Help me decide where I should go. Forum

[paranoia4ya]

Alright, so I want to be a lawyer. As of right now, I am trying to choose between the following schools.

Indiana Bloomington 20k yr
Wake Forest 23k yr
Arizona Full Tuition (top 90% stip)
Northeastern 20k yr (applied to the jd/mba program, still have not heard back from the mba)

For what it is worth, I have ties to Mass, but I am willing to move to any of these areas. Also, my parents want to help me pay for school. If I was paying, I would have just gone to Arizona. I have taken the lsat twice, got a 163, then a 164. Personally, I do not believe that my gpa is high enough to get me into a T10 without a very high lsat, and I am not willing to take off a year to go to a school like bc or bu. I appreciate your input.
ok go.

[K Rock]

I am not willing to take off a year to go to a school like bc or bu.

Why not?

[paranoia4ya]

I am not willing to take off a year to go to a school like bc or bu.

Why not?

My sister goes to BC. It isnt that great.

[ManOfTheMinute]

some people are going to be too lazy to write something, but would be more than happy to click on a poll and hit submit... just food for thought.

AZ would be a horrible choice unless you're the type of person who is a genius, but screwed up on the LSAT and chose not to try hard at your UG

and why not take some time off? you'll be a lawyer anyway - probably for longer than you want to either way

[K Rock]

AZ would be a horrible choice unless you're the type of person who is a genius, but screwed up on the LSAT and chose not to try hard at your UG

I assume you are saying this because of the stip. But it is top 90%, not top 10%, I think you have it backwards. Arizona would be fine if he actually wanted to practice in AZ, but to me it seems like OP picked these schools/locations at random.

[patrickd139]

I am not willing to take off a year to go to a school like bc or bu.

Why not?

My sister goes to BC. It isnt that great.

Why are you not willing to sit out a year and retake? My sister thinks "BC isnt that great" isnt a good answer, dood.

Do you have any ties at all to Arizona other than a law school acceptance? Where do you want to practice after law school?

[paranoia4ya]

some people are going to be too lazy to write something, but would be more than happy to click on a poll and hit submit... just food for thought.

AZ would be a horrible choice unless you're the type of person who is a genius, but screwed up on the LSAT and chose not to try hard at your UG

and why not take some time off? you'll be a lawyer anyway - probably for longer than you want to either way

The only reason I would take time off would be to get into cornell or higher, I will have around a 3.5 gpa when I graduate. I would also need at least a 168 to be competitive, with no gurantees.

[paranoia4ya]

I am not willing to take off a year to go to a school like bc or bu.

Why not?

My sister goes to BC. It isnt that great.

Why are you not willing to sit out a year and retake? My sister thinks "BC isnt that great" isnt a good answer, dood.

Do you have any ties at all to Arizona other than a law school acceptance? Where do you want to practice after law school?

Never been to Arizona, so I was looking to hear from someone who has visited, or knows the reputation of the school. I could see myself practicing anywhere to be honest. My Mom does have relatives in IN. I have also been to the bloomington campus and I really enjoyed my trip. My only worry is being considered an outsider at interviews.

[patrickd139]

Do you have any ties at all to Arizona other than a law school acceptance? Where do you want to practice after law school?

Never been to Arizona, so I was looking to hear from someone who has visited, or knows the reputation of the school. I could see myself practicing anywhere to be honest. My Mom does have relatives in IN. I have also been to the bloomington campus and I really enjoyed my trip. My only worry is being considered an outsider at interviews.

There are schools that are worth packing up and attending without ever setting foot on their campus. UA Law is not one of those schools.

Your only concern (bolded) is the reason you need to pick/apply to better suited schools for you, or to sit out and give it a go next year. It's not about where you see yourself practicing. Law school is professional school, not vacation school.

Go to a school in Boston, or IU-B. But IU-B at that price is a terrible decision, IMO.

ETA: you need to be thinking in total cost of attendance, too. Scholarship amounts in the abstract are often irrelevant.

[paranoia4ya]

I also got into UConn, but I am not sure I want to go there. I was given a tour by a 3L from mass who was on journals and had good WE, but still didn't know where she was going to end up.

[paranoia4ya]

Do you have any ties at all to Arizona other than a law school acceptance? Where do you want to practice after law school?

Never been to Arizona, so I was looking to hear from someone who has visited, or knows the reputation of the school. I could see myself practicing anywhere to be honest. My Mom does have relatives in IN. I have also been to the bloomington campus and I really enjoyed my trip. My only worry is being considered an outsider at interviews.

There are schools that are worth packing up and attending without ever setting foot on their campus. UA Law is not one of those schools.

Your only concern (bolded) is the reason you need to pick/apply to better suited schools for you, or to sit out and give it a go next year. It's not about where you see yourself practicing. Law school is professional school, not vacation school.

Go to a school in Boston, or IU-B. But IU-B at that price is a terrible decision, IMO.

ETA: you need to be thinking in total cost of attendance, too. Scholarship amounts in the abstract are often irrelevant.

I have. My parents are going to be paying for it, and apartments near campus are really cheap. Overall it will cost roughly the same amount as my undergrad per year, and they are cool with it.

[Aroldis105]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars

Arizona actually has pretty good employment stats. If you're happy practicing in Arizona, coupled with the scholarship and low COA in Tucson, UA seems like the best option.

[patrickd139]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars

Arizona actually has pretty good employment stats. If you're happy practicing in Arizona, coupled with the scholarship and low COA in Tucson, UA seems like the best option.

Did you skip over the part where OP has absolutely no ties to the state? S/he's never set foot on campus.

[Aroldis105]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars

Arizona actually has pretty good employment stats. If you're happy practicing in Arizona, coupled with the scholarship and low COA in Tucson, UA seems like the best option.

Did you skip over the part where OP has absolutely no ties to the state? S/he's never set foot on campus.

3/4 of the grads have full-time legal jobs...What more do you want from the school? If you finish in the bottom 20% of your class do you feel you're entitled to a job after law school? OP will pay $0 to attend the school with COL covered by his parents. Obviously ties to the area would help, but I'm sure the vast majority of grads don't know a single lawyer worth knowing in the area before stepping foot on campus.

[patrickd139]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars

Arizona actually has pretty good employment stats. If you're happy practicing in Arizona, coupled with the scholarship and low COA in Tucson, UA seems like the best option.

Did you skip over the part where OP has absolutely no ties to the state? S/he's never set foot on campus.

3/4 of the grads have full-time legal jobs...What more do you want from the school? If you finish in the bottom 20% of your class do you feel you're entitled to a job after law school? OP will pay $0 to attend the school with COL covered by his parents. Obviously ties to the area would help, but I'm sure the vast majority of grads don't know a single lawyer worth knowing in the area before stepping foot on campus.

I have very personal experience attending a regional shit school in a region where I have no ties. Trust me that this is a very bad idea. I graduated summa, FWIW.

[Aroldis105]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars

Arizona actually has pretty good employment stats. If you're happy practicing in Arizona, coupled with the scholarship and low COA in Tucson, UA seems like the best option.

Did you skip over the part where OP has absolutely no ties to the state? S/he's never set foot on campus.

3/4 of the grads have full-time legal jobs...What more do you want from the school? If you finish in the bottom 20% of your class do you feel you're entitled to a job after law school? OP will pay $0 to attend the school with COL covered by his parents. Obviously ties to the area would help, but I'm sure the vast majority of grads don't know a single lawyer worth knowing in the area before stepping foot on campus.

I have very personal experience attending a regional shit school in a region where I have no ties. Trust me that this is a very bad idea. I graduated summa, FWIW.

I'm not blindly advocating TT/TTT but I think Arizona's stats elevate it above "regional shit school". If OP has no interest in waiting around or trying for T10 I think UA is by far the best fit. I believe you about your experience, but graduating summa from UA and not getting a job would mean that about 80+ kids with a worse class rank snagged a job over you. The numbers/comparison is more applicable at a score with a 55% employment score (like most TT).

[patrickd139]

I'm not blindly advocating TT/TTT but I think Arizona's stats elevate it above "regional shit school". If OP has no interest in waiting around or trying for T10 I think UA is by far the best fit. I believe you about your experience, but graduating summa from UA and not getting a job would mean that about 80+ kids with a worse class rank snagged a job over you. The numbers/comparison is more applicable at a score with a 55% employment score (like most TT).

Okay, so "regional shit school" is a little harsh. That said (and this is coming from someone with a firm offer, not someone who is unemployed), my job opportunities in Oklahoma (a place just a few hundred miles north of where I was born and raised) were significantly fewer than those who were similarly-ranked, but who had ties to the region (read: state of Oklahoma) before law school. I can't even guess what people who weren't in the top 10 people AND who had no ties to the state fared.

Bottom line: I'm never going to advocate someone attend a regional school (any regional school) where the person has no ties to the region they want to practice in prior to attending.

[TheZoid]

some people are going to be too lazy to write something, but would be more than happy to click on a poll and hit submit... just food for thought.

AZ would be a horrible choice unless you're the type of person who is a genius, but screwed up on the LSAT and chose not to try hard at your UG

and why not take some time off? you'll be a lawyer anyway - probably for longer than you want to either way

The only reason I would take time off would be to get into cornell or higher, I will have around a 3.5 gpa when I graduate. I would also need at least a 168 to be competitive, with no gurantees.

Speaking of no guarantees, you're aware of what the job prospects look like at the schools you're considering, right?

[paranoia4ya]

some people are going to be too lazy to write something, but would be more than happy to click on a poll and hit submit... just food for thought.

AZ would be a horrible choice unless you're the type of person who is a genius, but screwed up on the LSAT and chose not to try hard at your UG

and why not take some time off? you'll be a lawyer anyway - probably for longer than you want to either way

The only reason I would take time off would be to get into cornell or higher, I will have around a 3.5 gpa when I graduate. I would also need at least a 168 to be competitive, with no gurantees.

Speaking of no guarantees, you're aware of what the job prospects look like at the schools you're considering, right?

Of course! that is why I had the novel idea of striking a conversation with you.

[romothesavior]

I'm with Patrick. OP, you seem to have lacked a strategic approach to law school applications. Your apps are all over the map, and you don't really have ties to the places you're looking at. I think a retake is in order, and then do the whole application thing right. Also, your GPA is not that low. You're certainly not locked out at most T14s.

[rad lulz]

what is a northeastern jd/mba

[cinephile]

Your sister's right, BU/BC have terrible placement and it isn't worth going to either without a full ride (or very close to a full ride).

That being said, you're not going to break into a regional market when you're not from that region. It's a waste of your time and you won't become a lawyer, merely a law school graduate. If that's something you're okay with, then okay.

And I don't know if you said what your GPA is, but even if it precludes you from getting into a top 10 school, just retake the LSAT and work a bit and try for Northwestern.

[hephaestus]

what is a northeastern jd/mba

Worthless?

[paranoia4ya]

what is a northeastern jd/mba

Worthless?

Ouch. could you elaborate? during my interview for the mba portion of the program, the only information i could get out of them was that some of their graduates landed good jobs, and that there were around ten people in the program.

Also, I did apply to several schools across the country because I was not sure where I would get accepted due to some C&F issues. (Expulsion and driving (a scooter) without a licence). I understand that this put my transcript under higher scrutiny by admissions. I feel as though schools in NY were particularly displeased with my background, as the only school that accepted me in the area was st. johns.

What else? It is true that I have no connections to arizona, and very few in NC, but I do have cousins in indiana. Some of them went to bloomington undergrad, and I recently found out that they know Michael Maurer's mom. I am visiting the school in two weeks, so i guess i will find out for myself. Personally, I am going to try and get a minor in business that they offer through the business school and gun for a job at a big 4 (accounting firm). I will have some time over the summer to relax before school so i am going to study and pass all four parts of the cpa exam too. I know this is not the highest paying job, but i plan to use this background to end up working for my family's company. I am already basically guranteed the job as long as i dont turn into a TFA.

[romothesavior]

Schools probably had more issues with your LSAT/GPA than your C&F issues. You should retake.