A Prayer Request

I am asking everyone who knows us and anyone who reads this blog to please pray for us! We have a lot of big decisions coming up over the next few weeks. I've blogged about this before, but these decisions are proving to be very difficult and costly.

Alan has been accepted into 6 schools (so far--still waiting to hear from 6 more):
1. Faulkner University
This school is affiliated with the Lord's church, and that is a big selling point for this school. Alan was also offered a very generous scholarship. While we like all these things, neither of us is particularly fond of Montgomery. We are going to visit in the next few weeks and see if they can change our minds. Also, they have a large seat deposit due on April 15th and June 15th, as well as a scholarship deposit that is by no means a small amount. Any seat deposits to all schools are non-refundable, but the money goes toward your tuition if you attend that school.

2. Michigan State University
This school offered Alan no scholarships, which was a little shocking because they aren't really a 'off-the-charts' kind of school. Given that and the high cost of tuition, we have decided they are off the table.

3. Ohio Northern University
Neither of us has ever been to this area, so we want to visit the school before we make any big decisions. Unfortunately, their two seat deposits are due on April 1st and April 15th. Seeing as the amount is rather large (especially on our shoestring budget), we want to be fairly certain before we put any money down. Alan also received a very generous scholarship from them. This school is in a very rural area, so we have to keep in mind that it may be difficult for me to find employment in this area. We will be visiting the campus this weekend to learn more about the school and area.

4. University of Wyoming
We both really like this school and, even though I've never been here, Alan has told me that this part of the country is absolutely beautiful. Alan was offered a very generous scholarship (not as much as the others, but UW's tuition is much lower than the others, so it evens out). Also, there is a job that was posted the day before he found out about the scholarship and the position is only going to be posted for two weeks, which narrows the number of applicants (hopefully). The pay for that position is a good deal more than my current one and it's also there at the school, so we wouldn't have to be as concerned with our home location. We've talked a lot about this particular school and have agreed that, unless he gets a reasonable scholarship from Samford or if he gets in to UA, if I am offered the job here, this will be our school.

5. University of Louisville
This school is ranked #98 of the Top 100 law schools, so it is a very good school. Other than that, we don't really know too much about the area. While it is one of the lesser expensive schools, we really just need to know more about them before we make any decisions. Hopefully, we will be able to visit their campus soon as well. One benefit about UL is that the first deposit is refundable before June 1, so we could make the deposit and decide later.

6. Samford University
While this school is very close to our current location and I do have a job here, my pay is not enough for us to live on alone and tuition is extremely expensive here. Also, if he receives no scholarships here, we would end up owing more here than any other school except MSU. We really like this school, but the expense (we would owe about $45,000 to $80,000 more after graduation) is just too great right now.

We have a lot to think about over the next few weeks, as all of the schools have seat deposits due either April 1st or April 15th. With prayer and guidance, we hope to make the right decision. Thanks for listening!