Top Law Schools

I haven't heard back from CU-Boulder, and it is definitely my first choice; however, I am curious to see what everyone in here thinks. I will not have to pay a dime at any of these places (GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon) and will receive a rent allowance (GI Bill). I really don't know where I want to live/practice, and I will be pushing for a JAG slot, so the location of the school may end up not being an issue at all.
I am least familiar with Ohio, out of all the places.

If you think I should be considering somewhere else: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/zx92027xz/jd Choose from that list.

Goals: Federal work or public interest. No burning desire at this point to make more than $60k/yr. (with that said, I wouldn't mind options)

If you get into WUSTL, come here! Best option on your list and it would be free.

What are your goals? If you want biglaw, its an uphill climb from any of those schools. I'd take CU out of the schools you're in at so far.

romothesavior wrote:If you get into WUSTL, come here! Best option on your list and it would be free.

What are your goals? If you want biglaw, its an uphill climb from any of those schools. I'd take CU out of the schools you're in at so far.

I guess CU has a relatively quick turn-around on applications, so hopefully I will get an answer from them soon. I talked to WUSTL admissions yesterday about my application, and they just confirmed that it was complete and they would send an email when a decision is made. If WUSTL accepts me, it will definitely be one of my top picks.

zx92027xz wrote:I haven't heard back from CU-Boulder, and it is definitely my first choice; however, I am curious to see what everyone in here thinks. I will not have to pay a dime at any of these places (GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon) and will receive a rent allowance (GI Bill). I really don't know where I want to live/practice, and I will be pushing for a JAG slot, so the location of the school may end up not being an issue at all.
I am least familiar with Ohio, out of all the places.

If you think I should be considering somewhere else: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/zx92027xz/jd Choose from that list.

Goals: Federal work or public interest. No burning desire at this point to make more than $60k/yr. (with that said, I wouldn't mind options)

Hate to tell you this but the Fed gov isnt really hiring. Good PI jobs and Fed gov jobs are just as competitive as biglaw. If not more competitive.
You have a 3.9 gpa. I think you need to retake. Get 2 more pts on your LSAT and apply UVA ED. You can also try UVA ED with your 160. You might be able to squeeze in. Don't waste your excellent softs and gpa on any of those schools above.

None of the schools listed above will give you more than a 15% chance at Fed gov jobs or good PI jobs.

thexfactor wrote:

zx92027xz wrote:I haven't heard back from CU-Boulder, and it is definitely my first choice; however, I am curious to see what everyone in here thinks. I will not have to pay a dime at any of these places (GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon) and will receive a rent allowance (GI Bill). I really don't know where I want to live/practice, and I will be pushing for a JAG slot, so the location of the school may end up not being an issue at all.
I am least familiar with Ohio, out of all the places.

If you think I should be considering somewhere else: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/zx92027xz/jd Choose from that list.

Goals: Federal work or public interest. No burning desire at this point to make more than $60k/yr. (with that said, I wouldn't mind options)

Hate to tell you this but the Fed gov isnt really hiring. Good PI jobs and Fed gov jobs are just as competitive as biglaw. If not more competitive.
You have a 3.9 gpa. I think you need to retake. Get 2 more pts on your LSAT and apply UVA ED. You can also try UVA ED with your 160. You might be able to squeeze in. Don't waste your excellent softs and gpa on any of those schools above.

I'll agree with all of this. You're able to go to school for free, which obviously negates a lot of the risk of law school. But if you were able to get into a better school, your job prospects would improve dramatically. I'd recommend a retake, but if you aren't willing to take a year off (and you should be), then a few of the schools on your list are decent options.

Also, Fed and prestigious PI are super hard to get, xfactor is right. (Dunno why I didn't see that when I first read your post.) So keep that in mind.

I think CU would be your best bet. Boulder is a great place to go to law school. I don't think you should even be considering ASU, Baylor, OSU, or Pepperdine.

Retake. There are entry-level fed gov jobs that pay over 100K. 10 points on the LSAT and you might have a good shot at a school where you will be competitive for those.

Lawschoolnumbers.com shows that you are waitlisted at Virginia, Northwestern & UCLA. If admitted to any of these three, then you should consider them first. Otherwise, all of your schools offer primarily regional placement so you need to think about where you prefer to live & work. Congratulations !

P.S. Your primary concern seems to be quality of life. Among your current poll options CU-Boulder is highly regarded in this respect.

CanadianWolf wrote:Lawschoolnumbers.com shows that you are waitlisted at Virginia, Northwestern & UCLA. If admitted to any of these three, then you should consider them first. Otherwise all of your school offer primarily regional placement so you need to think about where you prefer to live & work. Congratulations !

P.S. Your primary concern seems to be quality of life. Among your current poll options CU-Boulder is highly regarded in this respect.

I think I am having a reading problem lately, geez. Yeah, if you get into UVA, NW, or UCLA, those should be tops on your list.

btw did you try UVA ED or reg decision?
I think someone else got in this year with your n umbers but ED. Maybe you can ask UVA to change your ap to ED still to see if it makes a difference?

If not, I would apply ED next year and then retake as well. If you get a significantly higher score before you are accepted then you can WD from ED.

thexfactor wrote:btw did you try UVA ED or reg decision?
I think someone else got in this year with your n umbers but ED. Maybe you can ask UVA to change your ap to ED still to see if it makes a difference?

If not, I would apply ED next year and then retake as well. If you get a significantly higher score before you are accepted then you can WD from ED.

I was ED to UCLA, so I couldn't go ED to UVA... I have since sent a LOCI stating that if accepted, I would attend. Is it even possible to switch to ED at this point? Already held?

If UCLA, UVA, NU accept me, then I will go to any of them; however, I am not really banking on it.

As far as wait a year/retake, I am pretty set on going this cycle. I will not be reenlisting, so I will be jobless in August (don't want to incur another four year commitment enlisted, don't want to lock myself into a commission). The TLS1776 approach to subbing/LSAT prepping for a year is tempting, but I am pretty set on my path with the 160. I know this is wasting the great softs and GPA, but I kind of want to move on. And I am not entirely confident I will perform significantly better on the LSAT on another go; the costs of doing worse, then reapplying to schools that I declined admission to could be brutal. I do think I might improve, but I was practice testing in the 150s and got a 160.
I don't want to be misleading, either. I have yet to hear back from CU. I applied in January and my file is STILL incomplete because I guess they have to receive a paper copy from the LSAC before it goes complete. (fucked that one up pretty bad. miscalculated the debt load there and opted to not apply. They sent a fee waiver, i reevaluated, and kicked myself for not applying.)

zx92027xz wrote:

thexfactor wrote:btw did you try UVA ED or reg decision?
I think someone else got in this year with your n umbers but ED. Maybe you can ask UVA to change your ap to ED still to see if it makes a difference?

If not, I would apply ED next year and then retake as well. If you get a significantly higher score before you are accepted then you can WD from ED.

I was ED to UCLA, so I couldn't go ED to UVA... I have since sent a LOCI stating that if accepted, I would attend. Is it even possible to switch to ED at this point? Already held?

If UCLA, UVA, NU accept me, then I will go to any of them; however, I am not really banking on it.

As far as wait a year/retake, I am pretty set on going this cycle. I will not be reenlisting, so I will be jobless in August (don't want to incur another four year commitment enlisted, don't want to lock myself into a commission). The TLS1776 approach to subbing/LSAT prepping for a year is tempting, but I am pretty set on my path with the 160. I know this is wasting the great softs and GPA, but I kind of want to move on. And I am not entirely confident I will perform significantly better on the LSAT on another go; the costs of doing worse, then reapplying to schools that I declined admission to could be brutal. I do think I might improve, but I was practice testing in the 150s and got a 160.
I don't want to be misleading, either. I have yet to hear back from CU. I applied in January and my file is STILL incomplete because I guess they have to receive a paper copy from the LSAC before it goes complete. (fucked that one up pretty bad. miscalculated the debt load there and opted to not apply. They sent a fee waiver, i reevaluated, and kicked myself for not applying.)

Hopefully the LOCI works for UVA. The problem you have is that you must be in the top 20% to have a chance at decent jobs from those school. All the schools place less than 10% in biglaw. ITE, good PI and Fed jobs are just as hard to get as biglaw. I would seriously consider waiting a year. I think you are almost a shoe in for UVA ED with your current score.
Maybe you can call and ask if you can switch your application to ED. You might as well ask. You have nothing to lose at this point.

Go to CU if you can. Pepperdine could be cool as well, but from my experience here at CU I'd say you have a terrific chance of coming here and being very satisfied with your choice.