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So I retook the LSAT in december and got a 170, but that meant i didn't go complete till Jan. Totally frozen out of the T14 w/ a 3.7 except for Northwestern with no $$. (They put me on the waitlist for finaid because they said they're outta $.)

I think I could have done better (older app with unique experience, good softs, grad degree.)

I want high profile PI so I could use their LRAP but it's not the best -- and there's always a chance some shit could happen (i can't get a job, get sick or something) and I'm stuck with the debt.

Should I take the offer or wait a year and reapply hoping to get some $ or just take it and count on IBR? 99% certain I will do PI.

And before you just say retake -- part of me would like to but I just don't think I'm going to beat 170. I busted my hump for that shit, and all the best to you who did better...

go. ur unique experience, softs, grad degree will help you in the job search. nu is a good school.

also, u'r old. no offense at all b/c im 27 and getting old was part of my consideration. dont put off a year of your life for a chance u might get $ (not even guarantee you will).

NU is a great school. I wouldnt worry too much, they tend to place on par the other T14 schools. I'd attend. Plus you'll live in a major city during law school. How cool is that?

Unless you have a terrible PS or typos in your app, you could probably get scholarships to some T14s if you apply at the very beginning of the next cycle and/or ED.

might be worth the wait. . .

aspire2more wrote:Unless you have a terrible PS or typos in your
app, you could probably get scholarships to some T14s if you apply at
the very beginning of the next cycle and/or ED.

I'm fairly certain I have a strong P.S. & general app, without going
into details that would out me. . .

I would like to get on with it, being in my mid-late 20's; however,
the not-insanely-generous LRAP at NW would basically force me to make
under $50,000 / year take-home income for the ten years until IBR
forgiveness. Trust me, I'm not going into PI to make money, but I
would like to have a kid at some point, and high-profile PI jobs pay a
good $70-$90k in the market where I want to work. So if there's a
chance of getting in somewhere with a better LRAP, it might be worth
the year . . .

Wondering what my chances are at Chicago, for instance, which just
announced a new LRAP with a ridiculously high cap on earnings.

Any thoughts?

Thanks to everyone. Keep voting.

w/ your stats i don't think you will hit CCN you could have any MVPD but you prolly won't get money and they place similarly to NU, not really sure if the MVPD Lraps are better tho, i'd prolly just go to NU

burstOrWait wrote:

aspire2more wrote:Unless you have a terrible PS or typos in your
app, you could probably get scholarships to some T14s if you apply at
the very beginning of the next cycle and/or ED.

I'm fairly certain I have a strong P.S. & general app, without going
into details that would out me. . .

I would like to get on with it, being in my mid-late 20's; however,
the not-insanely-generous LRAP at NW would basically force me to make
under $50,000 / year take-home income for the ten years until IBR
forgiveness. Trust me, I'm not going into PI to make money, but I
would like to have a kid at some point, and high-profile PI jobs pay a
good $70-$90k in the market where I want to work. So if there's a
chance of getting in somewhere with a better LRAP, it might be worth
the year . . .

Wondering what my chances are at Chicago, for instance, which just
announced a new LRAP with a ridiculously high cap on earnings.

Any thoughts?

Thanks to everyone. Keep voting.

From my understanding, NU has one of the more generous LRAP programs, in that it is one of the few that pays more than just the student's expected IBR contribution, paying a portion of the accumulated interest.

burstOrWait wrote:Wondering what my chances are at Chicago, for instance, which just
announced a new LRAP with a ridiculously high cap on earnings.

My thought is that you're below both medians.

In a similar situation.

Consider this graph. Certainly lots of problems with the data (LSN self-selects; school might have had different priorities in different years; graph is based on SUBMIT date, not complete date, because far more users had entered that information; not even all LSN users included their submit dates, so those users have been deleted). Still, take it for what it's worth. (If anyone sees problems with this methodology besides those I've noted, please let me know.)

A 170 with a 3.7 would be a 6.2 on this index, btw. So as you can see, you'd have SOME chance of admission if applying before October, but certainly not a great chance. Who knows what kind of softs those people had -- though I should mention that this graph excludes URMs.

ArchRoark wrote: From my understanding, NU has one of the more generous LRAP programs, in that it is one of the few that pays more than just the student's expected IBR contribution, paying a portion of the accumulated interest.

Kinda . . . The interest thing is nice, but the expected contribution falls off pretty quickly as income rises. (These numbers disregard interest.) Basically, it's true that it makes it pretty hard to make more than $55k; but I don't know if any of the T14 LRAPs except the T3+Chicago would be any different.

Single w/ 50k PI Salary
Gross Sal $50,000.00
After tax $41,318.75
IBR due $4,703.00
LRAP Pays $3,527.25
NET $40,143.00


Single w/ 70k PI Salary
Gross Sal $70,000.00
After tax $56,318.75
IBR due $7,703.00
LRAP Pays $1,925.75
NET $50,541.50


Single w/ 81k PI
Gross Sal $81,000.00
After tax $65,319.00
IBR due $9,353.00
LRAP Pays $-
NET $55,966.00

so basically . . . Fml

burstOrWait wrote:so basically . . . Fml

Possibly. You'll never know unless you try. It sounds like from your first post that had you applied earlier in the cycle, you would have gotten a scholarship to NU. If it won't cause a personal hardship to wait another year, I'd reapply next cycle in addition to sending out apps to other T14 schools super early. Late 20s is still very young, so I wouldn't rush it if you're not happy with your current options. The other alternative, if you're concerned about the debt, would be to get a firm job after graduation and pay down your debt before going into your desired public interest field. There are ways to make it work (so I've been told by the attorneys with whom I work).

bumping it up for the weekday commenters ...

I think you could get into more schools in the T7-T14 range if you reapply, but you're not likely to get much $$ with your numbers. If you're willing to go to NU, then you should do that now. I think applying will either 1) possibly get you $$ at lower-ranked schools or 2) get you into more schools in NU's peer range, but without $$. Neither would really help you out that much.

I think Michigan will give some money actually. Probably 45K. Duke probably will too. All peer schools but Michigan might end up being 60K cheaper.

With those numbers, you have a good shot at CCN. and you probably could get a decent scholarship (45?60k?) at T14 schools.

I'd say reapply. You would very very very likely get into better schools.