A Big, Fat Curve Ball

I can't believe that I am about to write this post. Where do I even begin...

As my last post stated, I have been accepted to law school. I applied to 9 schools, and was accepted at 4, wait listed at 3, and rejected at 2. I accepted an enrollment offer and paid the first seat deposit at the Charleston School of Law. My family and I relocated back in October 2013 to North Carolina, and made the decision to move back to our house in Charleston, SC after being accepted at Charleston Law. 

Everything seemed perfect. I thought I had finally done it. I'd finally taken the awful LSAT, survived the law school application process, and was on my way to beginning my legal career. 

And then I read an article with the headline "Charleston School of Law founders withdrew $25 million in profits leaving school on shaky financial ground."

....um, what?!?!

Basically, to make a long story short...

Two of the three remaining founders at Charleston School of Law have made poor decisions that resulted in financial instability for the school. These two founders decided that the best option for CSOL would be to sell the school to a Florida based company called Infilaw. This company owns three other law schools, and has a reputation of being a diploma mill. Infilaw is required to have license approval from the Commission on Higher Education to purchase the school, and at the beginning of June a decision was supposed to be made regarding this license. However, the day before the vote, Infilaw suspended their license application. Also, this saga with CSOL and Infilaw has been going on since July 2013. 

This is the summed up version, of course. Due to this information, I will not be attending law school this fall. As an accepted student, it has been a completely agonizing journey. I have worked extremely hard, and to have this happen is just heartbreaking.

The future of Charleston Law remains unknown, and I do not feel any peace about enrolling at this establishment. I don't doubt that Infilaw is capable of running a successful law school, however with such minimal community support of this transaction, and the disgusting behavior of the two founders, I just can't board a sinking ship in good conscience. I've spent more time than I care to share playing out different scenarios, questioning my future, being angry, crying tears of frustration, and just being confused about this situation. 

Why in the world would I make it this far in the law school process to stop now? 

And what the frick just happened? 

I believe with my whole heart that everything happens for a reason. It's cliche, but true. God knew that this was going to happen. He knew that I'd encounter this situation. And while I seemed to forget this for a while, I'm hanging on to this truth now. He hasn't abandoned me. 

So what is my next step?

I could have tried to enroll at a different school that I was accepted at or pursued a wait list, but since my family just moved back to Charleston, that option wasn't any good. I know that I am called to be an attorney, so I can't quit trying now just because this curve ball has come my way. 

After numerous conversations with Keith, we have decided that I will retake the LSAT in September. My score from the February test was disappointing, and this time I will have 3.5 months to study and will be applying at the beginning of the admission cycle. I'd be lying if I said that I was happy about this decision, but it's mandatory if I want to get accepted next year at a better law school, and hopefully with a scholarship.

It's a bit surreal to me that this has happened, but I'm trusting that God has this under control. I mean, doesn't He always?