Top Law Schools

So here my acceptances to this point. Anything to help distinguish rather good or bad would be awesome thanks

They are in no particular order because I do not have any preferance really

Marquette
Michigan State
Louisville
Oklahoma
Kansas
South Carolina
St.Louis
Nebraska-Lincoln
Quinnipiac

Still waiting to hear from
Penn State
LSU


Anything whatsoever to thin the herd would be amazing.

1) Did you get scholarships at any of these schools?

2) Where do you want to practice after you graduate?

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4) Do you have in-state for any schools?
5) What stips do you have for any scholarships you may have?

6) Retake?

1- Yeah Im recieving scholarships from each of them (clearly some bigger than other but none so amazing that it make or breaks my decision)

2- I plan on practicing in whichever state I attend law school....I do not want to return home

3- I am from Illinois and have no personal ties to any of the schools

4- No in-state schools

5- My GPA was 3ish and LSAT of 161 I didnt ever retake the LSAT

sjcourtney wrote: LSAT of 161 I didnt ever retake the LSAT

That was your mistake right there

well be that as it may, I do not plan on taking the LSAT again as I feel like I did just fine.

You're gonna struggle with ties. If you wind up in Oklahoma and firms ask why Oklahoma, your answer has to be better than "I don't want to go home."

ok for Oklahoma do you like "because Adrian Peterson went to OU and he is a super hero in the form of a runningback?

sjcourtney wrote:ok for Oklahoma do you like "because Adrian Peterson went to OU and he is a super hero in the form of a runningback?

Try it and see what they say.

worked in my personal statement for getting into the school

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Yeah dude, some of these schools are in pretty disparate locations, so here's MY 0L advice. Assuming you seriously want to stay and work where ever you go to school, I think you might as well try and visit these schools before you go. As many as you can afford to. Or even just wikipedia the areas. Look up the cities' tourist sites. Look up the demographics. Cost of living. Etc. You know what gets you going and what doesn't. For others who are barely interested in just spending three years in the city in which we go to school, that's not such a concern: But for you, if you're serious about possibly spending the next 5, 10, 15+ years where ever you go to school, might as well be sure that it's someplace you're really into.

You also should look up the legal markets where these various schools are located. How hard they are to break into without ties. Whether the state has 18 other, higher-ranked schools with which you'd be competing. Things like that. Basically, you're gonna have to do a fair amount of research. (good law school prep? ) Schools ranked that far down (T2 and below) can sometimes be more than "good enough" depending on your goals, or nothing more than a money-pit. Just research the heck out of it. It'll be worth it in the end. Maybe someone else can give words based on some of the specific schools you've provided, but if not, the above is what I'd say is a good starting point. Best of luck to you!

Keep Marquette since Wisconsin & Marquette law graduates do not have to sit for the Wisconsin bar exam due to diploma privileges. Keep Oklahoma because oil is likely to skyrocket if war breaks out with Iran & this should result in many years of domestic energy expansion.

Admission to LSU for a non-resident is difficult if still capped at eleven (11%) percent.

Ask for more scholarship money from each of your nine acceptances. This should thin out the herd.

P.S. During the hiring drought, Nebraska was in need of more lawyers. But, it's not biglaw. Agriculture & commodities related work.

sjcourtney wrote:worked in my personal statement for getting into the school

Completely different. I'm just trying to help you out without resorting to the standard retake response. If you only have ties to one market and refuse to practice there, you're gonna run into trouble.

As someone who has lived in South Carolina his whole life and went to USC for undergrad, I cannot understand why someone would wish to come here. I understand being from Illinois (cold) and thinking of say Charleston or something, but this place sucks beyond belief as a whole and you probably will not be moving to one of the more desirable locations if you are lucky enough to get a job.

The SC economy was hit way worse than the rest of the country and the small legal market that existed is virtually non-existent at this point, at least for new lawyers. I have been told that almost no one is getting jobs out of SC law these days (from current and former students) and they are simply not maintaining their facilities/faculty (my observation) and whatnot to improve their reputation for when the jobs come back, if ever. USC Law was able to slack off because they were the only law school in the state and hiring was okay for a long time, but they are also now getting some fair competition from Charleston Law. If you were going into IP, I would say it may be okay, since Greenville is bringing in some tech industry to support the need for more boutique IP firms in that area. But you aren't.

You will also be in class with many kids who have parents that know EVERYBODY and those kids will get the smaller firms in the states. As an outsider, you will be competing for an extremely small amount of jobs at the larger firms in the state. Even then, SC Law is losing their reputation and they are pulling students from other states. So, at minimum, don't even consider it if you are not getting your OOS tuition (42k per year!) waived.

From your options, I like St. Louis since it is in a decent market where you are also not a flight risk. I would only go there with some money though, but that is me. Don't blow off the idea of a retake. I was in a similar position last year, with a 159/slightly better GPA. I retook and got a 170, though I know this is somewhat rare. The decision to wait was the best I have ever made, even though it was not ideal at the time.

rad lulz wrote:

sjcourtney wrote:worked in my personal statement for getting into the school

Except that schools of this caliber generally don't give a shit about that and just look at your scores.

Gotta get that govt. $$$

Wait, only TT schools do this?

Jaeger wrote:

rad lulz wrote:

sjcourtney wrote:worked in my personal statement for getting into the school

Except that schools of this caliber generally don't give a shit about that and just look at your scores.

Gotta get that govt. $$$

Wait, only TT schools do this?

Schools of this caliber = Everyone except Yale and Stanford

To answer the OP, you should probably thin your list down to none of these schools and then retake.

These are schools you consider if and only if you have a strong connection there and they cost little/no money. I can't imagine paying money to go to a TT or TTT state school from an area you have no ties to. Either retake or go to school in Illinois.

My 2 cents.

sjcourtney wrote:1- Yeah Im recieving scholarships from each of them (clearly some bigger than other but none so amazing that it make or breaks my decision)

2- I plan on practicing in whichever state I attend law school....I do not want to return home

3- I am from Illinois and have no personal ties to any of the schools

4- No in-state schools

5- My GPA was 3ish and LSAT of 161 I didnt ever retake the LSAT

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If you don't have any in-state connections, cross LSU off of your list right now. This state is entirely about who you know, not where you went to school (because most people went to the same school anyway).

Retake and wait is TCR. IMO, gambling on a TT/TTT in a random state is a foolish and ultimately costly mistake.

But since you're only interested in thinning, here's my 0L take:

sjcourtney wrote: Marquette - Would cut, except this is the closest thing you have to a regional tie. A WI firm is less likely to look suspiciously at an Illinoisan than a southern firm is.
Michigan State - Depressed state with a T14 school
Louisville
Oklahoma
Kansas
South Carolina - As mentioned above, this is an old-boys-network state
St.Louis
Nebraska-Lincoln
Quinnipiac - I imagine CT is a bad place to settle with a TTT diploma

Coda: I haven't researched any of these schools/markets extensively. I would encourage you to do your own research, visit your top choices, & base your decision on that rather than anything that is said on here.