It's a Numbers Game

I just got my sitemeter "reading" for the past week. Oops and oh dear...I'm down to one visitor a day. Since that visitor is either me, or the local robot trying to sell life-prolonging-yucky-tasting-prohibitively-expensive juice, it's not looking good for me in blogworld.

I know that I could get a real boost in readership just by typing, oh, say...University of Texas, or by misspelling Anna Nicole Smith as Ann Nicole Smith. (The latter will get me all the dyslexic die-hard readers of People Magazine who google her daily, and the former has never let me down.)

Or, I could simply start posting daily again. I have so many reasons for my laziness of late. Can I say (and this might boost readership as well) that I hate the new Blogger? On my old computer, it just takes that much longer to get to my page...first, I have to open up the whole gmail thing, (and tap my fingers as that slowly opens up for me), then I have to actually open up my own blog. Tap, tap, tap. I'm sure it's very wonderful for everyone out there with computer equipment that isn't older than your youngest child, but I miss the old Blogger. I don't need the "drop and drag" whatever, I just need to be able to get on here and type. (Spellcheck would be nice, by the way).

Since I am now in the middle of a post entitled "The Numbers Game", I should actually blog about the numbers game that is going on in the herewegoagain house. Maybe the robot who reads can comment on it and help Perfect Daughter make her perfect decision.

It's all about law school. Yep. She's in, and actually in at quite a few good schools. The magical, mystical deadline of April 15 is fast approaching (apparently the IRS doesn't have the exclusive use of that date, and not only that, apparently law schools aren't giving students till April 16 since the 15th is a Sunday). Actually, she has narrowed down her choices to four, and gotten seat extensions on all of them as she ponders where to spend her next three years, the impact her choice will have on her life as an attorney, and that, wow, they are all so darn expensive.

Any robotic lawyers out there can certainly help us sort this out.

Here goes: Cornell. Ranked 13. OK that's a great one. It's Ivy league, so wow, cool. It's not Harvard or Yale, so it's theoretically possible to say "no" to, but still quite prestigious. Pros: it's small, safe and in Ithaca. Cons: It's in Ithaca. I mean, I know there are lots of people who find upstate New York beautiful (it is) and scenic (can't beat it), and cold (no getting away from it). COLD! That's a big negative, but the main question with Cornell is the money. It costs $57K a year to go there (including everything). I know that no one sheds any bitter tears over "the poor lawyers" when they get out of school, but that is one big load of debt.

Next: University of Texas. Recently took a big drop to 18 (thank you USNWR for making it even harder to talk her into UT!). What do you know? I legitimately get to blog about my alma mater, and I know a google search will bring it up, so maybe some legitimate robots might chime in here. Pros: It's the highest ranked law school in Texas. Cons: It's in TEXAS. It, however, is cheap and they even gave their little native-born applicant a scholarship. That puts it in the running, no matter how badly she wants to get away from "y'all come back now, y'hear".

Third: William and Mary. It took a nice little free-fall in the latest rankings (remember, this is all about numbers), to 31, and that was a bummer because Perfect Daughter REALLY likes the little college of law that Thomas Jefferson had such influence in starting. Pros: NOT in Texas, and not in Ithaca. In fact, Williamsburg appeals to her. They also gave her a nice scholarship, so it is somewhat affordable. Cons: Plummeting out of the top 25 when she has other schools that have accepted her which are ranked higher (numbers, numbers!).

Fourth....well, she had it narrowed down to these three and then Washington and Lee went and offered her almost full-tuition AND they are ranked right at number 25. What to do, what to do? There are several pros with this school, among them, the strong honor system and tradition of Southern gentlemanliness. The con? It's a latecomer, and there is still the "y'all" factor.

She is interested in International Law, which makes Cornell the number one choice, but she also has a love for Constitutional Law, which makes W&M jump up. Money is definitely a factor, but if she graduates from Cornell, theoretically she can write her ticket anywhere, whereas the other schools are more regional.

Heads spin. Parents advise. Only she knows (or doesn't know), but it does keep me from blogging. I'm spending way too much time lurking on sites where future lawyers hang out. Perfect Daughter has forbidden me to pretend to be her and post there. I'm not even posting on my beloved chihuahua site. I'm just biting my nails and waiting for her decision.

Oh, and I'm hoping she will choose UT, of course. It's not for nothing I taught her to "hook 'em" at age one.