WUSTL Class of 2013 Forum

[JCougar]

Hey, I wanted to know if you all can help me with my decision. Please help me weigh the facts.

I'm an URM. High GPA Middle of the road LSAT and a good rec. from a fromer Clinton cabinet member. At WUSTL I was admitted with 75k. University of Cincinnati gave me 15,000 but I'm from there and my dad lives there, so I can always mooch. Tuition is 20,000 in-state. I don't want to live in any of those cities or practice there. I want to go back to DC which is where I'm currently teaching. Any suggestions?

Let me know if you need more info to help. Thanks guys!!! I really appreciate it.

I agree with what has been said so far about your DC chances. It will be tough getting to DC from either school, but I think WUSTL definitely gives you better odds. It seems like the school has made a firm commitment to that market with their D.C clinic and their partnership with the Brookings institute. These are both great opportunities to get students working in D.C., which means you'll have opportunities to network. Whether that will lead to jobs in D.C. remains to be seen.

I agree with the other posts about GW though. If you had good enogh numbers for Wash U, you should have gotten into GW. Why isn't that an option?

They rejected me. I applied in December and in between the time I applied to WUSTL I had reviewed and made changes to my personal statement. I was waitlisted at everything down the list up until until Ohio State.

Might be a good reason to wait until next year, apply again with your revised statement, and retake the LSAT while your at it and see if you can't boost your score 2-3 points.

If you're set on DC, GW is obviously a better option than all of the above. Did you try American, George Mason, Washington & Lee or William & Mary? Do you absolutely have to go to law school this year?

I'd be kind of shocked if you got into WUSTL but didn't get into any of those schools above.

Also, it's one thing to be from DC and go to WUSTL expecting to return. It's another thing to be from Cincinatti, go to WUSTL, and network from scratch in DC. How long have you been teaching there? Do you have any legal connections? Can your former Clinton staffer friend help you out in that regard?

WUSTL can get you DC jobs, but I'd guess you'd probably have to be on at least a secondary journal there to have a fair shot. At least.

[thebookcollector]

This article makes me think that partying in St. Louis is going to be SOOOOOOOOOO FUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Studen Arrest Spurs Questions About Sero Tolerance Policy

It's from the undergrad student newspaper.

Yeah I agree this is disturbing. St. Louis cops sound like the Gestapo.

I always said that if the students would go vote and run for alderman, they could take over UCity and Clayton... so try to get that movement started.

[quadsixm]

Might be a good reason to wait until next year, apply again with your revised statement, and retake the LSAT while your at it and see if you can't boost your score 2-3 points.

If you're set on DC, GW is obviously a better option than all of the above. Did you try American, George Mason, Washington & Lee or William & Mary? Do you absolutely have to go to law school this year?

I'd be kind of shocked if you got into WUSTL but didn't get into any of those schools above.

Also, it's one thing to be from DC and go to WUSTL expecting to return. It's another thing to be from Cincinatti, go to WUSTL, and network from scratch in DC. How long have you been teaching there? Do you have any legal connections? Can your former Clinton staffer friend help you out in that regard?

WUSTL can get you DC jobs, but I'd guess you'd probably have to be on at least a secondary journal there to have a fair shot. At least.

+1

Might get a full ride at Catholic, too. What are your numbers? If you got 75K from WUSTL, you might even be able to retake the LSAT, and with a few more points, get UVA ED next cycle?

[romothesavior]

This article makes me think that partying in St. Louis is going to be SOOOOOOOOOO FUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Studen Arrest Spurs Questions About Sero Tolerance Policy

It's from the undergrad student newspaper.

Yeah I agree this is disturbing. St. Louis cops sound like the Gestapo.

I always said that if the students would go vote and run for alderman, they could take over UCity and Clayton... so try to get that movement started.

I'm on it. Romothesavior for alderman.

[fl0w]

This article makes me think that partying in St. Louis is going to be SOOOOOOOOOO FUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Studen Arrest Spurs Questions About Sero Tolerance Policy

It's from the undergrad student newspaper.

Yeah I agree this is disturbing. St. Louis cops sound like the Gestapo.

they kind of are. 6-7 years ago, when i was in undergrad there, cops would follow me and my friends (all black males) home if we drove home late at night. when we got out of the car they questioned us about why we were on campus, who we were, etc.

i find it hard to believe they were just "doing their job"

[RayFinkle]

Where is everyone looking in terms of area to live in?

[panadera]

Wow fl0w. I would be more than a little concerned in situations like that. Sorry.



I know the general consensus is Central West End (more expensive), Clayton, or University City. Those are all pretty close by the university.

I've been looking at the off campus housing provided by WUSTL called Quadrangle. Anyone else? They have positive and negative reviews, but let you rent 30ish days in advance of move-in and I like that. They also have some really old buildings, and a variety of other problems (so say the reviewers). But they can't allbe unlivable, right?

[publiuspublicola]

Wow fl0w. I would be more than a little concerned in situations like that. Sorry.



I know the general consensus is Central West End (more expensive), Clayton, or University City. Those are all pretty close by the university.

I've been looking at the off campus housing provided by WUSTL called Quadrangle. Anyone else? They have positive and negative reviews, but let you rent 30ish days in advance of move-in and I like that. They also have some really old buildings, and a variety of other problems (so say the reviewers). But they can't allbe unlivable, right?

I have heard that the WUSTL properties are really tough to deal with, but I am sure there are some gems.

My wife and I are pretty settled on either CWE or Clayton. Currently living in Boulder, where cost of living is super high (higher than Chicago in COL index!). Really looking forward to cheap-as-dirt St. Louis.

[La Grind Date]

Sup guys,

I'm looking at some apartments on craigslist ( http://stlouis.craigslist.org/search/hh ... &bedrooms= ). The deals are crazy! Super crazy! The nicest spots seem to be downtown in the Loft District (or at least those spots come up when I search for "Loft District").

Does anyone know how hard it will be to get to and from the law school, if one lives downtown? What time does public transportation shut down? How long would a bike ride be?

[najumobi]

Sup guys,

I'm looking at some apartments on craigslist ( http://stlouis.craigslist.org/search/hh ... &bedrooms= ). The deals are crazy! Super crazy! The nicest spots seem to be downtown in the Loft District (or at least those spots come up when I search for "Loft District").

Does anyone know how hard it will be to get to and from the law school, if one lives downtown? What time does public transportation shut down? How long would a bike ride be?

according to google it would be a 35-40 min. bike ride. public transportation? using the metrolink, it would take about 35 mins from downtown to the law school or vice versa. buses seem to run to the loft district until midnight.

[La Grind Date]

Sup guys,

I'm looking at some apartments on craigslist ( http://stlouis.craigslist.org/search/hh ... &bedrooms= ). The deals are crazy! Super crazy! The nicest spots seem to be downtown in the Loft District (or at least those spots come up when I search for "Loft District").

Does anyone know how hard it will be to get to and from the law school, if one lives downtown? What time does public transportation shut down? How long would a bike ride be?

according to google it would be a 35-40 min. bike ride. public transportation? using the metrolink, it would take about 35 mins from downtown to the law school or vice versa. buses seem to run to the loft district until midnight.

Thanks najumobi. i just checked google maps. it'll take 2hrs to walk! That's such a shame, because I'm really beginning to feel the Loft District.

[romothesavior]

Yeah, downtown would be a long trip. But there are plenty of good 1 BR deals in Central West End that be really ideal for a bike ride to campus. All you'd have to do is ride through Forest Park (which is an awesome park, fwiw) and you're there. Maybe 15 minutes or so on a bike from CWE to WUSTL?

[romothesavior]

'ey romo,

you like to play golf? Me too. I noticed on google maps that there is a 9-hole course near Wash U. What's the skinny on it? Does it have a range?

Sorry I didn't see this from before... but yeah, there is a course right across from WUSTL. I'm pretty sure its 36 holes. Its called Forest Park Golf Course I think, and my buddies from St. Louis highly recommend it.

[lobeca]

I can't retake due to the rule. I was waitlisted at wm and wl. I got in at American and catholic but got little money. So little I can't aford them. I currently am in a master's at George mason. I don't want to be in debt. But with my 153 and 3.7 I feel like every school is a flip of a coin. Luckily it was favorable at washington university. I'm not sure what things will look like next year.

[quadsixm]

I can't retake due to the rule. I was waitlisted at wm and wl. I got in at American and catholic but got little money. So little I can't aford them. I currently am in a master's at George mason. I don't want to be in debt. But with my 153 and 3.7 I feel like every school is a flip of a coin. Luckily it was favorable at washington university. I'm not sure what things will look like next year.

Hate to say it, but that LSAT is a waste of that GPA! Maybe applying on day 1 next cycle could get you an acceptance + more $ at a DC-area school.

[romothesavior]

I can't retake due to the rule. I was waitlisted at wm and wl. I got in at American and catholic but got little money. So little I can't aford them. I currently am in a master's at George mason. I don't want to be in debt. But with my 153 and 3.7 I feel like every school is a flip of a coin. Luckily it was favorable at washington university. I'm not sure what things will look like next year.

Hate to say it, but that LSAT is a waste of that GPA! Maybe applying on day 1 next cycle could get you an acceptance + more $ at a DC-area school.

lobeca, your poll/thread on this topic seem to be answering this question pretty clearly. You have already taken the LSAT 3 times, and you have only managed a 153. Unless you really think that your study habits were poor and you can improve your score, there is little point in taking a year off to re-take.

To get that much money with a 153 is very hard to do, even as a URM. If you look at LSN, you'll see that you are by far the lowest LSAT to get an acceptance (at least according to LSN). To not only get accepted but to get a very sizeable scholarship is rare (congratulations, btw), and I think you should jump at the opportunity.

(FWIW, I'm turning down a full ride at a T25 and a T14 acceptance to go to WUSTL, and I have the exact same scholarship you do. Your situation shouldn't even be a question. You should take Wash U's offer and run, unless you decide to stay at your job or you are sure you can improve your score by sitting out a year.)

[quadsixm]

He did indicate that he was working in a stressful environment, in graduate school, and was cheated on in a relationship 2 days before the exam. Those are hardly good conditions for a test as intense as the LSAT. I'm thinking that somebody capable of a 3.7 UGPA and a 4.0 in his major and graduate school is certainly intelligent enough to score much higher on the LSAT. His geographic preference also gives me pause.

[romothesavior]

He did indicate that he was working in a stressful environment, in graduate school, and was cheated on in a relationship 2 days before the exam. Those are hardly good conditions for a test as intense as the LSAT. I'm thinking that somebody capable of a 3.7 UGPA and a 4.0 in his major and graduate school is certainly intelligent enough to score much higher on the LSAT. His geographic preference also gives me pause.

I broke up with my girlfriend of 4 years about a week before the LSAT. Spent the money I was saving for a wedding ring on booze. The bottom line is, I was also in a world of shit when I took the LSAT, and I did just fine. A crisis or stress can account for a few points difference in the LSAT, but a 153 is way, way below midian. OP (well not really OP, but the poster we are discussing this with) is likely to be the lowest LSAT in the class, and that is going to require a LOT of hard work to overcome. I'm not trying to disparage OP or anything, I'm just giving a frank assessment of the situation.

That said, I'd still say go to WUSTL. The law school gods were smiling on this particular applicant, and a 75k scholarship to a T20 school with those numbers is not an opportunity to pass up (URM or not).

Go for it, work hard, make it to median, and you should do just fine for yourself. You may even find that you really like St. Louis or the midwest, and you may wind up wanting to stay there long term! Good luck to you.

[ec2xs]

Does anybody have any insight concerning WUSTLs pull in Tejas? I want to be back here someday.

[dvd]

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[lobeca]

I broke up with my girlfriend of 4 years about a week before the LSAT. Spent the money I was saving for a wedding ring on booze. The bottom line is, I was also in a world of shit when I took the LSAT, and I did just fine. A crisis or stress can account for a few points difference in the LSAT, but a 153 is way, way below midian. OP (well not really OP, but the poster we are discussing this with) is likely to be the lowest LSAT in the class, and that is going to require a LOT of hard work to overcome. I'm not trying to disparage OP or anything, I'm just giving a frank assessment of the situation.
That said, I'd still say go to WUSTL. The law school gods were smiling on this particular applicant, and a 75k scholarship to a T20 school with those numbers is not an opportunity to pass up (URM or not).

Why did you break up with her before the test. Why not after? 153 is not way below median. Most people score in the 149 to 159 range. The average test score is 150. Also, my gpa is right at the 75th percentile for WUSTL. Don't forget that gpa is also a strong indicator of preformance on 1L. I'm wondering why you did. Perhaps, you had a some hater-ade to fix the hangover after your booze. I'm not trying to disparage you. wink wink.....No god smiled upon me, I had an awesome application (I think and so did WUSTL apparently) besides my lsat score.

[najumobi]

Does anybody have any insight concerning WUSTLs pull in Tejas? I want to be back here someday.

You'd be better off reapplying and going to Texas - esp. with in-state tuition making it cheaper than Wash U.

ec2xs's profiles says he has a 3.2 gpa. it might not be very possible for him to get into texas (this or any cycle).

ec2xs, if you're from texas, it shouldn't be hard to go back there after law school. from looking at recent incoming and graduating classes it looks like 5%-6% of wustl's incoming classes are from the west south central (TX, OK, LA, AR) and that's about the same percentage of other classes' grads placed in that region. i'm not saying that 100% of people placing in the west south central are those from that region, but i still want to think that at least a majority of grads placed in that region are originally from there, just b/c the impression i've gotten is that it's hard to place in such a region without connections.

[Stephanie13]

Does anybody have any insight concerning WUSTLs pull in Tejas? I want to be back here someday.

You'd be better off reapplying and going to Texas - esp. with in-state tuition making it cheaper than Wash U.

ec2xs's profiles says he has a 3.2 gpa. it might not be very possible for him to get into texas (this or any cycle).

ec2xs, if you're from texas, it shouldn't be hard to go back there after law school. from looking at recent incoming and graduating classes it looks like 5%-6% of wustl's incoming classes are from the west south central (TX, OK, LA, AR) and that's about the same percentage of other classes' grads placed in that region. i'm not saying that 100% of people placing in the west south central are those from that region, but i still want to think that at least a majority of grads placed in that region are originally from there, just b/c the impression i've gotten is that it's hard to place in such a region without connections.

I hope you are right about this too. I'd like to make it back to Texas after law school, either immediately or after a while but I don't want to waste the time to wait around another year hoping that Texas might accept me next year.

[meddlingkid]

Why did you break up with her before the test. Why not after? 153 is not way below median. Most people score in the 149 to 159 range. The average test score is 150. Also, my gpa is right at the 75th percentile for WUSTL. Don't forget that gpa is also a strong indicator of preformance on 1L. I'm wondering why you did. Perhaps, you had a some hater-ade to fix the hangover after your booze. I'm not trying to disparage you. wink wink.....No god smiled upon me, I had an awesome application (I think and so did WUSTL apparently) besides my lsat score.

I think Romo is saying a 153 is way below WUSTL's median, which it is.

[romothesavior]

Why did you break up with her before the test. Why not after? 153 is not way below median. Most people score in the 149 to 159 range. The average test score is 150. Also, my gpa is right at the 75th percentile for WUSTL. Don't forget that gpa is also a strong indicator of preformance on 1L. I'm wondering why you did. Perhaps, you had a some hater-ade to fix the hangover after your booze. I'm not trying to disparage you. wink wink.....No god smiled upon me, I had an awesome application (I think and so did WUSTL apparently) besides my lsat score.

I think Romo is saying a 153 is way below WUSTL's median, which it is.

That's exactly what I'm saying. 167 is a long way from 153. Over 20 questions difference in raw score. Anyways, I wasn't siipping on haterade in the other thread, I was just echoing the sentiments of the other posters in there and making sure you realized what a big gap that was. I'm not trying to knock on you, and again, I hope you pick WUSTL and I definitely think it is your best option. Good luck with whatever you do.

Anyways let's get this thread back on track... RayFinkle, I think most people are planning to live in Clayton, Central West End, or U-City. My soon-to-be roommate and I are looking at places a little south of campus and a little west of campus, because we want to be within walking distance. Rent is awesomely low in St. Louis and there are plenty of nice places available.

PS. Sweet avatar and username, btw. One of my fraternity brothers was the kicker at my school and his nickname was Ray Finkle.