upenn engineering
gpa: 3.54
LSAT: 159 (3 yrs ago), 164, 171
WE: 3.5 yrs at deloitte consulting
applying 2010 or 2011

what are my chances at the following schools:
1. harvard
2. stanford
3. columbia
4. nyu
5. uc berk
6. chicago
7. upenn
8. umich
9. upenn
10. northwestern
11. duke
12. uva
13. cornell
14. gtown
15. ucla

any thoughts?

I applied with roughly the same GPA and two LSAT scores (my first one was lower than your first, but my second was the same). My cycle

Columbia - wl/out
UVA - in w/$
Duke - in w/$
Gtown - in
W&M - in w/$

you said your second score is same as mine. i have 3 scores. 164 or 171?
also, did you write an addendum regarding the jump in LSAT scores? i absolutely do not have any reason. i just tested better the 3rd time.

thanks,

Sorry, I missed the first score. I went from 160 to 171. I wrote an addendum for Duke, but that was it. I don't think it made an impact either way. Such a large jump tends to speak for itself.

Well done, sir! Its always nice to see someone who appreciates the value of persisting with the LSAT. There's nothing like acing it the first, but it beat the hell out of settling for a score below of what one is capable of.

I'd say in everywhere from Michigan on down. Would assume its pretty iffy at Chicago and up.

Out: HYS, Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley
50/50: NYU, Virginia, Michigan, UCLA
In: Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, Georgetown

hmm. so where should i early to? i don't want to early anywhere that i have super good chance of getting into . . . but definitely want to be realistic and reasonable.

any suggestions?
columbia
nyu
chicago
upenn
michigan
duke
northwestern
uva
gtown

thanks!

my .02 - I would ED at NYU or PENN, or- to be cautious- NU

Thanks for the input. going to apply next yr. seems like it's too late to do it this yr considering that i haven't started on my personal statement, etc. Have you applied already?

Too late? You're talking about EDing, you're not too late. Sit down, write your personal statement. You even have a month or so. I submitted in January and I don't think it adversely effected my cycle.

If the only reason you are postponing a year is because you think you are too late in the cycle, you have no reason to postpone.

2 reasons why i'm postponing:
1. i want to apply early when not too many ppl applied and also when they have money left
2. i'm trying to save some money for school because i don't have enough to pay for law school and support myself

let me know if those shouldn't be that big of problems.

1) Not a big problem if you apply by December, giving you 3-4 weeks to write a PS. Scholarships are usually offered after acceptances, so there is zero chance that they run out of scholarship money by December.

2) There's no way you're going to save $200k after taxes, or probably even $50k, in one year. Either way, you'll be taking out huge loans unless you get scholarship money. The majority of students going to law school right after graduation are taking out the full cost of attendance in loans, so there's no reason why you couldn't do that. Of course, whether you want to do that, is another matter.

IMO you're 50/50 at NYU and Virginia, so you could still ED Virginia by Dec. 15 if you want to lock up a T10, and don't mind giving up the chance at NYU.

I would say that number two is a legit reason. But you could always apply this year and defer (I'm not sure about the policy about an ED-defer, but I'm sure the info's out there somewhere). But I would second the comment above and ask how much you can really save in a year. I took a year off between undergrad and law school and saved a bit, but what I did save was mostly because I was living with my parents.

For most of us, loans are a fact of life when it comes to law school.