For one, I neither needed nor wanted my laptop. That saves about seven pounds, including the case.

My father wrote all his notes while reading down one side of a sheet of 8.5' x 14' paper, with almost half the page left open for annotations during class or rereading stints. I've done sorta the same thing, only with a Pages document because I really can't write for extended periods any more.

For another, I didn't feel that confused or lost, in discussions of the subject matter. I could sense the direction in which the professor was trying to take us, and even if I wasn't always ready to blurt out an answer, I had already pulled most of the substance from the assigned reading.

I decided to postpone getting my license and registration transferred until Friday, the logic being that (a) I have a week's worth of work ahead of me and (b) fewer people will ruin their Friday afternoons at the DMV than their Monday afternoons.

The day went well, and in a related story, I didn't do much mingling.

I did meet some nice people whose names I am likely to forget by tomorrow. I think I saw someone who looks like laura7715's userpic across the room in my section. strawberry04 is harder to identify, because she has chosen a brontosaurus as hers.

I found out that my small section is B2, which is awesome primarily for the fact of my Mondays ending by 1 p.m and my Thursdays ending by 3:30 p.m.

I feel rewarded in my choice to attend law school at the University of Pittsburgh, and I guess that's what matters most.

Orientation is Thursday.

Tomorrow, I will (a) run, around 8 a.m.; (b) get my textbooks, around 10 a.m.; (c) get my driver's license and registration, around 1 p.m.; (d) organize my file folders, around 4 p.m.; (e) grill out with neighbors John and Meredith, around 7 p.m.

It all seems so simple and easily executed once written down, doesn't it?

Yet again, Iowa comes out a little ahead of its competition in terms of recruitment in all ways, except maybe cash on the barrel head.

I got an email from a former student at UI/Boyd, who is now practicing in northern Virginia with Arnold & Porter, one of the bigger law firms in the U.S. I sent him some questions, as well as my schedule that week in case he wanted to call. Within three hours, he did just that.

He graduated in 1998, and I can't imagine what realistic incentive the school offers to compensate him for the hour he spent talking to me. The guy probably bills at a rate of $250 an hour or more, and it's not feasible to have him or someone like him call each admitted student. He said that he wanted to call out of admiration for the school and the education he received, and that's the most logical answer.

All the people I've met in conjunction with UI/Boyd have been terrific, and there's a lot about the program that excites me.

Now all I need is a small discount.

Oh, and Jen - I will endeavor to find you some Steely Dan that you can play without pain or shame later this weekend.

After a wonderful trip to Iowa, reality sets in.

Iowa's annual tuition is $30,000 for an out-of-state student. While there are fellowships for the two-thirds of the student body that can attach themselves as research assistants to professors, there is no way of knowing that I'll be one of them at this stage. Let's assume $90,000 in tuition, over the course of three years.

Further, while I expect to be able to live just fine on $8000 a year for room and board, that's another $24,000. I probably won't find the internships of my dreams in Iowa City, and will have to maintain a lease on an apartment there while getting another short-term lease in another city. The cost of that is unknown, but I think it would be safe to assume $5000 at least over two summers.

Leaving my TSP (government 401(k)) alone, I would have a total student debt of approximately $119,000. The amortization calculator I referenced online shows me a monthly repayment of $908.37, with $99,000 in interest paid if I schedule my payments over the course of twenty years. It's like a mortgage on a house that doesn't exist.

Pitt, on the other hand, is offering me $12,000 a year, so long as I maintain a B average. Online, I see the grade distribution indicates that two-thirds of the class is able to do this, and if I'm not in the top 66% at the end of my first year, I'll find something else to do with my life. This means that tuition will probably cost something like $54,000, over three years, unless I can get another fellowship or win in-state tuition. Assuming similar costs of living, with the benefit of more firms in Pittsburgh to work for over the summer, that's $78,000. $595.40 a month, $64,000 in interest paid.

One of the benefits of having an LSAT higher than the median or the 75th percentile at a given school is that you have the chance of raising the median LSAT, if the school recruits enough people in your range. Since a rise in the median LSAT correlates very strongly with a school's place in the famous and arbitrary U.S. News and World Report rankings, schools have incentive to reduce your tuition. At Iowa, I'm four points above their median for 2006. At Pitt, I'm five points above it. At St. Louis, I'm seven points above it, and they just offered me a total award of $57,000 over the course of six full-time semesters if I go there.

Next week, I'll email Iowa and ask them to make a financial commitment to my attending their school. If I can't get it, I'll attend Pitt and be happy.