Conditional (Kansas) vs. Good Standing (St. Thomas) Forum

[Travis22sr]

I've received a few offers of full tuition which is probably my number one criteria in choosing a school. Of those schools, I've narrowed it down to Kansas and St. Thomas (MN). Kansas' offer is contingent on having a 3.0 or better while St. Thomas' offer just requires me to remain in good standing (2.0).

I know the obvious choice would seem to be Kansas which is how I'm leaning, but I am from Minnesota, and enjoy the state and the idea of staying close to family.

Essentially my decision boils down to taking a chance on 3.0 or not. While I personally believe that I would retain my scholarship, and am encouraged by the 67% retention rate, I am hung up on the fact that I could potentially lose it, and be reduced to $10,000 a year.

What do you think, and is there a possibility to negotiate to remove the conditions of the scholarship?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Pneumonia]

I have a friend who negotiated Kansas to good standing last cycle.

[Nova]

You should find out what class rank a 3.0 typically is

You should answer all these questions

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each school youre considering. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you want to work
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

& you should also strongly consider retaking in June. If you score 165+ you can almost certainly get in UMN with a decent scholarship

[Travis22sr]

I have a friend who negotiated Kansas to good standing last cycle.

That's encouraging! In doing so would you recommend be upfront and acknowledging that would likely be a decision maker or holding out, and leaving the door open that if the conditions remained you would likely not attend?

[Sacred Cow]

& you should also strongly consider retaking in June. If you score 165+ you can almost certainly get in UMN with a decent scholarship

If you want to stay in MN, retake and don't shoot for anything less than UMN. The other law schools in Minnesota just don't give a good enough chance at getting a full-time legal job to justify going, even for free.

Compare UMN's outcomes
http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=minnesota

to St. Thomas'
http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=stthomas

A 42% chance of getting a full time legal job from St. Thomas isn't worth 3 years of lost wages (and your life) plus living expenses.

[kd5]

& you should also strongly consider retaking in June. If you score 165+ you can almost certainly get in UMN with a decent scholarship

If you want to stay in MN, retake and don't shoot for anything less than UMN. The other law schools in Minnesota just don't give a good enough chance at getting a full-time legal job to justify going, even for free.

This. Don't go to St. Thomas, Hamline, or William Mitchell. They're all TTTs in a saturated legal market. UMN isn't going to give you t14 chances at a good outcome, but it will sure as hell give you a better chance than the other MN schools. And it sounds like all your ties are in MN?

[LET'S GET IT]

I think everyone else is on point. Neither of these schools is a good idea, even for free. The exception would be if you already have a job lined up for graduation. If not, you should really retake and try to attend either Minnesota or maybe Wisconsin or Iowa, both of which place decently in the Twin Cities. Preferably UM. Good luck!