Top Law Schools

163/3.4
$20k/year at Wake, so COA at ~$32k/year
$10k/year at IU and in-state, so COA at ~$32k/year

Simple as that.
Not necessarily interested in staying in Indiana. I'd like to eventually end up in DC. Is Wake's 11 point deficit to IU in rankings more important? Or do Wake's ties to DC / closeness to DC (relatively speaking) make more of a difference?

Youre very likely not getting to DC from either...so theres that.

If you are from Indiana, I think thats the better option. Ties would be a tie breaker.

USNWR is irrelevant. I like your username.

WF no question would give you a better chance at DC, but yeah, it's an odd choice for DC. Schools like GWU and George Mason should have been attainable if you got into Wake and IU. This should be a North Carolina v. Indianapolis question.

Retake. If you get a 165 and are in-state you'll get a full-ride to IU.

pacers3177 wrote:Retake. If you get a 165 and are in-state you'll get a full-ride to IU.

I wish. I asked if there was any point in retaking and they said at this point, it wouldn't make a difference. Close but no cigar. I'm going there on Monday and will see if I can get any more. Not holding my breath.

Nova wrote:Youre very likely not getting to DC from either...so theres that.

If you are from Indiana, I think thats the better option. Ties would be a tie breaker.

USNWR is irrelevant. I like your username.

I have experience with HUD, so I may have luck with connections through that. You never know. I can see myself happy working any number of other places as well.

USNWR is a fickle beast and when you break it down, the rankings are given with some pretty odd information factored in.

RAWRRR GRRR thanks!

RAWR wrote:

pacers3177 wrote:Retake. If you get a 165 and are in-state you'll get a full-ride to IU.

I wish. I asked if there was any point in retaking and they said at this point, it wouldn't make a difference. Close but no cigar. I'm going there on Monday and will see if I can get any more. Not holding my breath.

Theyre lying.

RAWR wrote:

pacers3177 wrote:Retake. If you get a 165 and are in-state you'll get a full-ride to IU.

I wish. I asked if there was any point in retaking and they said at this point, it wouldn't make a difference. Close but no cigar. I'm going there on Monday and will see if I can get any more. Not holding my breath.

Reapply then.

IU is regional, wake is national

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national

lol

romothesavior wrote:

RAWR wrote:

pacers3177 wrote:Retake. If you get a 165 and are in-state you'll get a full-ride to IU.

I wish. I asked if there was any point in retaking and they said at this point, it wouldn't make a difference. Close but no cigar. I'm going there on Monday and will see if I can get any more. Not holding my breath.

Reapply then.

Agree. Take the June LSAT and reapply this fall.

They're really low-balling you. IUB is getting pretty desperate. I got in there two years ago as an OOS with a 151 LSAT, non-URM, and they also offered 5k per year. 10k per year with a 163 is a joke. You're real close. Breaking 165 and saving 80k after COL is well worth waiting a year. Not to mention, you can get a decent apartment in Bloomington for about 450/month.

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national regional

FTFY

Neither will get you DC.

Retake for a 170, go to the lower T14.

Ruxin1 wrote:

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national

lol

I realize they're both traditionally rather regional schools. However, if you graduate in the top 15% of Wake, you're more likely to get a federal job than if you graduate in the top 15% of IUB. Don't be a pessimist or elitist! Doesn't help anyone. I'd also be happy in Charleston, SC.

My odds of getting a clerkship are better at Wake. IFFFF I graduate towards the top of the class.

RAWR wrote:

Ruxin1 wrote:

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national

lol

I realize they're both traditionally rather regional schools. However, if you graduate in the top 15% of Wake, you're more likely to get a federal job than if you graduate in the top 15% of IUB. Don't be a pessimist or elitist! Doesn't help anyone. I'd also be happy in Charleston, SC.

My odds of getting a clerkship are better at Wake. IFFFF I graduate towards the top of the class.

Why do you think you'll get top 15%? Show your work.

timbs4339 wrote:

RAWR wrote:

Ruxin1 wrote:

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national

lol

I realize they're both traditionally rather regional schools. However, if you graduate in the top 15% of Wake, you're more likely to get a federal job than if you graduate in the top 15% of IUB. Don't be a pessimist or elitist! Doesn't help anyone. I'd also be happy in Charleston, SC.

My odds of getting a clerkship are better at Wake. IFFFF I graduate towards the top of the class.

Why do you think you'll get top 15%? Show your work.

just planning on working ceaselessly and networking my butt off. My point lies in the IF. What exactly would you expect me to display?

RAWR wrote:

timbs4339 wrote: Why do you think you'll get top 15%? Show your work.

just planning on working ceaselessly and networking my butt off. My point lies in the IF. What exactly would you expect me to display?

I'm talking about how you think that more than 15% of the class will end up in the top 15%. You can't predict how well you'll do just by how hard you plan to work. A lot more than 15% of the class will be busting ass.

Working ceaselessly is not even necessary to get top 15%. There are people who spend 14 hours a day in the library and don't crack median, and there are people who do 5-6 hours a week of outside work until a few weeks before finals and get top 10%. There's a huge amount of luck involved- if you're the person who just happens to "get" law school exams in December instead of in February, that's the difference between graduating in the top or median.

Wake gives you an outside shot at DC, but I don't know enough about IU to speak about their placement. Top part of the class or pre-existing ties and top 1/3 seems to get pretty placement in NOVA/DC. There are a number of simplicty postings for the NOVA area each year and Wake does have the semester in Washington program, but neither guarantee you post graduation employment in DC. Gun to my head I would say Wake, but youd have to be ready to work in NC as a backup.

RAWR wrote:

Ruxin1 wrote:

Meepo wrote:IU is regional, wake is national

lol

I realize they're both traditionally rather regional schools. However, if you graduate in the top 15% of Wake, you're more likely to get a federal job than if you graduate in the top 15% of IUB. Don't be a pessimist or elitist! Doesn't help anyone. I'd also be happy in Charleston, SC.

My odds of getting a clerkship are better at Wake. IFFFF I graduate towards the top of the class.

Just to give you some perspective, top 15% at Wake is about 20 people. NOT an easy task. However if you do end up with top 15% + LR you will have an outside shot at DC, but you will have to do all the legwork. No DC firms come to OCI. You can forget about Charleston altogether though. You have no shot without significant ties to the city.

What is the total cost of attending each of these schools? Include loans you'll have to take out for living, tuition, books, etc., and interest on those loans. Then figure out how much that's going to run you in loan payments, as neither of those schools has any significant LRAP.

patrickd139 wrote:What is the total cost of attending each of these schools? Include loans you'll have to take out for living, tuition, books, etc., and interest on those loans. Then figure out how much that's going to run you in loan payments, as neither of those schools has any significant LRAP.

I'll graduate with 60k in debt. The COA for both schools is identical, which is why I solicited advice on the schools themselves.