Opinions on choosing a school... Forum

[miller7353]

Background: Hispanic female living in NJ, 3.95 GPA from small private Midwestern university, LSAT taken once and got a 161. Interest in international or human rights law.

Accepted to:
Brooklyn with 41k scholarship (9k tuition with top 80% stip)
Seton Hall with 36k scholarship (12k tuition with 3.0 GPA stip)
Rutgers N with 12k scholarship (12k tuition with top 50% stip)

Going to Brooklyn would skyrocket my COL while staying in NJ keeps my COL very low and I could keep my PT job.

I'm very new to this scene and have already gotten a lot of less than positive feedback on my initial posts so I would appreciate sincere advice. I'm open to retaking but definitely prefer not. What's the best move for someone in my position wanting to do work in international or human rights law?

[superbloom]

Its unfortunate you didn't get more at SH or R-N. I got the same scholarships with worse numbers last year. Are you URM? All three will give you the same (not so great) chance at a job.

Unless you can coax substantially more from each school, retake.

[timbs4339]

Look, you're not going to get the advice you want to hear. I'm a lawyer and I'm telling you that jobs in international human rights law are almost non-existent. There are just very few people practicing it, you don't get into it out of law school, and aside from being extremely connected in the industry and in specific countries, having exceptional academic credentials (T10 would be a start), and having a lot of prior work experience, it's a pipe dream.

The schools are going to tell you it's possible. They'll even send you on study abroad, hook you up with International HR law professors, or let you go on a journal. Ignore them. They are lying to you. It's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth.

Like I said in the other thread, if you want to make around 40-50K per year, as either a DA, PD, or local private lawyer, then all those schools are fine choices, even at that level of debt assuming you hold the scholly. But if you want Human Rights Law you need to retake and go to HYS.

[Bronck]

Retake, don't waste that GPA.

[elterrible78]

You are going to get the exact same advice you got in the OTHER thread you posted all this in. If this isn't a flame, you either need to retake, forget about doing international or human rights law or, ideally, both. That's a fantastic GPA that will get you next to nowhere with a 161, URM or not.

[WanderingPondering]

Definitely don't do to those schools. Did you apply to any T14 schools? I'd think more than a couple would like that GPA and urm status.

[hephaestus]

Retake, don't waste that GPA.

[Ti Malice]

Honestly, while plenty of people were (overly) quick to question your motives for posting, you also got some very good advice on that thread, even if it wasn't pleasant to hear. Romo's post was dead-on, for instance.

If you want to go to law school, the only intelligent thing you can do is retake. (What kind of Hispanic are you, by the way? MA or PR, by any chance?) Jobs in the fields you are interested in are practically non-existent, even for people from YHS. That said, you need to go to YHS to even have a non-zero chance of getting such a job.

If you could not be satisfied with a legal career outside of those fields (and it's virtually a given that that is where you'll end up), you should definitely not attend law school at all. If you could be happy with some kind of other public interest work (or possibly even a legal job at all), then you still need to retake. You're not terribly far from a score that will give you a shot at every school, including some with full scholarship offers.

[rickgrimes69]

Your options are all awful and your career goals laughably overambitious. You will be struggling to get any job at all from these schools, much less the unicorn you're looking for. Your GPA is outstanding, and you are an idiot if you waste it on these schools because you are too lazy to retake.

Sorry, but them's the breaks.

[miller7353]

So becoming a member here was either the best or worst decision of my life...but you've all convinced me to retake. Another year of waiting. But I'm trusting you guys know what you're talking about. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to talk about more prestigious prospects.

[francesfarmer]

So becoming a member here was either the best or worst decision of my life...but you've all convinced me to retake. Another year of waiting. But I'm trusting you guys know what you're talking about. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to talk about more prestigious prospects.

A year is nothing in the grand scheme of things. You're making the right choice.

[rickgrimes69]

So becoming a member here was either the best or worst decision of my life...but you've all convinced me to retake. Another year of waiting. But I'm trusting you guys know what you're talking about. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to talk about more prestigious prospects.

[elterrible78]

So becoming a member here was either the best or worst decision of my life...but you've all convinced me to retake. Another year of waiting. But I'm trusting you guys know what you're talking about. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to talk about more prestigious prospects.

Easily the best decision you could make. Prep well and you'll be in a much better situation a year from now, I almost guarantee.

[romothesavior]

Great decision OP. One year is nothing, and TLS is full of people who were once in your shoes, with poor school choices but also dreading a retake. So, so many of those people got better scores on their retake and it completely changed the game for them. You have a great GPA and obviously some aptitude for the exam given your 161. I scored a 161 my first time and got a 168 on my second try. It completely changed my schools list, and probably my entire career and life as well. The test is that important. If you can do something similar, you will be looking at a vastly different future, especially given the down applicant pool and your killer GPA. Excellent decision on your part. I would encourage you to stick around TLS and use the great LSAT resources and community we have here, there is some awesome material in our LSAT forum. Good luck with your retake.

With all that said, I'll reiterate what I said before about international law. Probably less than 2% of law students do "international law" after school, and most of them are at big law firms. International human rights work is virtually impossible absent previous experience and a very prestigious degree.

[Clearly]

Good decision. I dreaded retaking, but put everything into it and went from a 164 to a 176. Don't second guess yourself, hit the books and kill June/Oct and apply next cycle. I would kill for your GPA.

[rinkrat19]

It always feels good when TLS saves another one.

Way to go, OP. Not the easiest decision to make, but definitely the right one. Get that LSAT up to 170 and you are looking at some freaking AMAZING options. You got this.

[Ti Malice]

This thread brightened my day.

Good luck, OP. You can do it!

[buddyt]

So becoming a member here was either the best or worst decision of my life...but you've all convinced me to retake. Another year of waiting. But I'm trusting you guys know what you're talking about. Thanks for all the advice, and hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to talk about more prestigious prospects.

I really might shed a tear. This is beautiful.

[Davidbentley]

Good Luck.

[jeffyl00b]

I've never been on a bulletin board where anyone has been positive to coax someone to do something instead of going away. especially ones on jobs or money.

[bfigsan]

You've made it this far OP! Don't stop now! Don't dread the test, embrace it. It's easier to destroy the enemy when you know it inside and out...

[miller7353]

Haha wow! I never thought I'd get such a positive response from you guys... Okay, now someone lead me to the thread that will show me the best LSAT prep courses...

[PRgradBYU]

Haha wow! I never thought I'd get such a positive response from you guys... Okay, now someone lead me to the thread that will show me the best LSAT prep courses...

I've heard awesome things about the Manhattan LSAT Prep books. PowerScore helped me a lot, too.

[jrsbaseball5]

Haha wow! I never thought I'd get such a positive response from you guys... Okay, now someone lead me to the thread that will show me the best LSAT prep courses...

Congrats OP on making a life changing decision. Here is a link that will help you out tremendously.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=151670

[thethe]

her scholarship #'s are ridiculously low. she's above both medians and is a URM. is it possible these schools are trying to low ball hispanic URM's assuming they're less likely to use law school.numbers, etc.? it's very odd.