Top Law Schools

Hey guys, so here's the deal, I've gotten into several schools but I've got it narrowed down to a few. I'm trying to cover all the points that you would likely ask for clarification on later.
Background-
161 LSAT 3.66 GPA. My original LSAT was a 148 and I studied for 6 months (with the help of TLSers to bring it up)
I am from NJ/ Philly area. I have lived in worked in DC for a period of time and I have family ties to the Northern VA, MD, DC area. I also have family ties to the NY city area.
I am interested in studying international law, but I understand real jobs in Intl Law usually only go to HYS. Therefore I would ideally be interested in going into the government, preferably federal in Washington DC. Ideally I would like to settle in DC, but if I had to live in the NY or Philly area for a while it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it's certainly not my preference.

Schools I've gotten into that are under consideration
Villanova- Full scholly, no stips, no debt
Washington and Lee- 15k/yr 3.1 Stip (something like top 70%), total debt from tuition- 82,275
Catholic- 25K/ yr top 25% Stip, currently negotiating for more. total debt (if I can keep the scholly, it seems like a high stipulation, and I've heard they section stack)-61,470
Cardozo- 5k scholly no stip, seems too low to attend.

I've also gotten into Penn State with 25/yr, Pitt with 14/yr, Syracuse with 33/yr, Northeastern 10/yr, However I haven't really considered these much.

I am also wait listed to:
BC
Wash U Saint Louis
William and Mary
American
George Mason

Are any of these worth sticker if I get off a wait list (I know AU and GMU are not in comparison to my other options/ ever)
William and Mary if I got off the wait list at sticker would be 88,600, 1 year out of state 2 years in, which is similar to the costs at WL with scholly.

I've been to both WL and Nova's open house. I really liked WL, the students were great, but it is very southern and in the middle of nowhere. I know it has the best placement in DC, but last year they had about 4 students go, but every other year including 2010 had more, so this might just have been a fluke. Many place in VA but I don't know how many are in the North. They had some level of placement in Maryland and NY too. That said, I enjoyed myself, I just don't know how I would do living there.
Villanova had 11 go to the DC/MD VA, last year. Their ASW was less impressive, mostly because they were trying to deflect from the rankings. They also did not talk about career stats. That said, the second half of the day was better. Its close to home definitely in the middle of a much more populous place, I just don't know if I want to work in Philly.

Also, since many of you will point this out, I do not plan on retaking. I certainly followed this advice last time and vastly improved. I do not think I can do much better as this # was close to my plateau after 6 months of studying. Also my parents have agreed to cover all my living expenses, which is why the COL has not been factored in. This is only up for grabs if I start next year, as my parents would like to retire.

Sorry for making this so long, I just want to make sure I give out all the info. I appreciate any feedback

Villanova. It might not get you DC right out of school, but none of your other options are remotely attractive.

Best option is retake, but it doesn't sound like you're interested.

Fed. gov't is in a hiring freeze. Whether that freeze is lifted when you graduate in 2015 depends almost entirely on the incoming administration. If it's Obama, maybe. If Romney, don't hold your breath.

None of those schools will give you even a remotely good chance of getting a fed gov't job.

If you don't wanna be in the middle of nowhere, do not go to WL.

Villanova isn't the best school, but for free, without stips, it's almost certainly a better deal than WL at 90k.

Nelson wrote:Best option is retake, but it doesn't sound like you're interested.

I'm fairly certain I will be unable to improve, I am dyslexic which has proven to be an issue on the LSAT, also as I mentioned, not paying for COL is a very nice option.

Villanova. Consider paying for your own cost-of-living so that your parents can retire & you'll have additional motivation to find a job after law school to pay off your cost-of-living loans.

CanadianWolf wrote:Villanova. Consider paying for your own cost-of-living so that your parents can retire & you'll have additional motivation to find a job after law school to pay off your cost-of-living loans.

They will be paying off my brothers COL for 3 years anyway, and they are very much insisting. I don't feel like debt = motivation.

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Someone with a similar situation: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=181993

SCOTUS40 wrote:Someone with a similar situation: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=181993

Much appreciated, however this person has no real regional preference, while I would like to work in the DC metropolitan area.