Top Law Schools

Okay so I've lurked these boards for a very long time and finally have decided to make an account. I'd love for you all to give me your opinion on my law school admissions choices from this cycle..

My stats
1st LSAT: 151
Retake: 161
LSDAS GPA: 3.23

I'm a year out of undergrad and have been working for my father's business since I graduated. Of the schools I've been accepted to, I'm giving serious consideration to these:

Temple
UCONN
Seton Hall - 25k/yr
WVU - 10k/yr
Widener (DE) - 20k/yr
Cardozo (waitlisted and being considered for may part-time)
Maryland (waitlisted)

My full list is here: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/specialsnowflake

I'm from the northeast region and would like to stay. Seton Hall has me intrigued with the half tuition scholarship. Temple is also a big draw because I'm from Philadelphia and it's a great school in the city. My dream location would be NYC and I have Cardozo as my #1, though I don't think I'll get in off the waitlist. The May start will probably accept me but I don't know if I want to go at sticker price ITE. So I've contemplated studying and going for the June retake and shoot for high 160's to try and snag a hefty scholly are Cardozo for the next cycle.

So I ask you TLS, what would you do if you were in my shoes?

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Absolutely keep working for your dad, pay off undergrad debt/save for law school, and retake in June. You saw how big your jump was the first time, even if you can add half of that and get to a 166, you open up so many better options.

None of these schools are getting you NYC. You either have to retake and get >170 for hope at a lower T14 or accept that NYC just won't be possible and go to one of the state schools that let you in, being mindful that the most you can hope for is a regional gig and you better have a convincing explanation for why you want to be in the area.

bobbyh1919 wrote:Absolutely keep working for your dad, pay off undergrad debt/save for law school, and retake in June. You saw how big your jump was the first time, even if you can add half of that and get to a 166, you open up so many better options.

On a that note, I have already paid off all of my UG debt. Thanks for the advice!

Any stips on those scholarships? I really wish 0Ls would include that with these kind of threads.

I didn't read your post or other options I just put retake...

I think you should keep working for the old man and retake. Worst case scenario is you get burned on the LSAT and can probably get virtually identical offers next year (schools won't care if you score lower this next time)

OP already retook. Retaking again may not work out. If OP really wants to be a lawyer, just going to Seton may be best choice. Note: if OP isn't 98% or greater on being a lawyer it probably isn't worth it.

ETA: yeah, as above, what stips?

spleenworship wrote:OP already retook. Retaking again may not work out. If OP really wants to be a lawyer, just going to Seton may be best choice. Note: if OP isn't 98% or greater on being a lawyer it probably isn't worth it.

I retook twice and the third sitting significantly changed my situation. No different for OP.

FloridaCoastalorbust wrote:

spleenworship wrote:OP already retook. Retaking again may not work out. If OP really wants to be a lawyer, just going to Seton may be best choice. Note: if OP isn't 98% or greater on being a lawyer it probably isn't worth it.

I retook twice and the third sitting significantly changed my situation. No different for OP.

And what if the third try resulted in, gawd forbid, a 148? U are right it probably won't effect his chances... But that is a year wasted. One more year before being a lawyer, one more year in whatever situation OP is obviously ready to move on from.

And while no one on TLS seems to like to admit it, going down or staying about the same on the LSAT happens just as frequently as an improvement, even with hard work.

Try one more re-take and aim for Temple w/$$ instead of Temple @ sticker. (Since you're from Philadelphia).

spleenworship wrote:

FloridaCoastalorbust wrote:

spleenworship wrote:OP already retook. Retaking again may not work out. If OP really wants to be a lawyer, just going to Seton may be best choice. Note: if OP isn't 98% or greater on being a lawyer it probably isn't worth it.

I retook twice and the third sitting significantly changed my situation. No different for OP.

And what if the third try resulted in, gawd forbid, a 148? U are right it probably won't effect his chances... But that is a year wasted. One more year before being a lawyer, one more year in whatever situation OP is obviously ready to move on from.

And while no one on TLS seems to like to admit it, going down or staying about the same on the LSAT happens just as frequently as an improvement, even with hard work.

He improved 10 points on his first retake, so I highly doubt he's going to dip down into the 140's. Even if OP did stay right at 161, that should comfort schools which were wondering whether 151 or 161 was more representative of his ability. My guess is that OP will be able to add a few more points with some hard work.

My vote is for retake. However....

The problem I see for you is that your GPA is low. If you don't have any career prospects, you might as well retake the lsat and go to law school. Short of getting a 169+ you wouldn't be able to get into any school that will give you a good chance at biglaw/midlaw/big fed/clerkships.

Your best hope is to get a 170 and UVA ED.

Seriously? This is TLS. Retake.

Thanks for all the advice guys. Yes, there are stips on the scholly's. I don't have them on hand.

I don't anticipate dropping my score if I retake. I'm confident I can do better and I think I'm going to begin studying this week. I really just need to focus on RC and a bit more on LR. I went -1 on LG October.

As for what spleenworship commented on, I'm not upset with where I'm at right now. I enjoy working for my dad in the meantime and it's great being back home where my family is. I figure worse case scenario would be I don't score higher but have a year's worth of $$ saved to help toward law school. I know I want to go and it sucks to have to postpone yet another year (I was slated to start this past fall and chose to retake due to TTTT debt prospests). I was excited with my new score and the prospect of being in at T1/T2's but I don't think I'll be fully happy with my decision unless I give it my final shot on the LSAT.

Thanks for all the advice guys. My dream school when I was studying for my October LSAT was Northwestern. Maybe I'll get a chance at it this time!

Here's what I did:

I had a 166, retook for a 169, applied in late Jan, got into Vandy.

I retook in June after all offers were finalized, scored a 173, and reapplied.

I have to say that the retake was the best 5 hours used in my life. Do it. Vandy as soon as they heard, upped their scholly to 80k instantly when I updated them with an email. Michigan has given me 45k thus far.

You've got nothing to lose except a couple hundred for your deposit and the hundred for the LSAT retake. Considering how much law school costs, it is well worth it. Study your ass off and retake it, own it, and reapply. There is honestly nothing you could be doing right now that give you the same hourly wage as getting 60k extra in scholarships for 100 hours of studying.

I think this is a unanimous vote for retake. A few people just clicked the wrong poll option, but they meant to say retake.

registered for the June LSAT today. third times a charm!

specialsnowflake wrote:registered for the June LSAT today. third times a charm!

Good choice. Really, taking it a third time isn't that big of a deal and the upside is well worth it.

Michaela wrote:Any stips on those scholarships? I really wish 0Ls would include that with these kind of threads.

Why? Most schools seem to be eliminating stipulations.

Gail wrote:

Michaela wrote:Any stips on those scholarships? I really wish 0Ls would include that with these kind of threads.

Why? Most schools seem to be eliminating stipulations.

No.


Also, OP, no.

Stanford4Me wrote:

Gail wrote:

Michaela wrote:Any stips on those scholarships? I really wish 0Ls would include that with these kind of threads.

Why? Most schools seem to be eliminating stipulations.

No.

No as in most schools are eliminating them or no as in they're not? Brain = fried.

Michaela wrote:

Stanford4Me wrote:

Gail wrote:

Michaela wrote:Any stips on those scholarships? I really wish 0Ls would include that with these kind of threads.

Why? Most schools seem to be eliminating stipulations.

No.

No as in most schools are eliminating them or no as in they're not? Brain = fried.

I shouldn't comment on "most," but from my experience observing app cycles on TLS (take from that what you will) it seems like a lot of schools around the range of the schools OP has money at have $tipulations attached to the $cholarships. I can't remember if that NYT article had any statistics...

thelawyler wrote:

specialsnowflake wrote:registered for the June LSAT today. third times a charm!

Good choice. Really, taking it a third time isn't that big of a deal and the upside is well worth it.

+1, way to make the smart choice OP. I hope you crush the LSAT, and then come back here in a year or two and tell all the 0Ls about the great decision you made.