school can be to a schedule, and how the two interact even when situated proximal to each other, as in, in the same town] The only reason why it seems reasonable, potentially, is because you will be working in RI. If your heart is set on RI, because of the job you will be working- I think you just found the answer to where you want to apply for school. [I know that my comments sound really UConn centric, which is a school you are pretty disinterested in, but I think that some of these points may have applicability to your more general plan].


I'm not sure what you are planning on doing. However, you should keep in mind that there is an ABA work hour rule. Some schools have rules that are even more strict. Obviously, some people debate about if or how frequently those rules are enforced (I had a teacher in high school who was enrolled in UConn Law, night division, for example)- but something to keep in mind.

Good luck on continuing your LSAT prep.