Top Law Schools

(I know this is for employment and I am only choosing between law schools at the moment, but I would like to remain anonymous in my post and this enables me to do so.)

Anyway, I am in somewhat of a pickle- though the decision may seem obvious and in favor of UMN. I have been accepted to the U of Minnesota and Cardozo, both without money. Cardozo's tuition is $6,000 more than Minnesota but I already live comfortably in NY and living costs are not a factor if I stay in NY. Therefore, the cost evens out to $46,000 at both schools after you take out just the rent for Minnesota from Sept-May.

I have close personal ties to NY and I do not wish to get up and start all over again in another state, let alone one of the most depressingly cold states in the US. I most likely want to live and work in NY after graduation. With that said, I want to have a well-paying job [at least several years after graduation, being realistic ITE] and not live under the poverty line. I am exaggerating of course, but I have come across a lot of Cardozo bashing on TLS and I understand how over saturated NYC is and the competition from CLS/NYU/Fordham + the national schools. I want to make the right decision and I have a limited amount of time to do so.

Minnesota is basically 30 spots above Cardozo in terms of US News rankings. However, I do not know if that makes it sensible to move to Minnesota and perhaps, not have access to NYC later in life and not develop connections in NY while I am in school. I know Minnesota is a great city and it has connections to other areas in the Midwest but please keep in mind I want to work in NYC after graduation.

On another note, I am a focused student, a Summa Cum Laude graduate, and I have busted my ass to get a 4.00 in UG. I didn't do too hot on the LSAT so now I am paying for it. I know that transferring is not something you should depend on and you should always prepare yourself to spend the next 3 years at the law school you will go to but if I were fortunate enough to receive stellar grades and sent a transfer app to NYU/Columbia/Fordham, would going to Cardozo hurt my chances due to lower rank and/or would going to Minnesota hurt my chances due to the location. This is all hypothetical of course but I would appreciate input on this.

I am in a very confusing place right now because I know the general consensus on here would say to pick typical job prospects over convenience/location and I want to make a good investment when it comes to law school but I really don't know which would be a better long-term decision. Anyway, any feedback -without sarcasm- is greatly appreciated.

Retake. You have a 4.0 gpa. Score anywhere in the mid 160's and you can ED to UVA. Score in the 170's and you are looking at $$ at T14's.

Yeah you should wait a year or maybe even a couple. It sounds like you have a decent job so there's techincally no rush (although I know how hard it is to put it off, since I did it). You absolutely should not go to minnesota. If you don't want to be there you likely will not enjoy it and will have weak job prospects in other parts of the country.

That 4.0 is fucking golden man. You said you are dedicated, so dedicate yourself and score higher on the LSAT. Again, I know how much putting it off sucks and you feel like in the meantime you have nothing to work toward (again, I did it), but if you can score better on the test it's totally worth it. Plus, I am of the opinion that, unless you're really old, the more time you put in before law school the better off you'll be.