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Hi all,

I am considering applying to law school to take up IP prosecution and litigation. I currently work at a well known aerospace company as a mechanical engineer. Northwestern U is probably my number one choice right now for their early decision promised scholarship. That would take a lot of the fiscal stress off my back.

Some stats:
-currently employed for a full year and will be employed for 2 years when I apply in the Fall
-went to NYU and graduated with a 3.72 (according to the way the LSAC fixes grades), my transcript says 3.76, in mechanical engineering.
-I also received my master's in mechanical at the same time
-I just took a diagnostic LSAT and received a 168. I plan on taking the exam in June.

Does anyone have any advice for what I should focus on in my application? I took some intersection of law, policy and engineering courses in undergrad so that might help show I have been interested in a career in law. Any advice for other schools? If I can pull a 168 or a little higher on the lsat in June do you think NU ED is a good idea?

Thanks!

You took the test cold and got a 168? You should be shooting for 180 and looking to get a full ride at Northwestern or one of its peers. You sound like a dream applicant as long as you can follow through on your apparent LSAT aptitude. You'll have great options as long as you get at least a 168-170 or so, but that's not important right now when your focus should be getting your score as high as possible.

edit: fwiw, NU ED sounds like a great outcome for you. But you can do even better.

...

Aim for a 170+ and, with your background, you could get a full ride even without ED. I'm not nearly as impressive as you and I've already gotten 2 full ride offers to T14 schools (ranked higher than Northwestern) and it's only January. That's not to say Northwestern is not a good option because it definitely is an amazing school, but I personally like having many options at my disposal. My cold diagnostic was a 159 and I was able to improve significantly, and I'm sure you could too! With your STEM background and work experience (both of which a lot of schools seem to be looking for), you could have a really great cycle!

Was your diagnostic timed? If so, I agree with above posters.

A word of warning--probably don't take an LSAT class. Most classes aren't geared for people who start at your level. If you want specific LSAT advice starting from that diagnostic, feel free to PM me.