transferredintent

Thanks for the info. As I mentioned above, I actually found a furnished place in the St. Clair Village apartments for $850/month, utilities and parking included. That seemed like the best deal out there, so I jumped on it.

I don't think it's worth the time and effort. If you want to practice law in the public/PI sectors, just get the JD. If you just want to work in the public sector but don't have any interest in actually practicing law, just get the MPA and forget the JD. As somebody pointed out above, professional school is an entirely different animal from undergraduate education--it's really geared towards placing you in a specific job, and it gives you a fairly specific set of skills you need to succeed in that one area. Having an MPA will not help you get a job as a lawyer. Having the combo JD/MPA may give you an edge if you want to work for the government or a non-profit in an administrative capacity, but I can't imagine the marginal gain you get from having a CSU JD on top of the CSU MPA will outweigh the time, effort, and opportunity cost it takes to earn the joint degree.

Additionally, if you go to CSU or Case, getting on law review is also probably a prerequisite to getting a summer associate position with any of the larger Cleveland firms. The legal job market is just atrocious right now, and probably will be for the next several years. Firms can afford to be uber-selective. That's just another reason for the OP to forget about trying to get an MPA if he aspires to work in a law firm--he's better off focusing all his energies on making great grades and killing the law review write-on (if that's how CSU does it).

Congrats! What do you want to do with your law degree? I ask because if your goal is to work in a law firm, there is very little reason to consider adding the MPA. On the other hand, if you know you want to work in government, then you might be better off just pursuing the MPA degree without the JD, since you could complete it in 2 years instead of, what, 4? for the joint degree. The reason I say this is because with a CSU JD and a CSU MPA, you're getting two very different things. CSU law has a very strong regional presence, but won't carry much weight outside of Cleveland and northern Ohio where most if its alumni reside. On the other hand, I know that CSU's MPA program is nationally known, and although I'm not really an expert on the job market for MPAs, I am under the impression that you probably will be able to take that degree and find work outside of Ohio, especially if your undergrad degree is from Case. While the MPA almost certainly won't do anything for you if you have a JD and you're looking to work for a firm, the JD might give you an edge if you're an MPA looking to work for the government (although I'm not sure if the bounce you get outweighs the extra tuition you will pay and the opportunity cost involved with two additional years of schooling). BTW, in case you're wondering about my qualifications, I am a 2nd year law student at Washington and Lee University, and my fiancee is an MPA grad student at Virginia Tech. Furthermore, I did a lot of interviewing in the Cleveland legal market this fall before finally taking a job with a firm in Toledo. So . . . I'm not just talking out of my ass here :-D

does anybody know anything about the st. clair village apartments? I can get a good deal there ($850 for a furnished one-bedroom). . .

The short term lease and the furniture rental add about $200 to the base rate at LaSalle. I think that the apartment I'm considering would normally be around $750 a month. I have to say that I've heard mixed things about the Commodore Perry--if you don't mind sharing, what do you know about that building? I've only bad things about Riverfront. . . BTW, just calling around it seems like downtown housing (at least in the more upscale buildings) is in high demand. That's a good sign for Toledo, I'd think.

Thanks to both of you for the information. I would like to live close to downtown, and in fact I'm supposed to hear back from the people who run the LaSalle building today. I spoke with a property manager there and he thought that we could work out a short term lease for a furnished one-bedroom for around $1000/month, and that rate would include the (projected) electric bill. That seems like a pretty good deal to me--it looks like the building is in walking distance of my firm, and I've only heard good things about LaSalle. Plus, I've called around and it doesn't seem like any of the other downtown apartments (Sunflower building, Bakery building) do short-term leases. The alternatives to living downtown are living at Park Place for about $100 less per month, or subletting from UT students for much cheaper but much less desirable housing, so I am leaning towards LaSalle at the moment. Do you guys have any other suggestions for places I might want to check out?

Hey all, (I apologize in advance if this kind of question is inappropriate, but I've lurked here for awhile now and this board appears to be the best source of information on the net regarding urban living in Ohio. . . I just don't trust the folks on the City Data forums to give me any reliable information.) I'm a 2nd year law student who will be working at a firm in Toledo over the summer, and I'm looking for temporary housing, preferably close to downtown. One of the buildings in Toledo, Park Lane Luxury Apartments, http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1033978.php, offers a great rate on a fully furnished, all-inclusive corporate rental unit. However, I've been unable to find any background information on this building or its tenants. I'm not from Toledo, and I was wondering if anyone on this site had any experience with this building or could tell me anything about its reputation, as well as the surrounding area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.