Top Law Schools

In particular on the east coast. Any ideas?

I hate when people say "retake", but you should retake.

Was that your first time taking the LSAT? What was your prep for it like?

llachans wrote:I hate when people say "retake", but you should retake.

Was that your first time taking the LSAT? What was your prep for it like?

I just bought a book on LSAT. I think the logic games got me. If I retake I have to wait another year, and I graduated in the spring of 2011.

Is Roger Williams decent?

anaid wrote:In particular on the east coast. Any ideas?

Please understand that I'm being serious when I say this: None of the schools you can get into, anywhere in the country, are worth attending.

Can you devote time to LSAT study prep and a retake?

http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com

you're not going to have any good options unless you retake. i was in your position last year with the same GPA and a 151. Take the year to study and get some work experience. I had a 10 point jump and although it's not opening up T14 doors it is giving me the chance to get $$ and attend a respectable regional school. Do not settle for a 152 or the schools that will accept you with those numbers

Please take the year off to study. Your GPA isn't the highest as it is, so you'll really need to break into the 160s to get into a law school worth going to.

Get the Power Score bibles and study your butt off. I'm not a good test taker by any means but the bibles really help!

I appreciate the responses. To be honest I have retaken the LSATs once, but neither time I was too serious. I did not know if law was right for me (and I still don't, for that matter).

But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless? Or New York Law?

Also, it sounds like you weren't very well-prepared going into it. For only studying with one book, a 152 isn't really that bad. If you take the time to study, you'll be able to break into the 160s for sure!

anaid wrote:I appreciate the responses. To be honest I have retaken the LSATs once, but neither time I was too serious. I did not know if law was right for me (and I still don't, for that matter).

But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless?

Widener is the only one of those 3 worth attending. And that's only if you plan on staying in Delaware AND can go for cheap/free. You won't get $$ from Widener with those #'s

Not to sound like a jerk, but I am fairly certain I can afford it. I can't get into New York Law with those numbers?

And also, why is Widener better than those other 2 I mentioned?

ggibelli wrote:

anaid wrote:I appreciate the responses. To be honest I have retaken the LSATs once, but neither time I was too serious. I did not know if law was right for me (and I still don't, for that matter).

But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless?

Widener is the only one of those 3 worth attending. And that's only if you plan on staying in Delaware AND can go for cheap/free. You won't get $$ from Widener with those #'s

Not cheap, it would have to be free. None of those schools are worth it. Take a LSAT class, work for a year, and re-apply when you have a better score... seriously though

vanwinkle wrote:

anaid wrote:In particular on the east coast. Any ideas?

Please understand that I'm being serious when I say this: None of the schools you can get into, anywhere in the country, are worth attending.

Can you devote time to LSAT study prep and a retake?

+1

anaid wrote:But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless? Or New York Law?

They are all worse than useless. You will end up with six figures of debt and probably no chance of paying it off. NYLS is literally being sued by its students because job prospects are so abysmal and have been misrepresented so badly by the school.

Taking a year off, when it's the difference between attending a crap diploma mill and attending a school that might actually get you a job after graduation is NOTHING. It's 365 days, in which you could get a job to improve your resume and save money. I'm 32 and I still deferred a year before attending next fall.

Part of being a grownup is being able to forego instant gratification to make the logical decision, which in your case is to retake or NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

Food for thought: There are people with lower GPAs than yours at T14 schools. Since you barely studied, you probably have a lot of room for improvement. Pithypike's study guide is a great place to start. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=41657

anaid wrote:Not to sound like a jerk, but I am fairly certain I can afford it. I can't get into New York Law with those numbers?

And also, why is Widener better than those other 2 I mentioned?

I don't know anything about Roger Williams but I don't think it is a school worth looking into. I only say Widener is better than those you mentioned because it dominates Delaware as it is the only law school in the state.

rinkrat19 wrote:

anaid wrote:But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless? Or New York Law?

They are all worse than useless. You will end up with six figures of debt and probably no chance of paying it off. NYLS is literally being sued by its students because job prospects are so abysmal and have been misrepresented so badly by the school.

Taking a year off, when it's the difference between attending a crap diploma mill and attending a school that might actually get you a job after graduation is NOTHING. It's 365 days, in which you could get a job to improve your resume and save money. I'm 32 and I still deferred a year before attending next fall.

Part of being a grownup is being able to forego instant gratification to make the logical decision, which in your case is to retake or NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

Food for thought: There are people with lower GPAs than yours at T14 schools. Since you barely studied, you probably have a lot of room for improvement. Pithypike's study guide is a great place to start. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=41657

I really appreciate all the well-thought out responses. I was sure I was going to get flamed.

If you don't mind, what is a T14? There are 4 tiers, correct? I have read a few times today the term "T14."

anaid wrote:
And also, why is Widener better than those other 2 I mentioned?

Because those other schools are in overcrowded markets where you'd be competing with kids at better schools.

Working for a year and then retaking is of course the best answer.

anaid wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:

anaid wrote:But now that I have graduated college I feel like I really need to get a move on, and taking more time just seems ridiculous.

Roger Williams, Widener, Ave Maria are all useless? Or New York Law?

They are all worse than useless. You will end up with six figures of debt and probably no chance of paying it off. NYLS is literally being sued by its students because job prospects are so abysmal and have been misrepresented so badly by the school.

Taking a year off, when it's the difference between attending a crap diploma mill and attending a school that might actually get you a job after graduation is NOTHING. It's 365 days, in which you could get a job to improve your resume and save money. I'm 32 and I still deferred a year before attending next fall.

Part of being a grownup is being able to forego instant gratification to make the logical decision, which in your case is to retake or NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

Food for thought: There are people with lower GPAs than yours at T14 schools. Since you barely studied, you probably have a lot of room for improvement. Pithypike's study guide is a great place to start. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=41657

I really appreciate all the well-thought out responses. I was sure I was going to get flamed.

If you don't mind, what is a T14? There are 4 tiers, correct? I have read a few times today the term "T14."

The definition varies slightly depending on who you talk to, but generally, the T14 are the top 14 schools, and the only schools that have ever been ranked in the top 10. They are in mini-tiers of their own:

HYS: Harvard/Yale/Stanford
CCN: Columbia/Chicago/NYU
MPBVDN: Michigan/Penn/Boalt/UVA/Duke/Northwestern
CG: Cornell/Georgetown

The T14 (to varying degrees) are the only schools from which a JD is nationally portable. Harvard and Yale are the only ones that are TRULY portable, and the others are more regional, but still don't limit you like attending a true regional school (like WUSTL, UW, UCLA) does. By portability, I mean the likelihood of getting a job outside the market in which the school is located. Generally, schools outside the top 20 or so are going to be pretty much 100% regional and you WILL be limited to jobs in that school's home market. So obviously, a regional school in a market that is not dominated by much better schools is a better idea than attending the 6th-ranked school in NYC or Chicago or whatever.

Texas is ranked tied for 14th this year, but is not T14 (unless you ask a UT student) because it has never been in the top 10.

anaid wrote:
If you don't mind, what is a T14? There are 4 tiers, correct? I have read a few times today the term "T14."

Georgetown and better. Ultra Tier 1.

OP - If you really want to do law, you MUST retake, sorry. And, honestly, I think you should take the time to do more personal school research. A) No one on this site is going to be able to choose a school thats right for you better than yourself. B) While being ignorant to what the T14 is is not the most egregious of crimes, it does show a lack of understanding of what certain schools have to offer (and how far set back you would be at some of the schools you mentioned).

Thanks for all the help, maybe I will retake.

It is just inconvenient missing out on law school after all my friends went this year and not even going NEXT year, but I guess it is the right thing to do. I know for a fact that my friends did not research schools heavily at all, but then again, they got into better schools.

anaid wrote:Thanks for all the help, maybe I will retake.

It is just inconvenient missing out on law school after all my friends went this year and not even going NEXT year, but I guess it is the right thing to do. I know for a fact that my friends did not research schools heavily at all, but then again, they got into better schools.

that's definitely the least of your worries! just focus on minimizing debt and maximizing your lsat score. Goodluck!

OP: Cooley and Hamline are fine choices. Congratulations on such a stellar cycle.

WSJ_Law wrote:OP: Cooley and Hamline are fine choices. Congratulations on such a stellar cycle.

This is rude. And literally adds nothing to the thread, especially since OP has already recognized in a post the value of considering a retake.

anaid wrote:Thanks for all the help, maybe I will retake.

It is just inconvenient missing out on law school after all my friends went this year and not even going NEXT year, but I guess it is the right thing to do. I know for a fact that my friends did not research schools heavily at all, but then again, they got into better schools.

Seriously, waiting another year isn't that bad. I was out for two years before starting 1L. Just get a placeholder job (I worked as a legal secretary -- it was an invaluable experience), keep expenses down, save your money and study hard. Rock the LSAT, go to school and live off what you have saved up.

Trust me. You'll thank me later.

Good luck!

WSJ_Law wrote:OP: Cooley and Hamline are fine choices. Congratulations on such a stellar cycle.

hamline is ok, not really cooley, apply to a wide of range schools and then decide

Jah'rakal wrote:

WSJ_Law wrote:OP: Cooley and Hamline are fine choices. Congratulations on such a stellar cycle.

hamline is ok, not really cooley, apply to a wide of range schools and then decide

OP, we don't know if this guy is actively trying to sabotage the lives of law school hopefuls or just an idiot, but his advice is consistently awful.