Top Law Schools

Hello, TLS! This is my first post on this account (I had another account with several hundred posts but forgot the password haha). Anyways, I applied to most of the T14 last year, got WL'd ED at Columbia, got in NYU/UPenn/Cornell RD. Decided I wasn't sure what to do with my life, took a year off and now applying this round but being smarter (I hope).

Basically, my question is: should I aim for a full ride at a T2 (probably Rutgers - Newark) and try to transfer to a T14 (hoping to nail Harvard or Columbia, pretty confident I can reach top 10% of my class) after first year to get a free year outta law school and make sure I even like law or should I jump right into a T14 (probably NYU, assuming I am accepted again)?

Not sure they matter (since I am pretty confident I can full ride Rutgers Newark and get accepted into NYU again) but my stats are 3.85/172. I guess I'm just looking for someone (or several someones) to give me advice. THANKS!

1. Never attend a school from which you would not be happy graduating (that is, never attend a school planning to transfer).
2. You cannot assume you will be top X%. Everyone thinks they'll be above median. Half of everyone is below it.

Thanks for the response, rinkrat!

rinkrat19 wrote:1. Never attend a school from which you would not be happy graduating (that is, never attend a school planning to transfer).

I wouldn't be unhappy to graduate at RU, I would likely graduate with very little debt which is a huge plus. I also am an NJ native (as I am sure you guessed) so I wouldn't mind practicing in NJ or outside of the big city.

rinkrat19 wrote:1. You cannot assume you will be top X%. Everyone thinks they'll be above median. Half of everyone is below it.

I don't, however, see why I shouldn't be confident about being at the top of my class? If I can top % at UG that is on-par with Rutgers Newark and top 1% the LSATs why should I not be able to top 10% at RU Newark?

You're assuming UG GPA + LSAT is a strong indicator of your performance in LS.

LOLaw wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:1. You cannot assume you will be top X%. Everyone thinks they'll be above median. Half of everyone is below it.

I don't, however, see why I shouldn't be confident about being at the top of my class? If I can top % at UG that is on-par with Rutgers Newark and top 1% the LSATs why should I not be able to top 10% at RU Newark?

It's not that you shouldn't be confident in your abilities, just that you can never REALLY be sure who your competition is and/or what life events may come up

Lol @ you assuming you will be top 10% of your class based on LSAT and GPA. Trying to decide whether you are arrogant or stupid.

rinkrat19 wrote:1. You cannot assume you will be top X%. Everyone thinks they'll be above median. Half of everyone is below it.

I don't, however, see why I shouldn't be confident about being at the top of my class? If I can top % at UG that is on-par with Rutgers Newark and top 1% the LSATs why should I not be able to top 10% at RU Newark?

It's math. Mostly everyone getting accepted to Rutgers scored in the top 10% of the LSAT.

Also... mostly everyone applying to law school was near the top of their UG class.

There are, of course, exceptions. But you must assume that out of the full range of people taking the LSAT, not everyone ends up getting accepted or even applying. So when you enter, you enter along with a bunch of people very similar to you in stats. Perhaps a few percent lower here or there but just as dedicated to making law school work for them. Because of the curve, it's already very difficult to make the top percentages of class and when you throw in the competition it's even harder.

I don't think the poster was saying that you are not capable but just that you should not rely so heavily on the fact that you will be making the top 10% of your class. If your plan is to go to Harvard, then go to Harvard.

you should be able to get a hefty pile of cash from a t14 with a 3.85/172

Interesting situation, but I see no value in attending a T2 in the hope of transferring to a T14 that you could have attended initially. It really makes no sense. Sure the money would be nice, but the risk seems far too great. And while you certainly have the ability to do well at a T2, there are no guarantees.

I should also add that transferring from Rutgers-Newark to Harvard (or Columbia) would be extremely difficult. For Harvard you would likely need to be #1 or 2 in your class. Top 10% would not suffice for either. So really, the mark is not top 10%, but more like top 2-3%.

mighttransfer wrote:Interesting situation, but I see no value in attending a T2 in the hope of transferring to a T14 that you could have attended initially. It really makes no sense. Sure the money would be nice, but the risk seems far to great. And while you certainly have the ability to do well at a T2, there are no guarantees.

^ super credited advice. apply T10 or even T14, you'll get plenty of cash from the schools and what you may not get in $$$ you will recieve in opportunity.

The only way you should even consider passing up the T14 is if you get a full ride at a T20 and sticker at DNCGT

5ky wrote:you should be able to get a hefty pile of cash from a t14 with a 3.85/172

From half of the T14s, no less.

Yeah... With your posted numbers, I'm not sure why its the T14 at sticker and not the T14 at 1/3+ scholly...

Edited based on numbers info--see below post.

Didn't really see the numbers before... Yeah dude, don't even consider T2 with those numbers (172/ 3.8+). You should have full schollys inside T30 and maybe even T20 (WUSTL?), and partial schollys in T14. You have a reasonable shot at T6. Don't waste your time with a T2 even for full scholly. If you are really debt averse take a T25 full ride at a school like Indiana Bloomington or even possibly WUSTL.

Thank you all for your responses! You've enlightened me a lot even in the few posts you have all made. For everyone asking, the value in going to RU Newark first is that if I realize I do not like law school it will have been at little-to-no risk (financially). Going to a T14 for one year would put me in $50-70k debt though. For some reason though the idea of getting a scholarship at T14 hadn't crossed my mind. That is a very exciting prospect and I will be looking into it.

Speaking of which I really, REALLY like Cornell but there is a chance I may end up leaving the north east with my career. How portable is a Cornell degree? And what type of money could I realistically expect to receive if I applied within the next week? Again, I really appreciate everyone's responses. This is helping me so much in figuring out what the right direction for myself is.

THANKS!

Where are you trying to take this Cornall degree, and do you have ties to that place.

I'm going to use my powers of deduction, and say you applied late in the cycle last year. Apply as early as you can this year. Blanket the T14 and you will get some decent scholarship offers. I imagine Cornell would give you at least half scholarship, and probably 2/3 to 3/4 if you twisted their arm. You could also get a full scholarship from WUSTL, or any T30, really. I would think outside of Rutgers. It can be good to diversify your education anyways.

Why would you bother going to Rutgers-Newark and hoping to get into Columbia by transferring when you already have proven you could get into NYU? They are basically the same...Columbia is slightly more prestigious, but that only makes a small difference if you really don't want to stay in NYC. In NYC they are viewed as the same.

Full price at T14.

Let me get this straight- you got into NYU and likely would again... but your plan is to go to a T2 then transfer back to a school like NYU?

What a terrible fucking idea. You'd be so much better off taking money at MVP or just going to NYU.

Grizz wrote:Lol @ you assuming you will be top 10% of your class based on LSAT and GPA. Trying to decide whether you are arrogant or stupid.

I just automatically assumed he's both.

This thread is sacrilegious.

You also can't fully predict where you'll get in as a transfer, even if you do nail the 1L grades. There are all kinds of possible fail when you plan to transfer. Planning to transfer is thus planning to fail.

NYU.

/thread