3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals Forum

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pereira6

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3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by pereira6 » Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:41 am

Hey TLS,

(Sort of) Quick rundown so you all can get a complete accurate idea of who I am and what I'd like to do.

Received a 170 on the LSAT, this matched my top PT, so I'm definitely taking it. No retake.

My GPA is a little confusing I think. I am pursuing a joint B.A./M.A. in Economics (same idea as a J.D./M.B.A.). My undergrad GPA (from a good public school in the Northeast) is a 3.9, while the grad GPA is a 3.7. The undergrad, because of the joint degree, is somewhat cut short, therefore I think they're going to look more closely at my grad GPA. I took 3 CC classes in high school that I didn't care as much about, got a 3.4 in those classes, so my combined GPA is a 3.85.

My goal: work in professional or big-time collegiate sports as a lawyer, business analyst, league commissioner (someday!), whatever. From the research I have done, it looks like the best (and probably only) way to almost guarantee myself into this type of work is to get into BigLaw, and transition laterally after a few years.

I will be graduating with my B.A./M.A. when I am 20 years old. I'm not sure what that counts for in the TLS community's view or law school's admissions, either good or bad.

I will have a decent PS, as it will be as good as it can be with influential writing skills and very, very limited experience (I do not save HIV babies every Tuesday during my lunch break, and, at 20 years old, I do not have any super-relevant work experience or personal struggles with my upbringing).

I like to think I have 2, absolutely killer LORs.

Okay, lets get down to business.

The 170 makes me ecstatic. Makes me think I have a good shot at getting into Columbia or NYU and getting the best opportunities at NYC BigLaw. I probably would be paying sticker at these schools. Do I have a good shot at regular decision? If I ED, do I increase my chances dramatically? If I ED to one of these schools, is it worth the money?

Other than that, the main question is, what schools will give me the best shot at meeting my goals with an acceptable amount of debt? Obviously Columbia and NYU help, but what are the other schools outside of NYC that help me both with the goal of getting to BigLaw and/or landing a scholarship?

I have no misconceptions about the current legal market either, so if a slightly cheaper alternative is what you all think I should go for, I will not hesitate to agree.

Yeah, I know it was wordy, but so many times I see people with incomplete descriptions of what they want out of law school and I thought I would give you all a complete view so you can help me!

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im_blue

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by im_blue » Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:52 am

Do you know your exact LSAC GPA? If your joint B.A. and M.A. are awarded at the same time, then all your grad classes will also count, so that would pull you down some.

Borhas

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by Borhas » Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:55 am

I think USC might be a good bet, though really I bet you'd get a lot of money from any school with 75% LSAT 169 and lower

pereira6

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by pereira6 » Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:22 am

Update:

I wasn't too sure how to interpret my LSAC GPA, but yes, my graduate classes are included. Including the crappy classes I took in high school, It's a 3.85...without those classes, it's a 3.9.

USC would be a pretty sick place to go (obviously, I love sports!), but I'm not sure that is very feasible. I'm from the East, and I do have quite a bit of flexibility as far as states and locations I can go to school (whatever helps me get to my career goals the best). But I think a cross-country trip to a Cali school in a state that's not having a good economic time right now is not a good idea.

im_blue, got any TLS wisdom now that I figured out my GPA?

r6_philly

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by r6_philly » Sat Oct 30, 2010 12:26 pm

You could get decent money at Penn/Michigan probably, I don't know if it is worth it for you to get NYU sticker (ED). I don't know about RD chances CN, but probably not too competitive.

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im_blue

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by im_blue » Sat Oct 30, 2010 5:42 pm

With a 3.85/170, you're about 30% for Columbia, 40% for NYU, and 50% for Chicago, so I would choose one of these schools to ED. You'll also get into the rest of the T14, probably with significant money ($45k to $60k), so you should decide if ED is worth giving that up.

Borhas

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by Borhas » Sat Oct 30, 2010 6:56 pm

pereira6 wrote:Update:

I wasn't too sure how to interpret my LSAC GPA, but yes, my graduate classes are included. Including the crappy classes I took in high school, It's a 3.85...without those classes, it's a 3.9.

USC would be a pretty sick place to go (obviously, I love sports!), but I'm not sure that is very feasible. I'm from the East, and I do have quite a bit of flexibility as far as states and locations I can go to school (whatever helps me get to my career goals the best). But I think a cross-country trip to a Cali school in a state that's not having a good economic time right now is not a good idea.

im_blue, got any TLS wisdom now that I figured out my GPA?
don't know your background but if you're not worried about family and friends then it might not hurt to move across the country... I could easily think of ways to spin it as having ties to both regions... and two is better than one right?

other places to consider for full ride: George Washington, and Vanderbilt

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vanwinkle

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Re: 3.9(3.7 Grad), 170...Not sure what school(s) meet my goals

Post by vanwinkle » Sat Oct 30, 2010 6:59 pm

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