Top Law Schools

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Are you looking to do career JAG or just your commitment & then bolt?

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Well I don't know how much school effects your standing with JAG so you'd probably want to research that, but if you're only looking at JAG as something to do for awhile & then get into practicing law you need to consider what your ambitions are about the type of law you want to practice after JAG and at what level (do you just want to do criminal law, do you want to go into biglaw, what market do you want to work in etc.). Regardless of what impact your school choice has on JAG it will have an impact on those decisions you make after leaving the military.

Also, I could be wrong but I think you have to do your normal military commitment AND THEN you can enter the JAG corps. So do think of JAG as a way to kill two birds with one stone -- you'd still be in for a very long commitment.

I only know one person who did this -- 4 years army, 3 years law school & now finishing out his commitment to JAG. He was happy with his choice but wants to be finished with his military commitment & move on with his life. I'm pretty sure at one point they pulled him off JAG duty & moved him back to regular Army to do a rotation in Afghanistan. I could have heard that wrong & he might just be dong JAG work over there, but that's the last I heard of him when talking to his family. As a reference he also went to a T2 law school.

Also, if you're debt adverse & want to do JAG don't those go hand in hand? Won't JAG cover the cost of whatever school you attend?

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Which JAG branch do you want to enter? The deployments, bases you would be stationed at, nature of legal work and more will be different in each one. For the Marines and Army, school prestige is not a very big factor. I'm not sure how much prestige matters for the Navy and Air Force, but its not like a T2 is automatically going to disqualify you. A solidly T2 school certainly is good enough, and the free-ride makes it pretty tough to pass up. My understanding is grades are a very big part of the JAG application, and it may be easier to place highly at a T2 school than top 10-20 schools. As for your debt aversion, the Army currently offers 65K debt repayment if that is where your interest lies, while you can use IBR in all the branches. But keep in mind it may be a bad idea to bank on JAG if you are not fully aware of which branch or branches you want, and what you are going to need to do to maxamize your chances to get in. Acceptance rates for most branches are at or well under 10% right now.

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Unless you've scored at or above your practice average, retaking (and restudying/analyzing why you underperformed) is always the credited response.

Edit; Double posted

lsatbdog wrote:

nycparalegal wrote:I was thinking marine jag.

You know you can be accepted into this program now and go to OCS before law school, correct? Just get in contact with your local recruiter, show them proof of your acceptance to a school, do well on the PT and you are in (well...you could get rejected, but I was told I was a "shoe-in" with numbers very similiar to yours, but I can kill the PT). But you'll need to get the ball rolling on this ASAP, middle of next month to have all your paperwork complete at latest. If you are serious about this you should go through this route, because you will come out as a 1st Lt. and be a Captain sometime around the conclusion of TBS, as opposed to going through OCS post law school and starting out as a 2nd Lt. with 2 years before promotion. Pretty large difference in pay there. For the Marine Corps, school prestige isn't too big a factor in selection. You can also get in during your 1L or 2L years and go to OCS in the summer then, but if you don't get selected during your time in law school, I think it becomes WAY more difficult to be selected (though I'm not positive on this).

T2 with full ride is more than fine for JAG, but the issue becomes exit options once you get out.

EDIT: I also want to point out, if you are just looking to "do some military service", the Marine Corps may not be the branch you want to go in. Even for POGs, is by far the most military/gung-ho branch. Also important to note is while you will receive pretty nice compensation as a military officer, if you retake and take out well upwards of 100K in debt to go to a T-14 school, you will be devoting tons of your income to paying loans off, and IBR won't be too useful if you only sign up for the minimum 3 1/2 year active duty commitment.

Why not go to t2 school and then transfer?

britishtoxicity wrote:Why not go to t2 school and then transfer?

Because you'll do worse in law school than you think you will.

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote:Why not go to t2 school and then transfer?

Because you'll do worse in law school than you think you will.

So you think op should retake?

britishtoxicity wrote:

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote:Why not go to t2 school and then transfer?

Because you'll do worse in law school than you think you will.

So you think op should retake?

If he thinks he can get a 170+, he should at least take another shot at it. Maximizing your LSAT score is the easiest and least risk-free way thing you can do for yourself.

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote:

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote:Why not go to t2 school and then transfer?

Because you'll do worse in law school than you think you will.

So you think op should retake?

If he thinks he can get a 170+, he should at least take another shot at it. Maximizing your LSAT score is the easiest and least risk-free way thing you can do for yourself.

True. But, it looks like op has a 3.08 gps, chances are his 172 will only get him a full ride at a state school which he has right now. I don't see the point of retaking LSAT.

britishtoxicity wrote: True. But, it looks like op has a 3.08 gps, chances are his 172 will only get him a full ride at a state school which he has right now. I don't see the point of retaking LSAT.

170/3.1 could get him a T14, or at least money at a T30.

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote: True. But, it looks like op has a 3.08 gps, chances are his 172 will only get him a full ride at a state school which he has right now. I don't see the point of retaking LSAT.

170/3.1 could get him a T14, or at least money at a T30.

Suny Buffalo isnt a bad school to go with full ride and it looks like he will probably do better there because he will be with his numbers peer and wouldnt be so overwhelmed

britishtoxicity wrote:

rayiner wrote:

britishtoxicity wrote: True. But, it looks like op has a 3.08 gps, chances are his 172 will only get him a full ride at a state school which he has right now. I don't see the point of retaking LSAT.

170/3.1 could get him a T14, or at least money at a T30.

Suny Buffalo isnt a bad school to go with full ride and it looks like he will probably do better there because he will be with his numbers peer and wouldnt be so overwhelmed

You can't predict how you'll do based on your numbers coming in.

SUNY-B isn't a bad school to get a full ride, but with a 170+, he'll probably get $$ at UIUC or WUSTL, which I think would be better. And he has a real shot at T14.

MF248 wrote:Also, I could be wrong but I think you have to do your normal military commitment AND THEN you can enter the JAG corps.

God you're a dumbass. Another textbook example of brain dead 0L's spouting off on topics they have absolutely no firsthand knowledge of. 80 % of this board consists of the blind leading the blind...truly a sad spectacle.

nycparalegal wrote:I was thinking marine jag.

Go here: http://www.marineocs.com

You will get infinitely more valuable information than any of these dumbasses here can give you.

MTal wrote:

MF248 wrote:Also, I could be wrong but I think you have to do your normal military commitment AND THEN you can enter the JAG corps.

God you're a dumbass. Another textbook example of brain dead 0L's spouting off on topics they have absolutely no firsthand knowledge of. 80 % of this board consists of the blind leading the blind...truly a sad spectacle.

So this makes you what, the guy who makes fun of blind people?

Yimbeezy wrote:

MTal wrote:

MF248 wrote:Also, I could be wrong but I think you have to do your normal military commitment AND THEN you can enter the JAG corps.

God you're a dumbass. Another textbook example of brain dead 0L's spouting off on topics they have absolutely no firsthand knowledge of. 80 % of this board consists of the blind leading the blind...truly a sad spectacle.

So this makes you what, the guy who makes fun of blind people?

No, this makes me the guy who has dealt with both Army and Marine JAG recruiters and OSO's, and who has actual firsthand knowledgeable of the application process.

Just looking at WUSTL on LSN, and with his gpa and if he can get an lsat score of 172. He will probably end up getting around 60,000 to 90,000 merit aid. Tuition is about 42,000 (not including COL), let's say 50,000 (with COL).

At Suny Buffalo, he will probably be getting somewhere around 12,000 to 14,500 merit aid. Tuition is around 16,000 (not including COL), let says (26,000 with COL).

So the OP for WUSTL will probably have each year 20,000 to 30,000 dollars of debt, for a grand total of around 60,000 to 90,000.

At Suny Buffalo, he will have to pay 11,500 to 14,000 dollars of debt, for a grand total of around 34,000 to 42,000.

So by going to Suny Buffalo (instead of a t30), he will save anywhere between 26,000 to 56,000 dollars. For someone who is going JAG and is debt adverse this seems like a good idea.