Alabama, Northeastern, or Oklahoma City University? Forum

[stego]

I got offered the full-ride plus $5,000 yearly stipend at Alabama. Need to double-check what if any academic stipulations apply.

Talk me out of depositing $100 at Alabama for a little more peace of mind. I'm 100% not going to law school this fall but am contemplating retaking/reapplying vs. deferring admission. I'm retaking the LSAT in June and am not adverse to possibly retaking in October but if I do poorly in June I might be hesitant to bank on that option.

[BigZuck]

If your whole thing is you need to be close to a girlfriend then I don't get why you would go to some rando regional in another state.

Alabama is really no different than most any other state flagship. It's not a school you pack up and move to from thousands of miles away without having a good reason to do so.

[wubwubwub]

I know people here say academics and special programs don't matter, but I do feel like Alabama would be a good place to be to study civil rights. Their second-most prestigious law review is a civil rights journal and there might be some connections to things like the Southern Poverty Law Center.

SPLC and EJI, like most prestigious PI employers, predominantly hire from HYS, NYU, and Berkeley. I don't think there's an Alabama connection despite the location.

[stego]

I know people here say academics and special programs don't matter, but I do feel like Alabama would be a good place to be to study civil rights. Their second-most prestigious law review is a civil rights journal and there might be some connections to things like the Southern Poverty Law Center.

SPLC and EJI, like most prestigious PI employers, predominantly hire from HYS, NYU, and Berkeley. I don't think there's an Alabama connection despite the location.

I don't have data on where they hire from, but Morris Dees (co-founder/chief trial attorney of SPLC) is an Alabama alum. Bryan Fair sits on the board of directors and is an Alabama law professor. I think Fair may have some involvement with EJI as well. I'm sure HYS, NYU, Berkeley, etc. students have an advantage for those top-tier PI firms.

If your whole thing is you need to be close to a girlfriend then I don't get why you would go to some rando regional in another state.

Alabama is really no different than most any other state flagship. It's not a school you pack up and move to from thousands of miles away without having a good reason to do so.

I'm not going to law school in the fall. I'm going to Oklahoma City to be close to GF. Staying in Oklahoma in fall 2016 and beyond would probably require a full ride or close to it from OU, which only offered me 1/3 of OOS tuition this cycle. If OU doesn't up their offer significantly and GF doesn't want to relocate to a better school we'd likely break up.

I get what you're saying to a certain degree but there are things I like about the school and there are certain costs associated with retaking/reapplying (time, money, uncertainty). Alabama was my best option this cycle. If I deposit I can at least wait and see how I feel after I'm in Oklahoma and have taken the June LSAT.

[timbs4339]

There are a fair amount of federal judges in Alabama, each of whom get a couple clerks per year. And most of them went to Bama. Those clerkships are probably very heavily based in Alabama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... of_Alabama

[stego]

So another important question. Suppose I accept your argument that I need to get into a T14 next cycle. Is it an absolutely terrible idea to try to transfer from one of the schools I've already gotten into?

I think I know what you're going to say. I'm just worried. What if I put in all that time and money retaking the LSAT and I get the same score or even worse? And my 167 from 2010 will be too old to use. What if I can't find a decent job in OKC for a year?

If it makes any difference Alabama said I could defer for a year so if I retook and disaster struck that could probably still have that as a fallback option. I applied to Duke late in the cycle and got waitlisted.

Then you retake again. Forgoing the 2010 score is the price you pay for not being diligent enough this cycle in applying but lesson learned. Also if you defer Bama, you're locked into Bama. They're not going to let you keep their admission in your back pocket AND let you test the waters.

Actually, this is wrong. They clarified that the deferral is non-binding. I can still apply to other schools.

In other news, I printed off my old score report and I'm starting to feel optimistic about my upcoming retake. I realized I got 13 wrong on the logic games and only 6 wrong on the other 3 sections combined. If I can get faster at LG and actually answer all the questions, I should get a higher score. Easier said than done, but it seems promising.

[POTUSorSCOTUS]

Do not attend any of these schools because they're all regional and bad. You have good stats, but you should retake and score 2-3 points higher for lower T14 w/ $.

[pancakes3]

So another important question. Suppose I accept your argument that I need to get into a T14 next cycle. Is it an absolutely terrible idea to try to transfer from one of the schools I've already gotten into?

I think I know what you're going to say. I'm just worried. What if I put in all that time and money retaking the LSAT and I get the same score or even worse? And my 167 from 2010 will be too old to use. What if I can't find a decent job in OKC for a year?

If it makes any difference Alabama said I could defer for a year so if I retook and disaster struck that could probably still have that as a fallback option. I applied to Duke late in the cycle and got waitlisted.

Then you retake again. Forgoing the 2010 score is the price you pay for not being diligent enough this cycle in applying but lesson learned. Also if you defer Bama, you're locked into Bama. They're not going to let you keep their admission in your back pocket AND let you test the waters.

Actually, this is wrong. They clarified that the deferral is non-binding. I can still apply to other schools.

In other news, I printed off my old score report and I'm starting to feel optimistic about my upcoming retake. I realized I got 13 wrong on the logic games and only 6 wrong on the other 3 sections combined. If I can get faster at LG and actually answer all the questions, I should get a higher score. Easier said than done, but it seems promising.

Then defer away if the risk-reward is zero::full ride + stipend. It solves your "what if my retake bombs" problem too. Win-win. I'm happy to be wrong. You should still study your butt off and aim for HYS or T6 with full rides with your 3.93/17X potential.