3.54/163 - UW/Davis vs. Lewis and Clark w/$?

[chicityteacher]

Hey All,

I just got accepted to LC with 20,000 scholarship. I haven't heard back from UW yet, but based on my searching around (lawschoolnumbers, predictor, lsac official guide, a previous post on this forum, etc...) I think I have around a 50/50 shot. I only have a 163/3.54, which puts me kind of in the middle, BUT, I have great softs (Teach for America, tons of leadership in undergrad, great PS and recommendations) and I applied at the very beginning of UW's cycle (app. sent on Oct. 9th). I also applied to Davis and haven't heard back, but I found out I can still get resident tuition at UW since I only left the state to do Teach for America, which lowers the price tag and thus makes it more appealing than Davis. Given this info, I have several questions:

1. Is 50/50 a reasonable expectation for my chances at UW?
2. If I want to eventually work in the Seattle area, is LC a good choice?
3. If I don't get in to UW, would I have better luck attending LC for a year and transferring, or waiting a year, retaking and re-applying?
4. Does Davis still have a part to play in this?

I know this was kind of a longer post, so thanks to you all for taking the time to give me your thoughts.

[jbryant1987]

I don't know nearly as much about your admission chances as other people on here, but I do know from working at a consulting firm in Seattle during college and for a year after college, law firms are going to be way more likely to hire you with a UW Law degree vs LC.

UW is on my list as well and it sounds like you are better then a 50/50 with that LSAT/GPA combo and your softs.

[NorCalBruin]

1. I think you have more than a 50/50 shot at Washington. Believe it or not, UW is one of the more holistic schools and I think your softs / residency will help you here. And the fact that you applied early helps. LSP doesn't give you a great shot, but there's people on LSN who had similar or worse stats and made it in.

2. I don't know. But I would definitely take UW over L&C if seattle is what you want. Top 5-10% L&C graduates probably have a decent shot in Seattle, but just aren't ever going to compete with above median UW kids. That's mostly speculation though, so ask someone who know.

Also, it's nice you got a scholarship at L&C, but UW in-state tuition is super cheap ($24,339)... although L&C is pretty cheap too ($30,436)-your scholarship.

Question, is that 20k over 3 years, or 20k a year?

3. Retaking & Reapplying. I would never go to school that I didn't want to graduate from. It's possible to transfer out of L&C, but you are going to have be towards the top of your class. That is much easier said than done. Plus you don't want to settle in to a new area, make new friends, etc. only to uproot yourself 1 year later--not unless you really have to. That would totally suck.

4. Davis shouldn't be an option if you want to work in the Seattle Area. It's a fine school, don't get me wrong, just not for where you want to be.

[chicityteacher]

Thanks for the advice

And to answer your question, the scholarship is 20k per year.