3.49/172 - where to?

[jlevin37]

- took the lsat once
- average/above average WE
- upward trending GPA
- top 13 UG
- solid recs
- 60k UG debt
- prefer city to rural/suburban location
- interest in biglaw or DA work. at this point, completely unsure between the two
- originally ~45 minutes outside of NYC, would like to work in NYC, DC, Chicago or Boston.
- applying most likely at the very beginning of the next cycle (may wait one more, tbd)

Chances at:
1. Columbia
2. Chicago
3. NYU
4. Berkeley
5. UPenn
6. UMichigan
7. UVA
8.Northwestern
9. Cornell
10.GULC
11. GW
12. BU

My main dilemma is whether or not to ED. If I were to ED anywhere, it would be to UPenn or Northwestern. I do prefer to live in a city, though I would still be happy at Michigan, UVA or Cornell. The ability to choose amongst 3-4 of these schools is really important to me, and I feel like I would be sacrificing that by ED'ing.

That said, if I didn't get into any of the top 8 on that list, I would be in a difficult position. As a splitter, I am not expecting much of anything in terms of the way of scholarship money. Combined with my already sizable UG debt, I really think I need to crack that list in order to justify attending at sticker.

Do you think I have a reasonable enough shot at MVP/Northwestern as is, so I can avoid ED'ing?

[Drake014]

its late, try this again tomorrow.

[Tanicius]

its late, try this again tomorrow.

You mean next year. Ain't no one applying this late in the year and getting into even the lower half of the T-14 without a 180/4.0.

[Drake014]

its late, try this again tomorrow.

You mean next year. Ain't no one applying this late in the year and getting into even the lower half of the T-14 without a 180/4.0.

I meant ask the forum this question tomorrow but clever play. I don't really think he was intending to apply this school year.

[dabbadon8]

- took the lsat once
- average/above average WE
- upward trending GPA
- top 13 UG
- solid recs
- 60k UG debt
- prefer city to rural/suburban location
- interest in biglaw or DA work. at this point, completely unsure between the two
- originally ~45 minutes outside of NYC, would like to work in NYC, DC, Chicago or Boston.

Chances at:
1. Columbia
2. Chicago
3. NYU
4. Berkeley
5. UPenn
6. UMichigan
7. UVA
8.Northwestern
9. Cornell
10.GULC
11. GW
12. BU

Same stats plus 1 LSAT. Results of my cycle are in my profile. With your WE northwestern should be good to you. One thing I learned from my cycle is not to count on getting lucky. If you really want one school consider ED'ing. I am happy with taking the money I got at umich, but if it hadn't worked out there I would definitely be disappointed with my cycle and regretting not ED'ing now. Just something to consider. For example as an OOS applicant at UVA you may be waitlisting yourself by not EDing, same with penn. Anyways. good luck with your cycle.

[jlevin37]

thanks for the advice!

and yes, I am planning on applying next year. Hah.

[rebexness]

[czelede]

I think M is your best shot at MVP, and that you will probably get M RD. If out of state, V is probably a WL for you and I would estimate P to be 60/40 Waitlist/Accept depending on a) how much they like your softs b) your supplemental essays.

As for Northwestern, don't ED. Interview. Make sure you have solid LORs/CPEs. You should be accepted RD without much of a hitch.

Basically, if you rate your chances on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being ">90% not getting in, 5 being >90% getting in", I would score your schools as follows (provided you really put in 100% for your applications):

Columbia: 1
Chicago: 1.5/2
NYU: 1.5/2
Berkeley: crapshoot, nobody understands Berkeley
UPenn: 2.5/3
Michigan: 4.5
UVA: 1
Northwestern: 5
Cornell: 5
GULC: 5


Unsure about GW and BC since I'm guessing you're asking about those two for $$.

Tl;dr: between M and NU you should be able to land at least one RD. Save UVA for an emergency ED.

M is also pretty generous with money. So it's actually your best shot at getting $ from the T14.

[jlevin37]

awesome. that's exactly the type of advice I was looking for. thank you!

[whitman]

Exact same stats. Top 5 public university. Two years WE. Good LOR's and essays (does anyone not think theirs are good?). Here's how it's worked out for me:

Didn't apply to Columbia because, honestly, it's incredibly unlikely with out stats.

In
GULC
Cornell
UPenn (this one was surprising to me, and I'm not sure how indicative my success is to yours; they seem fairly holistic)
Northwestern (applied in January, didn't interview, didn't ED, no targeted LOR's and still got in, so I think you're good there)

Out
Berkeley (this was my number one choice, but I think it's just incredibly unlikely to get in with our GPA; however, I applied in December, so applying in September could help tremendously)

Waitlist
UVA (pretty much guaranteed for you without an ED)

TBD
Chicago (anticipating WL/Deny; you're likely to experience the same, though they like really good undergrads, so that might help you, depending on which school you attended)
Michigan (really thought I'd get in here with a Why Mich, LOCI and competitive numbers, but after applying in October I've watched others with comparable numbers get in with money, so I think you're likely to have a good chance here)
Duke (applied in October, no word, they seem to be bigger on the GPA than some of their peers)
NYU (complete 11/3, assuming a WL is headed my way; I don't think you have too much of a shot here)

Basically, I would anticipate getting Northwestern, GULC, Cornell, maybe Duke, one of MVP, and getting denied at Berkeley, Columbia, Chicago, and NYU. Raising your LSAT will not help too much at MVP, will not change your likelihood of getting denied at Berkeley, but could put you in contention for CCN.

Please excuse my lack of real punctuation and sloppy writing. I hope that helped.

[jlevin37]

I know it's a long shot, but would ED'ing to Columbia/Chicago/NYU/Penn make any difference?

I would really love to attend a school in a big city(especially those 4 schools), and would be willing to commit to an ED. Unfortunately, it seems that there is very limited data for splitters like me, and no real sample to determine how ED'ing would make a difference.

Anyone have better information that I can't manage to find?

[soupisgood]

I know it's a long shot, but would ED'ing to Columbia/Chicago/NYU/Penn make any difference?

I would really love to attend a school in a big city(especially those 4 schools), and would be willing to commit to an ED. Unfortunately, it seems that there is very limited data for splitters like me, and no real sample to determine how ED'ing would make a difference.

Anyone have better information that I can't manage to find?

I ED'd UChi this cycle with a 3.4x and 173 retake (original 167) and was accepted, if that helps at all.

Have you tried searching on LSN for EDers within your LSAT/GPA range? I found it very useful when I was trying to decide whether or not to/where to ED.

[Lieut Kaffee]

I look forward to seeing you on campus in Fall 2012.

[jlevin37]

Is there an ED search function on LSN? or do I just have to look at it manually?

[bdubs]

Is there an ED search function on LSN? or do I just have to look at it manually?

LOL. I think you would increase your chances substantially EDing to Chicago or NYU, probably not a huge bump at Columbia since it's a reach to begin with.

I have your same stats, results are in my profile. I probably have more WE than you do and my 3.5 is the result of poor choices in CC classes during HS (UGPA is 3.65).

[Lieut Kaffee]

For what it's worth, I used to be all about using ED as a strategic tool to boost your chances at your highest-ranked "realistic reach" school. I'm actually really glad that didn't work out for me, because I think it was foolish to bind myself to a school just because it's ranked a few spots higher, without having a chance to visit any of the campuses.

I think ED to NYU would make your chances of getting in there excellent, but I think you should visit and/or seriously consider schools like Michigan, Northwestern, Virginia, etc. before doing this.

[bdubs]

For what it's worth, I used to be all about using ED as a strategic tool to boost your chances at your highest-ranked "realistic reach" school. I'm actually really glad that didn't work out for me, because I think it was foolish to bind myself to a school just because it's ranked a few spots higher, without having a chance to visit any of the campuses.

I think ED to NYU would make your chances of getting in there excellent, but I think you should visit and/or seriously consider schools like Michigan, Northwestern, Virginia, etc. before doing this.

+1 - visit the school before you ED. Either do it this spring or early next fall. Choose whichever of Chicago or NYU you think you would prefer, also make sure to talk to an admissions person about your app, I found out that was helpful a little too late in the process.