Howard v ND Forum

[s333]

I'm having a hard time deciding between Notre Dame and Howard. I'm a 22-year-old URM from Texas with a 3.8 and 150 LSAT. I'm interested in Big Law.

Scholarship
Notre Dame: $12,000/year
Howard: 0

It seems like a no brainer, but Howard has major connections and it places a large percentage of students in Big Law--more than ND.

I also visited Howard and the atmosphere mimicked that of a HBCU--nurturing and supportive. I visit ND on Wednesday.

Money isn't a problem. I have no debt from undergrad (scholarship all 4 years). My parents are financing law school because of that.

I have to decide by Friday or I lose the ND scholly!

[Danny Mothers]

Neither. Retake. With a 3.8 and as a URM you're looking at t-14 with money or even HYS with a mid-high 160s score, which is not that tough to get.

[acr]

I'm having a hard time deciding between Notre Dame and Howard. I'm a 22-year-old URM from Texas with a 3.8 and 150 LSAT. I'm interested in Big Law.

Scholarship
Notre Dame: $12,000/year
Howard: 0

It seems like a no brainer, but Howard has major connections and it places a large percentage of students in Big Law--more than ND.

I also visited Howard and the atmosphere mimicked that of a HBCU--nurturing and supportive. I visit ND on Wednesday.

Money isn't a problem. I have no debt from undergrad (scholarship all 4 years). My parents are financing law school because of that.

I have to decide by Friday or I lose the ND scholly!

I seriously doubt that you will get a single response in this thread other than "retake the LSAT." As it should be.

Even if your parents are financing law school, you will be doing yourself a tremendous disservice by matriculating at a law school with a 150 LSAT as a URM. With your 3.8 GPA and URM status, literally every school in the T14 is a realistic option if you improve your LSAT into the mid-160s and higher.

Notre Dame is a fine school, but heed the onslaught of "retakes" that are about to flood this topic and enjoy HYS.

Cancel your visit to Notre Dame. Do not waste 250K+ of your parents' money. Make the smart decision and retake. The LSAT is an extremely learnable test that never changes and by putting in a slight amount of effort compared to what it would take to get big law from Notre Dame, you will reap the benefits forever. There are no excuses.

Make the smart (and right) choice.

[Barack O'Drama]

Congrats on such a great GPA, as a URM with about the same GPA I have to tell you RETAKE!

The fact that you want Big Law only solidifies my advice to retake. Howard probably does give you a chance at BL, but it certainly is not a good one at all. As you said, your parents are paying, and that is certainly helpful. However, what good will it be to have your tuition paid if you have such a low chance at big law? You have such an exceptional GPA that if you study and retake and get in the 160s you have significant chances at $ from t-14 schools that will increase your chances of getting big law exponentially. Also, if you decide you don't want big law it will open a wide array of options that other schools won't.

It is a lot easier to study and retake the LSAT then to get big law from those schools.

If you decide to disregard what everyone will tell you (RETAKE!) then you're wasting a great GPA!

[Barack O'Drama]

Neither. Retake. With a 3.8 and as a URM you're looking at t-14 with money or even HYS with a mid-high 160s score, which is not that tough to get.

[reasonable_man]

Practicing Lawyer for almost 10 years here.

For the love of all that is holy, retake the LSAT. I know you probably have 2 dozen reasons why you HAVE to go to law school in the fall. Some of them might even be valid. But seriously, you're doing your GPA no justice by not waiting one more year and re-taking the LSAT. Hell. Even if you were to get a high 150 the next time around, you'd be looking at either going to ND for free (worst case) and if you get that mid-160, you'll be looking at T-14 as others have said.

Good luck.

[Pomeranian]

I would feel really guilty wasting that much of your parents hard earned $ for Notre Dame.

[jnwa]

Retake and make your parents finance a t-14. If you loook at the URM cycle thread, someone got Chicago with a 3.8 155. That could be you.

[favabeansoup]

It seems like a no brainer, but Howard has major connections and it places a large percentage of students in Big Law--more than ND.

What? No. . .Howard does not have better biglaw placement than ND.

Howard = 20/116, 17.24% Biglaw+Fed Clerk rate. See http://www.law.howard.edu/dictator/medi ... cation.pdf

ND = 72/179, 40.22% BL + Fed Clerk rate. See http://law.nd.edu/assets/196115/2015_ab ... ummary.pdf

Dude, if you don't retake you are wasting so much here.

[Rigo]

Neither. Retake.

ND over Howard though, if you're insistent.

[gazorpazorp]

Do not settle for a 150 LSAT score.

[ndirish2010]

If you don't retake, well....

retake.

[barkschool]

Retake and make your parents finance a t-14. If you loook at the URM cycle thread, someone got Chicago with a 3.8 155. That could be you.

[silenttimer]

I don't like telling people to retake, but I think it is the right option here. Even if you can get from 150 to mid to high 150s (156-158), which is very doable, you are looking at lower T14 and potentially T20 with substantial money.

[BillClinton Jr]

As a URM, please please please sit out, get some work experience and retake the LSAT. Long term you will be so happy you did. I know it probably isn't in this master plan you have (TLS is full of us who had a plan, ditched it and are now SOOOOOO much happier because of it) but it will pay off the second you send your applications this fall. Retake is the only option here.