Top Law Schools

I have a 3.0 GPA, but I got a 171 on the LSAT. I took the LSAT again last week because I was consistently scoring above 178 on practice tests, and I felt like it went much better. So I would guess my new LSAT score will be 175 or higher. What I'm wondering is what the best schools are that I have a decent chance at sizable (over 50%) scholarship money for.

Unless top law schools start doing some crazy things this cycle in response to the contracting applicant pool, you're extremely unlikely to see that kind of money from the splitter-friendly T14s. WUSTL would have given you a full ride this past cycle, and it wouldn't have mattered whether you had a 175+ or just the 171. UMN would have given you a big scholarship as well. Who knows if they'll keep that up for the coming cycle.

If you aren't going to use your high LSAT to attend a T14, then there's no list of "best schools" that applies for everyone. Good schools outside of the T14 only place well regionally/locally. No one in legal hiring cares about the USNWR rankings. If you wanted to work in Philly, for instance, you would be much better off with a JD from Temple (#56) or Villanova (#98) than you would with an equivalent class ranking from Alabama (#21), Indiana (#25), or Iowa (#26).

If you're considering going to a non-T14 law school for reduced debt, then you need to be going on a full scholarship (in most cases) to the strongest local/regional school (in terms of employment outcomes, not USNWR) in an area where you have significant ties. A half-tuition scholarship at most such schools will still leave you in too much debt for the likely job prospects provided. Understand also that legal hiring outside of primary markets ranges from fairly to extremely parochial. Not only will employers prefer the local/regional schools over all other non-T14 schools -- they will strongly prefer people who have significant prior ties to the area. No employer is interested in investing in a potential flight risk, and there will be plenty of local grads that eliminate that concern in every case. Don't go to U of Washington with the goal of working in Seattle, for instance, unless you have notable preexisting connections to the area. You will be at an enormous disadvantage when competing for jobs with students who grew up in the area or who have other strong ties to it, and you also will have a great deal of trouble finding employment in a different part of the country with that degree. You also need to be comfortable with the reality that you are very unlikely to ever work in BigLaw, BigFed, or prestigious PI out of one of these local/regional schools.

Once you're above the 75th percentile for a school's LSAT, it doesn't matter. Having a 178 vs. a 174 means nothing. You're going to be below their GPA 25% and above their LSAT 75%.

WUSTL and some others will throw a good bit of money your way but don't expect much of anything from Penn, UVA, GULC, Texas, UCLA, etc.

EDIT: As someone who took a higher ranked school over a hefty scholarship, go with the money. Going to a T14 at sticker is a terrible idea. (I got a scholarship and i'm still not sure it was worth it)

I doubt OP is URM, but since it's his/her first post, perhaps it's worth asking.

mmanovich21: What is your ethnic background?

Not a URM.

mr.hands wrote:Once you're above the 75th percentile for a school's LSAT, it doesn't matter. Having a 178 vs. a 174 means nothing.

Is that for real?

mr.hands wrote: EDIT: As someone who took a higher ranked school over a hefty scholarship, go with the money. Going to a T14 at sticker is a terrible idea. (I got a scholarship and i'm still not sure it was worth it)

This depends on the OP's goals and the exact schools in question. In most cases the smarter financial move for splitters is to go to the higher ranked school, especially when talking about T-14 vs. non T-14.