George Washington or Loyola LA Forum

[kbai31790]

I'm really stuck between these two.
I have a 90k scholarship for three years from Loyola(LA).
nothing for george washington. actually still waiting for financial aid award.
I am from LA and still want to come back to work in LA eventually.
My ultimate goal is to transfer back to UCLA or USC after one year, either from Loyola or George Washington.
However from my understanding, I will have to be top of the top to transfer from Loyola, while I can be maybe top 20% at GW.

Which one would you guys pick?

Please help me!

[fanmingrui]

I'm really stuck between these two.
I have a 90k scholarship for three years from Loyola(LA).
nothing for george washington. actually still waiting for financial aid award.
I am from LA and still want to come back to work in LA eventually.
My ultimate goal is to transfer back to UCLA or USC after one year, either from Loyola or George Washington.
However from my understanding, I will have to be top of the top to transfer from Loyola, while I can be maybe top 20% at GW.

Which one would you guys pick?

Please help me!

Numbers? Retake/reapply is probably TCR here. Conventional wisdom is never go somewhere expecting to transfer. You may rock your first-year exams, but you're just as likely to struggle. If you absolutely must go this year... Loyola I guess if the scholly has no stips.

[dowu]

I'm really stuck between these two.
I have a 90k scholarship for three years from Loyola(LA).
nothing for george washington. actually still waiting for financial aid award.
I am from LA and still want to come back to work in LA eventually.
My ultimate goal is to transfer back to UCLA or USC after one year, either from Loyola or George Washington.
However from my understanding, I will have to be top of the top to transfer from Loyola, while I can be maybe top 20% at GW.

Which one would you guys pick?

Please help me!

Numbers? Retake/reapply is probably TCR here. Conventional wisdom is never go somewhere expecting to transfer. You may rock your first-year exams, but you're just as likely to struggle. If you absolutely must go this year... Loyola I guess if the scholly has no stips.

TCR.

[goldeneye]

Don't plan on transferring. You have 80% chance of failure. Go where you'll be happiest. If loyola is without stips, it's a bit enticing but it'll still be a lot of money.

[goldenflash19]

Does your Loyola scholarship have the 3.2 stip? If so, I think neither is TCR. With the stip, you have a 50% chance of paying sticker plus LA cost of living for 2 years, and Loyola's job prospects don't justify such debt.

What are your #'s?

[kbai31790]

I have a 3.8 GPA. BTW, what is TCR?

[jarofsoup]

To transfer from GWU to USC would be a lateral wouldn't it?

[splitsplat]

I have a 3.8 GPA. BTW, what is TCR?

Would be a real shame to go to one of those schools with a 3.8, take a year off and retake.

[kbai31790]

I took the LSAT twice already.
first time was 159 and second time 161. Even with my 3.8 GPA, I don't know how much higher my LSAT score will go.

[kbai31790]

If i stayed in LA, I would be able to live at home. So that saves me a lot of money. With the scholarship, I wouldn't have to pay much my first year.

[satirian]

Just something to think about here, but I seem to recall a thread from a couple years back where people transferring out of Loyola were complaining about having to give up their scholly prior to finding out whether they were accepted to the new school. Also, if I recall correctly, there was mention of some other institutional mischief intended to make transferring out more difficult. I couldn’t find the thread but maybe someone else has better/more accurate information.

[partyrock]

LLS rising 2L here. I received substantial scholarship money with a top 1/3 stipulation. Our rankings haven't been officially released yet, but the GPA cutoffs from the past two years indicate I'm well within that range.

I am not saying this to gloat, rather, to emphasize how incredibly stressful it is. Not only was I worried about normal 'first year of law school' stuff, but I constantly worried that I would fall out of the top 1/3 and lose my scholarship. I was convinced at the end of this semester that if I placed outside of the top 1/3, I would definitely drop out. Luckily that isn't the case, but it easily could have been. Its difficult to put into words how the stress impacted me, but I remember more than a few sleepless nights and mental breakdowns. People have suggested that it was just normal law school stress, but I have to disagree.

I honestly don't know anything about GWU and what its reach to LA is, but I would seriously consider taking your money to a higher ranked school or retaking.

[splitsplat]

I took the LSAT twice already.
first time was 159 and second time 161. Even with my 3.8 GPA, I don't know how much higher my LSAT score will go.

Even if you have taken it twice, did you really do everything possible to increase your score? How dedicated were you to studying? Did you take a class? How many books did you review? Did you drill specific question types that you had trouble with? How many timed practice tests did you take?

Unless you can say you did everything possible, you should really consider retaking.

[anonymouse2828]

Transfers are not that hard if you are realistic about analyzing your capabilities.

For me, I could only get into a upper tier 3 due to my horrible UGPA, and my LSAT was 161. I took a full ride at a tier 4, and just got accepted into GWU. Still waiting on other apps.

It really depends on what your end goals are. I'd take the scholarship at Loyola over no money from GWU. If you are going to rock it and be in the top 5%, then you'll be able to do it at either school. However, if you're going to struggle, you'll struggle at both schools.

[jarofsoup]

Yeah but I think you could get close to the medium at GWU and transfer to UCLA or USC and say that you want to move back home. They are considered to be near peer schools. The employment numbers are also MUCH better out of GWU.

I think if OP wants to transfer to UCLA or USC then GWU, but if he justs want to be LA then Loyola. But getting top 5% is not as easy than getting upper half.

[Doorkeeper]

Retake and reapply is the only response here.

GWU with no money = non-starter.
Loyola with only 90k = useless.

[crossarmant]

While it'd be much easier to transfer from GW, don't go in expecting to transfer. For someone with a 3.8 GPA, it would literally pain me to see you not retake the LSAT. Seriously study study study non-stop for the next few months and raise that score. It is possible. With a GPA like that, if you can raise your LSAT by just a few points you can get copious money from both UCLA/USC, and if you raise it high enough you may have a shot at Berkley. Don't waste a 3.8!

[Nova]

I have a 3.8 GPA. BTW, what is TCR?

The Credited Response

Retake >>> Loyola $$ >> GW sticker

[kbai31790]

I took the LSAT twice already.
first time was 159 and second time 161. Even with my 3.8 GPA, I don't know how much higher my LSAT score will go.

Even if you have taken it twice, did you really do everything possible to increase your score? How dedicated were you to studying? Did you take a class? How many books did you review? Did you drill specific question types that you had trouble with? How many timed practice tests did you take?

Unless you can say you did everything possible, you should really consider retaking.

I've done almost every single practice test out there. I studied every single day from august to december since I took the October test and December test.

I've also take numerous courses. I think for me the thing is, I just get really nervous when the real test comes. I've taken two Kaplan practice tests held in test conditions and I received a 169 and 170 those times. I really don't know what it is.

I feel like even if I got a 165 if I retake, I still wouldn't be guaranteed at USC or UCLA? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[kbai31790]

While it'd be much easier to transfer from GW, don't go in expecting to transfer. For someone with a 3.8 GPA, it would literally pain me to see you not retake the LSAT. Seriously study study study non-stop for the next few months and raise that score. It is possible. With a GPA like that, if you can raise your LSAT by just a few points you can get copious money from both UCLA/USC, and if you raise it high enough you may have a shot at Berkley. Don't waste a 3.8!

Do you feel like if I raised my score from 161 to 165, I would be guaranteed a spot at UCLA or USC? I have doubts about that.

[Nova]

I feel like even if I got a 165 if I retake, I still wouldn't be guaranteed at USC or UCLA? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Looks like a 166 would do the trick at USC and a 168 would get you into UCLA.

http://usc.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

http://ucla.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

[kbai31790]

I feel like even if I got a 165 if I retake, I still wouldn't be guaranteed at USC or UCLA? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Looks like a 166 would do the trick at USC and a 168 would get you into UCLA.

http://usc.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

http://ucla.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

Does it look bad if I take it a third time though? I don't really know what would justify my score raise.

[splitsplat]

I would say most schools do not care how many times you've taken it and only record your highest score.

I think your personal situation is tough to call because it looks like you've really studied pretty damn hard for the test. On one hand the fact that you've had some practice test at the 169/170 mark is a very compelling reason to retake. The flip side is if your case of "nerves" is as bad as you suggest, then even if you take a year off to study some more, it might not result in any improvement, which is a pretty shitty result.

If I were you, I would ask Loyola if you could defer for a year (non-binding) and sit out and do some zen mental exercises or whatever you need to keep yourself calm during test day. Good luck!

[kbai31790]

I would say most schools do not care how many times you've taken it and only record your highest score.

I think your personal situation is tough to call because it looks like you've really studied pretty damn hard for the test. On one hand the fact that you've had some practice test at the 169/170 mark is a very compelling reason to retake. The flip side is if your case of "nerves" is as bad as you suggest, then even if you take a year off to study some more, it might not result in any improvement, which is a pretty shitty result.

If I were you, I would ask Loyola if you could defer for a year (non-binding) and sit out and do some zen mental exercises or whatever you need to keep yourself calm during test day. Good luck!

I don't think I can defer from Loyola, maybe George Washington. I kinda do not want to move out to DC, since I don't know anyone out there and the law school housing is already all taken. I think if I was accepted earlier and had housing, it would be a different situation. Also, I'm still seeing if I will receive any grants from GW, if I do, it might be a different case. I will find out about financial aid on Monday, and Monday is also the last day I can receive partial refund of my deposit at Loyola.