Cornell vs. Minnesota Forum

[untar614]

Retake for 170+, ED Northwestern, use parents' money to live it up big time in downtown Chicago, while still being a not-too-terrible drive from minneapolis.

[sinfiery]

It's precisely for that reason among others that through my connections in the area, I think I could stand to do well at U of M. My goal is not Big Law in NYC or DC or anywhere else, just here. I'm OK with the regional limitations of a JD from U of MN. It'll be a gamble, but we'll see. Thank you all for the input.

I'm leaning towards UMinn for sure. Cornell just is not worth 160k more for someone with these geographic goals, no matter how loaded they are.


One last question OP, how did you study for the LSAT? How long? Did you score near your PT average?

[atwardow]

I prepared for the LSAT for about 8 months. My diagnostic score was 152, and in the intervening months I took well over 20 full-length tests plus innumerable tutorials and section tests. It was a grueling challenge for me and 162 represents, unfortunately, the culmination of that effort. It seems inconceivable for me that I could really improve. I believe I would be honest and admit otherwise if it were the case. I nearly completely aced the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections; the analytical reasoning section always was a flop for me.

[BigZuck]

I prepared for the LSAT for about 8 months. My diagnostic score was 152, and in the intervening months I took well over 20 full-length tests plus innumerable tutorials and section tests. It was a grueling challenge for me and 162 represents, unfortunately, the culmination of that effort. It seems inconceivable for me that I could really improve. I believe I would be honest and admit otherwise if it were the case. I nearly completely aced the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections; the analytical reasoning section always was a flop for me.

Plenty of untapped potential and work still to be done. You need to study better/harder/more efficiently. Use the guides on this site.

Good luck!

[jbagelboy]

I prepared for the LSAT for about 8 months. My diagnostic score was 152, and in the intervening months I took well over 20 full-length tests plus innumerable tutorials and section tests. It was a grueling challenge for me and 162 represents, unfortunately, the culmination of that effort. It seems inconceivable for me that I could really improve. I believe I would be honest and admit otherwise if it were the case. I nearly completely aced the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections; the analytical reasoning section always was a flop for me.

Plenty of untapped potential and work still to be done. You need to study better/harder/more efficiently. Use the guides on this site.

Good luck!

Lol. I admire your persistence, Zuck.

While what zuck says stands true, attending your state school on significant scholarship with the full intention of practicing in that state, with the thorough understanding that you may not receive an offer at a large firm, and an affluent parental support network to boot, is not an objectively bad choice either. You've studied hard, retaken, and gained 10 points. Im not going to lecture you on retaking, although it remains a perfectly valid option.

[BigZuck]

I prepared for the LSAT for about 8 months. My diagnostic score was 152, and in the intervening months I took well over 20 full-length tests plus innumerable tutorials and section tests. It was a grueling challenge for me and 162 represents, unfortunately, the culmination of that effort. It seems inconceivable for me that I could really improve. I believe I would be honest and admit otherwise if it were the case. I nearly completely aced the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections; the analytical reasoning section always was a flop for me.

Plenty of untapped potential and work still to be done. You need to study better/harder/more efficiently. Use the guides on this site.

Good luck!

Lol. I admire your persistence, Zuck.

While what zuck says stands true, attending your state school on significant scholarship with the full intention of practicing in that state, with the thorough understanding that you may not receive an offer at a large firm, and an affluent parental support network to boot, is not an objectively bad choice either. You've studied hard, retaken, and gained 10 points. Im not going to lecture you on retaking, although it remains a perfectly valid option.

Yeah I'm down with that. It's the big law part of the equation that makes me say retake (well, that and the idea of blowing money when you don't have to). Big law is almost certainly not happening out of the U, their big law placement just isn't very good.

[sinfiery]

I don't think Minnie biglaw is a likely outcome from any school without good grades. Small, secondary market..

If op doesn't want biglaw outside of Minnie, there is no reason to pay the 150k premium for what is likely a very small increase in chances of getting Minnie biglaw. And a retake at this point, after putting forth a solid effort, seems less and less desirable of a course

[jbagelboy]

Yeah I'm down with that. It's the big law part of the equation that makes me say retake (well, that and the idea of blowing money when you don't have to). Big law is almost certainly not happening out of the U, their big law placement just isn't very good.

Yea. I think its less the fault of UMN, and more that "biglaw" as we coastal's/texans know it doesn't really exist in the twin cities. They have Dorsey and other large firms based there, but a lot of the more lucrative work happens as counsel to all the F500 firms. The result is, the ~15% biglaw numbers on LST are essentially an indication of their reach outside of the twin cities, which remains decidedly weak. You can have good outcomes out of UMN that aren't necessarily "biglaw" the way its done in NYC, Chicago, or Texas. Esp. if you throw on that Carlson MBA, which I think I mentioned elsewhere.

[rickgrimes69]

Yeah I'm down with that. It's the big law part of the equation that makes me say retake (well, that and the idea of blowing money when you don't have to). Big law is almost certainly not happening out of the U, their big law placement just isn't very good.

Yea. I think its less the fault of UMN, and more that "biglaw" as we coastal's/texans know it doesn't really exist in the twin cities. They have Dorsey and other large firms based there, but a lot of the more lucrative work happens as counsel to all the F500 firms. The result is, the ~15% biglaw numbers on LST are essentially an indication of their reach outside of the twin cities, which remains decidedly weak. You can have good outcomes out of UMN that aren't necessarily "biglaw" the way its done in NYC, Chicago, or Texas. Esp. if you throw on that Carlson MBA, which I think I mentioned elsewhere.

In-house hires basically nobody fresh out of school. Zuck is right - UMN is a great school for working in the tri-state area, especially for free, but it sucks for Biglaw (or "Biglaw" or whatever you want to call it). It doesn't really matter why.

[Myself]

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[jbagelboy]

Yeah I'm down with that. It's the big law part of the equation that makes me say retake (well, that and the idea of blowing money when you don't have to). Big law is almost certainly not happening out of the U, their big law placement just isn't very good.

Yea. I think its less the fault of UMN, and more that "biglaw" as we coastal's/texans know it doesn't really exist in the twin cities. They have Dorsey and other large firms based there, but a lot of the more lucrative work happens as counsel to all the F500 firms. The result is, the ~15% biglaw numbers on LST are essentially an indication of their reach outside of the twin cities, which remains decidedly weak. You can have good outcomes out of UMN that aren't necessarily "biglaw" the way its done in NYC, Chicago, or Texas. Esp. if you throw on that Carlson MBA, which I think I mentioned elsewhere.

In-house hires basically nobody fresh out of school. Zuck is right - UMN is a great school for working in the tri-state area, especially for free, but it sucks for Biglaw (or "Biglaw" or whatever you want to call it). It doesn't really matter why.

Naturally. If I indicated 3L -> counsel was a possibility, I apologize it was not my intention. If you look at rosters of attorneys at the large firms based in MN (target comes to mind), UMN has a very significant presence. Either they all get there via mid-sized firms in the twin cities, or some might go to Chicago biglaw and come back, Im not sure. Then again everything is different now from boomerlogic so maybe the whole network fell apart.

[Informative]

You won't get a job out of Minnesota at a Vault firm, but there are plenty of small-market biglaw jobs available in Minnesota and the upper lakes region. If you're deadset on going to a big coastal firm, you should avoid Minnesota like the plague.