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.
UConn law is a pretty competitive school. Good luck on your application. When I halfheartedly applied, I didn't make the cut.
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?
Carry laws are decent with very few posted locations. It would implore you to get your permit before coming to save some time/hassle and money. (IOW, if you don't have a CT, get one). The suckiest part are the assault weapons ban and magazine bans. I'm sure somebody will fill you in on the exemptions applicable to preban assault weapons (but not mags). I am willing to go into CT law in depth with you, lmk, if you would like to do that. I would prefer to have a phone conversation than to type.
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.
If you are on a law student budget, I wouldn't waste the money on WeHa, Farmington, Canton, Avon, New Hartford, or any of the nice suburban towns if you are single. (If you have kids and are going to enroll them in public school, look at those towns). The other consideration is commute. During the busy hours, commuting between Farmington and Hartford can be a 40 minute drive, easily. Burlington, New Hartford, Avon, and Simsbury will all have you commuting into Farmington to catch 84. As a result traffic on 4 in Farmington (the route to/ from 84) is a pain going to Hartford in the morning and returning in the afternoon. (If you are in a part of Avon, Simsbury, or Canton that makes 44 convenient, the traffic will be less bad, but it is still not a fun drive, because you will be driving with the crowd) That said, driving into Hartford is never Boston bad.
I commute into Hartford daily and avoid 84. It sucks. Big time. I drive surface streets- it's faster.
Those are great towns, and I recommend spending a lot of time there- but not living there in your circumstances. You would be well served to look in New Britain (one of the few times I recommend this). You will also find better access to discount grocery stores and the like, which will be helpful for budgetary reasons as well. That said, you really should think about personal protection options if you go that route.
Connecticut is nice. If it weren't for the gun laws I probably wouldn't think about leaving, which I don't really think about doing because of financial benefits to living here.