Trying to Decide from South America, help me! Forum

[pcvmeli]

So I am a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. I have been applying to law school from down here after 5 years out of undergrad. When I initially did my research I had a 160 LSAT, it is from senior year in undergrad, my prospects weren't great. Luckily I headed to Buenos Aires to take the test again in December and scored a 169! Much better than I had done on any of my practice tests. So of course all the research I had done was obsolete. Here are my choices:

Indiana Bloomington with the $120,000 over 3 years scholly.
Case Western with $35,000 per year
Minnesota with $22,000 per year
Ohio State $11,000 per year
American $10,000 per year

Still waiting to hear from Vandy. I ultimately want to go into Public Interest law and chose the schools based on their having a MPA or similar program to complete a dual-degree.

I think I've ruled out American, unless they come through with the Public Interest Full Ride Scholarship. The rest I am not sure about. I am from Ohio, but not considered a resident and don't have any preference where I want to live in the long-run. HELP ME PICK!

[CanadianWolf]

With your work experience & LSAT score, you would have been a strong candidate for admission to several Top 14 law schools such as NYU, Northwestern, Duke, Cornell, Berkeley among others. Since your options are limited to those posted for this academic year, take the $120,000 scholarship at Indiana as there is less immediate financial risk & Bloomington has a great campus environment.

[enron123]

IBU not really close, was your GPA subpar or did you just not apply to enough 15 - 25 schools to have more options? With the PC and a 169 I would assume that you would have gotten in to GW maybey GULC Emory ND BC and others of that ilk w/$

[thegreatk]

Do you have a preference as far as what state you practice law?

[treeey86]

Tell us your GPA. If it is above a 3.3 seriously reconsider waiting one more year and send out your apps first thing in September when schools start accepting them. I guarantee you can get admitted into schools ranked 15-30 with $$ - $$$$, and maybe even sneak into a T-14 with some $. I know you have been out so long, but trust me when I say it is better to wait a year for a much better school with much better job prospects than to take what you got on the table when you applied ( in your case) both late into the cycle and did not target aggressively enough.

[pcvmeli]

My GPA is 3.4 from Tulane.
No preference on where I practice, I'd go pretty much anywhere.

[hokie]

Honestly I would wait another year and apply early next cycle. Although your GPA is on the lower end, I think you would be able to score at least one T14 school. If you have no biglaw or academia desires and don't mind the midwest, then take Indiana. Otherwise, wait.

[treeey86]

With a 169/ 3.4 from Tulane you need to wait a year and reapply. Hit everything in the T-14 as well as schools ranked 15-30 in the regions you would like to work. I guarantee you will get into schools ranked from 15-30 likely with scholarships ranging from $ ( maybe a Vandy/Texas/USC) to $$ ( maybe BU/BC, GW) to $$$/$$$$ ( WUSTL, Emory, W&L, etc). You will also likely stand a good chance of competing for a T-14 spot. I could see maybe one of a Cornell/Georgetown, Duke, Michigan range type school take a bite on you. With 5 years work experience, a decent GPA, and a 169 LSAT, Northwestern might really like you ( they like taking people with lots of work experience).

My point is that you are too qualified a candidate to waste your legal career on the current schools you got into. For some, those schools are a great bargain and opportunity. But given your stats and experience, you are underselling yourself. You can go to better schools that will throw you equal or greater money then you are currently being offered. Good luck next cycle, and remember to apply early in September. Also, get your ass back to America so you can tour the schools.