Top Law Schools

I'm about to start the application process, and figuring out which schools to apply to. One of my biggest priorities, for various reasons, is limiting my debt as much as possible. I know my stats are good enough to go T14 (179/3.4/Harvard), but I'm curious as to which schools (not in that group) would be very likely to give a lot of money (in the neighborhood of full scholarship).

Obviously this doesn't mean I would pass up T14, just want to think of all my options.

I would look at Michigan in your situation.

Any particular reason?

Apparently, Michigan is very splitter friendly.

I bet you get into a T6 (maybe NYU, but full sticker for sure). The fact that you're from Harvard will help balance out the low GPA.

If you want money, the lower end of the T14 -- Michigan, NU, Cornell, GTown, etc.

I wouldn't even bother with non-T14 schools; you won't need to. Maybe Vanderbilt as a safety.

You're far better off with a Harvard undergrad degree than a non-T14 law degree.

scribelaw wrote:The fact that you're from Harvard will help balance out the low GPA.

I bet it won't matter. Probably due to notorious grade inflation.

I bet it will. Probably due to the fact that it's Harvard.

Due to your 3 years of work experience & sky-high LSAT score, Northwestern University School of Law is likely to offer you substantial money. Your profile is interesting. In which other languages are you fluent ?
Also consider applying to Stanford (now placing more emphasis on high LSAT scores), UCLA & Duke as well as any other top 14 law school that interests you.

CanadianWolf wrote:Also consider applying to Stanford (now placing more emphasis on high LSAT scores)...

God I hope this is true :/

RE: Stanford Law School's new attitude toward high LSAT scores, see Top-Law-Schools.com's law school profile for Stanford Law School.

CanadianWolf wrote:Due to your 3 years of work experience & sky-high LSAT score, Northwestern University School of Law is likely to offer you substantial money. Your profile is interesting. In which other languages are you fluent ?
Also consider applying to Stanford (now placing more emphasis on high LSAT scores), UCLA & Duke as well as any other top 14 law school that interests you.

Just curious, where are you getting my profile from? Don't see it on here... In any case, I speak French and Russian fluently, German ok.

rad law wrote:

scribelaw wrote:The fact that you're from Harvard will help balance out the low GPA.

I bet it won't matter. Probably due to notorious grade inflation.

I'm guessing the fact that I'm a computer science major will help, that is much harder grade-wise (i.e. not inflated). Also one reason for the low GPA was extracurriculars; I was a national-level runner.


All that is kind of beside the point. I was more curious as to how far down the ladder I would have to go to get substantial money. I'm just really wary of racking up lots of student debt in the current climate.

P.S. My recommendation for Stanford is if you want the money after law school, not during. Northwestern & UCLA should offer merit scholarship money.
Profile from your past posts.

therandom9 wrote:Just curious, where are you getting my profile from?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=114722

thechee wrote:

therandom9 wrote:Just curious, where are you getting my profile from?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=114722

Post history ftw.

I didn't want this to be a rehash of that thread, as I have a decent idea (from looking at LSN) of where I'd get in. Just interested in the money angle.

The Stanford fact is interesting. Obviously I would snap-accept if I got in there, regardless of money, but that seems like a big longshot.

I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

sarahhope82 wrote:I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

I would just like to say that in my experience (and this coincides well with pretty much everybody I've talked to) pre-law advisors are some of the most clueless people on the planet when it comes to law school admissions. I would absolutely take the advice of any one random TLS user over a pre-law advisor. FWIW

Helmholtz wrote:

sarahhope82 wrote:I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

I would just like to say that in my experience (and this coincides well with pretty much everybody I've talked to) pre-law advisors are some of the most clueless people on the planet when it comes to law school admissions. I would absolutely take the advice of any one random TLS user over a pre-law advisor. FWIW

Yeah, I am not sure how sensible it would be for me to go to the University of Wisconsin when I want to work in California, but I thought I would pass the information on.

sarahhope82 wrote:I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

No specific preferences yet for future city, just not Boston (grew up there, don't love it). Probably not NYC either. Probably Chicago, West Coast, or a southern city. Other option is overseas, I currently work in Asia and like it a lot. I suppose for that namebrand would help a lot, so I suppose I'll have to balance that with money

Other factor is that I've heard (correct me if I'm wrong) that it's somewhat easier to find jobs in law with a technical background than with a generic liberal arts background, so I feel as though I have a little wiggle room in that regard.

sarahhope82 wrote:

Helmholtz wrote:

sarahhope82 wrote:I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

I would just like to say that in my experience (and this coincides well with pretty much everybody I've talked to) pre-law advisors are some of the most clueless people on the planet when it comes to law school admissions. I would absolutely take the advice of any one random TLS user over a pre-law advisor. FWIW

Yeah, I am not sure how sensible it would be for me to go to the University of Wisconsin when I want to work in California, but I thought I would pass the information on.

Uh... a 179/3.62 shouldn't even consider attending a school outside the T14 (or really even the T10). You're likely looking at money from T6 schools and you have an (outside) shot at HYS. You'll be very competitive for big scholarships at T14 schools.

It is almost like your pre-law advisor is some evil genius who is plotting your demise for his/her own pleasure. Just atrociously bad advice.

sarahhope82 wrote:

Helmholtz wrote:

sarahhope82 wrote:I am a 179/3.62. In regards to getting significant scholarship money, my pre-law advisor recommended considering Boston University, Boston College, University of Wisconsin, and University of Illinois. (I already have UCLA on my list, and I think I have a shot of getting money there. Maybe also UMich.) What area do you want to live in after graduating? If you would rather go to a lower-ranked school with significant scholarship money, I would look in that area.

I would just like to say that in my experience (and this coincides well with pretty much everybody I've talked to) pre-law advisors are some of the most clueless people on the planet when it comes to law school admissions. I would absolutely take the advice of any one random TLS user over a pre-law advisor. FWIW

Yeah, I am not sure how sensible it would be for me to go to the University of Wisconsin when I want to work in California, but I thought I would pass the information on.

Politely thank the pre-law advisor, and then give him/her a slip of paper with three websites written on them:

http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com
http://www.hourumd.com
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums


BU, BC, Wisconsin and Illinois when you're sitting on a 3.62/179 and want to work in California might be the worst advice I've ever heard. What is worse, this individual is being paid to be an authority on helping you choose a law school. They are giving advice that sounds like it has a significant degree of credibility without the slightest clue what they are talking about. It is absolutely terrifying that this is the level of "service" that undergraduate universities are giving to their students for their students' future careers. Absolutely terrifying.


My suggestions:
1. Request fee waivers from CCN-Vandy.
2. Apply to CCN-Vandy.
3. Add any particular schools that you love, either above/below that range (HYS are very unlikely given the GPA, but worth a shot if you don't want to be asking "what if?").
4. Take out the schools that you wouldn't attend even if you got in (but keep ones where you might get money to bargain with, even if you won't attend).
5a. Kick ass and use those schools to land BigLaw.
5b. Kick ass and use those schools' LRAP to do PI work.
6. ?????
7. Profit.

It was kind of funny to hear someone who went to Yale for law school say that it would not be so bad to go to a lower-ranked school on a full scholarship and then not be able to find a job because I would not have student loans to pay back. But I think she was just trying to be helpful in giving me other options because she knows I am very adverse to debt. UCLA is probably the lowest I will go.

Therandom9, on the west coast, I think UCLA and USC are good options if you are hoping for significant merit aid. Of course, Boalt and Stanford are better-ranked, but Boalt does not seem to give out much merit aid and Stanford does not give out any. (Unfortunately, I don't think you will get into Stanford, though. According to LSN, no one with my numbers got in last year.) My understanding is that if you are going into IP, have a science background helps (and is required to take the patent bar) but in other areas of the law, I am not sure if it will provide any boost.

sarahhope82 wrote:It was kind of funny to hear someone who went to Yale for law school say that it would not be so bad to go to a lower-ranked school on a full scholarship and then not be able to find a job because I would not have student loans to pay back. But I think she was just trying to be helpful in giving me other options because she knows I am very adverse to debt. UCLA is probably the lowest I will go.

Nothing wrong with taking advantage of a lower-ranked option for free. But you don't have to dip all the way down to BU and Wisconsin to get a full ride. You'll get cheap offers way higher up on the totem pole. Sounds like you already know that. Good luck, you have great stats!

sarahhope82 wrote:It was kind of funny to hear someone who went to Yale for law school say that it would not be so bad to go to a lower-ranked school on a full scholarship and then not be able to find a job because I would not have student loans to pay back. But I think she was just trying to be helpful in giving me other options because she knows I am very adverse to debt. UCLA is probably the lowest I will go.

Therandom9, on the west coast, I think UCLA and USC are good options if you are hoping for significant merit aid. Of course, Boalt and Stanford are better-ranked, but Boalt does not seem to give out much merit aid and Stanford does not give out any. (Unfortunately, I don't think you will get into Stanford, though. According to LSN, no one with my numbers got in last year.) My understanding is that if you are going into IP, have a science background helps (and is required to take the patent bar) but in other areas of the law, I am not sure if it will provide any boost.

Apply to Vandy if you have any desire to work in the South/connections in the South.

rad law wrote:

sarahhope82 wrote:It was kind of funny to hear someone who went to Yale for law school say that it would not be so bad to go to a lower-ranked school on a full scholarship and then not be able to find a job because I would not have student loans to pay back. But I think she was just trying to be helpful in giving me other options because she knows I am very adverse to debt. UCLA is probably the lowest I will go.

Therandom9, on the west coast, I think UCLA and USC are good options if you are hoping for significant merit aid. Of course, Boalt and Stanford are better-ranked, but Boalt does not seem to give out much merit aid and Stanford does not give out any. (Unfortunately, I don't think you will get into Stanford, though. According to LSN, no one with my numbers got in last year.) My understanding is that if you are going into IP, have a science background helps (and is required to take the patent bar) but in other areas of the law, I am not sure if it will provide any boost.

Apply to Vandy if you have any desire to work in the South/connections in the South.

<3 you and Vandy, but don't you think she can get buttloads of money from Duke and UVA, making a Vandy app unnecessary? I mean, an app can't hurt, but it likely wouldn't matter.

This has probabilities for you. You have some good things that may overcome your GPA so it might slightly understate you chances.

http://www.hourumd.com/