Top Law Schools

Hey y'all. So just to note, I have looked at mylsn before posting, but I want to hear the opinions of people on here in more detail.

I took the LSAT in sept and got 160. Then I took it in December and by some freak accident (I expected a bump to 162 maybe), I got a 170! This has changed a lot for me in terms of schools I am applying to, with my previous reach schools (BU/BC) becoming fairly safe bets for money. SO with that being in mind here is my current list. Though they aren't helping me with paying for law school, my parents are also paying most of my app fees, so I am ok with applying to a few extra schools on the long shot that I might get into one of them.

Harvard (I am fully aware that I have less than 0 chance to get in, but my parents are willing to pay the fee for the novelty of saying their son applied, so why the fuck not)

Columbia (Another one where I'm pretty sure I have a 0 chance, but again, fuck it)

NYU
UVA
Georgetown
Cornell
BU
BC
GWU
Vanderbilt

I am hoping that I will get significant money at BC/BU. I am not in a lot of urgad debt (10k), but I would optimally like to graduate law school without being mired in it.

My goals and interests are mainly in Public Sector, government/elected office, International Relations, and NGO work. That being said, I understand that for any of that, my best bet is to try and go the biglaw route and train up. I feel that if I have less debt however, I will be more free to take lower paying jobs which may be more in the field I am interested in.

I would like to stay in the Northeast if that's practical, and *ideally* in the Boston area, but I also understand that I need to be flexible with this stuff.

As for softs/demographics, I am pretty much your generic straight, white, middle class male. The one thing I have going for me demographic wise is that I am a first generation immigrant from Russia. My family moved here in 2000, and I speak fluent Russian at home. For softs, I am in a leadership position at my state's College Democrats branch, I've done research for a professor(who wrote a LoR) for the past 4 semesters, and I am a senator in our student gov't. Finally, I had a strong campaign internship.

So thoughts? What schools should I add to my list. Do I have a shot at NYU/Cornell? Should I add anything for negotiating purposes?

Bump

You definitely have a shot at NYU.

You're at their 25th for GPA and ~75th for LSAT, so there are a lot of 1L students walking around NYU right now with your very same credentials. I'm not sure if you'll get money, but you have a high chance of getting in at NYU. For Cornell, you should get in and get a good amount of scholarship $. UVA is the only school on your list I think you will have a hard time with because you're pretty far below the median GPA. That being said, you definitely have a shot. Their 25th percentile GPA drops a lot lower than most top schools.

I'd personally add Michigan and Duke. They have enough portability to get you back into the Northeast and you have a decent chance of grabbing some good money.

I would just apply to the entire t14 from H on down. Probably a small to zero chance you get into H, Columbia or Chicago, but if money to apply isn't a factor can't hurt. You'll get into NU, Cornell, Duke and Gtown with $$ and probably a good shot at getting into a few other schools including a shot at NYU. Are you applying now? If so, it is getting a little late and you likely would have a better cycle if you waited and applied in September

I think that the poster above is right, blanket T-14 minus Y/S. You will get a good number of T-14 acceptances, but it is hard to know who will give you money. I got 30k more from Duke than Cornell or Northwestern. I got WL at Michigan. Numbers only tell the story to a point.

Duke was never a big possibility for me, but the offer was my best tool for negotiation. Without it I don't know if I would have had the leverage to get other offers that made law school a reasonable decision financially. Apply broadly and you might cut your future debt by tens of thousands of dollars.

Thanks for the responses guys! I'm starting to have some fee waivers coming in which is pretty nice. So far I've got a waiver from Cornell, UVA, Vanderbilt, and I've gotten a waiver and fast track from Duke. I'm hoping that I get most of the T-14. I know Mich And NW are pretty portable, but I really would like to stay within driving distance (~9 hrs) of my family in Boston. That being said, if I got some great money from somewhere I would def consider it.

I know I'm applying pretty late in the cycle, with Cornell being due Feb 1. I really would like to go to school next year though. Being in school until I'm 26 just isn't for me, and I can accept going to a school a few points down in exchange for going now.

One thing I also want to note is that retaking the LSAT for a higher score isn't really an option. I was PTing at 162 consistently despite getting through all my materials, doing the Bibles, etc. By some fluke (literally blind guessed game 3 and got -1 on it) I managed to pull this score out of my ass haha. I don't think I could feasibly get above 170 no matter how hard I studied.

You have really similar numbers as I do. I blanketed T14 minus HYS and then added BC/U, GW, and FSU (home college). I'm really liking Duke right now. They seem pretty generous (anecdotally) on giving money, and they have fantastic employment numbers.

atikhomi wrote:Being in school until I'm 26 just isn't for me, and I can accept going to a school a few points down in exchange for going now.

That is remarkably immature and could be financially disastrous.

Apply and see where you get in, but don't settle for a school that you don't want to attend just because you're too impatient to wait another cycle and apply at a decent time. If you go to GW with those numbers, you'll deserve every bit of regret and self-loathing that you end up with in 3 years.

I had very similar numbers to you. I think that HLS and UC are within the realm of possibility for you, depending on how good you are at the rest of the application. Agree with others that, assuming cost is not an issue, there is no reason not to apply to any T14 that you might actually like to attend. Don't close the door on yourself.

Where did you end up going if you don't mind me asking?

Bunp

FWIW, I sent my undergraduate pre-law adviser (T14 school) an email asking about application timing. She suggested that I apply early next year for the best results. I'll be turning 25 this year... the same age as some of my coworkers who are attorneys and law graduates.

My LSAT is a couple points higher, but about the same GPA.