Top Law Schools

BeerMaker wrote:I think I'll try and narrow it down to 20. I don't know where I want to go. I am very indecisive. This is not going to be good

Where where are you from? Where do you want to work? That should definitely help narrow it down.

SBL wrote:Even with fee waivers this is stupid, as you're still spending $12 x 30. Only apply to schools you'd actually attend.

Credited. Save your cash, buy beer, profit.

chimp wrote:

BeerMaker wrote:I think I'll try and narrow it down to 20. I don't know where I want to go. I am very indecisive. This is not going to be good

Where where are you from? Where do you want to work? That should definitely help narrow it down.

look, if money is not an issue, apply to 30 schools. I'm just saying that it is too many. However, if money and time you have plenty of, then it obviously cant hurt to apply to 30.

where is the extra $16 per application going to if you are getting fee waivers?

BeerMaker wrote:I put together my list and I narrowed it down to 30. Is that insane or fairly normal?

Way too many. Your numbers and your geographical preferences should pare the list down to well below 30.

misslaw1 wrote:where is the extra $16 per application going to if you are getting fee waivers?

really want to know... sorry if this is obvious but i am new to this.

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misslaw1 wrote:

misslaw1 wrote:where is the extra $16 per application going to if you are getting fee waivers?

really want to know... sorry if this is obvious but i am new to this.

Each time you send out an application LSAC charges you $16 to process the application. If you have an LSAC fee waiver, four of these will be free, but you'll pay for the rest. If you do not have an LSAC fee waiver (i.e. you're getting fee waivers directly from the school) you will have to pay $16 for each app.

thelawschoolproject wrote:

misslaw1 wrote:

misslaw1 wrote:where is the extra $16 per application going to if you are getting fee waivers?

really want to know... sorry if this is obvious but i am new to this.

Each time you send out an application LSAC charges you $16 to process the application. If you have an LSAC fee waiver, four of these will be free, but you'll pay for the rest. If you do not have an LSAC fee waiver (i.e. you're getting fee waivers directly from the school) you will have to pay $16 for each app.

Last year it was $12 per processing fee with a fee waiver.

I applied to ~25 schools. In the end I ended up going to a school I had no intention of attending. When the school accepted me I had already forgot where it was located geographically.

Wow! I didn't know that, thanks guys. This is going to be more expensive than I thought.

I'd say, without knowing your #s or anything, that 30 is too many. You should at least have a general idea of where you intend to practice before applying; the fact that your list is 30 strong means you probably haven't figured that out yet. I personally applied to 15 schools due to my worries about being a super splitter...looking back, there was at least 3 schools I shouldn't have wasted the LSAC fee b/c I wasn't going to them period.

Basically, if you can't see yourself working in the market area of a lawschool, and it's not in the top 20 (really t14, but leverage schollies), don't apply there. Ideally, your list should include 1-2 safety schools in your preferred region, 5-6 schools where you're competitive, and however many reach schools you feel like you have a shot at.

It depends on your criteria (but whatever that criteria is, 30 seems wayyy too high).

I may be the strange one, but I'm only applying to about 6 schools. This is largely because a. I want to work in the Midwest (and not Chicago) and b. I want to go to law school for cheap. With my numbers I can eliminate any t14 schools (even if I got in, they would not give me $). With those out of the way, I am only looking at respectable midwest schools. I've gotten fee waivers from good schools around the country, but why would I go to school in a different part of the country if I had no desire to live there (obviously barring top law school prestige)?

I'd say 30 is the result of not being critical enough. Where do you really want to live? Where can you really get in? How much money do you really want to spend?

I feel like everyone has different criteria for law school that should be considered in where they apply. I, for instance, am not applying to any 'reach' schools because those are schools that wouldn't give me money. Since I know I don't want to go into major debt, I won't waste my time or application money. It made sense to me to only apply to mid-range or safety schools that I would be happy at and could get money. Others, however, would go t14 at sticker in a heartbeat. If that is you, blanket the t14 and have fun.