Top Law Schools

Hello everyone,

I am currently deciding between the 3 schools above and am under a deadline within the next couple days to reach my decision. I currently have 2 deposits down at BU and 1 at BC.

I am from Florida but have no wish to work here in FL in the future as I have been in FL my whole life and would like to get out and experience new places. My goals are to be in a large metropolitan city (other than Miami) anywhere on the east coast preferably. My optimum job placement would be in biglaw/midlaw, however I would be happy just in a firm job or working for a business in corporate law somehow. I loved Boston when I went and visited and I also enjoy Atlanta and could see myself living in either city and being happy (along with NY, DC, ect).

My parents would help with the COL expenses and after factoring in my scholarships I get the following COA's

Boston University- $30k/yr scholly - COA - $55,335 (10 year repayment option), $40,070 at graduation
Emory- $31k/yr scholly - COA - $61,948 (10 year repayment option), $44,848 at graduation
Boston College- $30k/yr scholly - COA - $59,790 (10 year repayment option), $43,296 at graduation

I am very torn with this decision and if anyone could help me decide between them that'd be appreciated, especially between BU and BC since they are so similar.

My stats were 3.67/165 and I just retook the test Monday just to see what I could get.

I am also looking to pursue a JD/MBA degree as my undergraduate degree was Finance and I am looking to further that education as well.

Withdraw your apps, cancel your current LSAT if you don't seriously expect to get 170+, and reapply next year. These schools are unlikely to get you biglaw, and you may not even get midlaw from them. $60k debt sounds great compared to people taking on $200k, but it is objectively an awful amount.

To elaborate, you almost certainly have the potential to get a better LSAT score, which would enable you to get a similar scholarship from a T14 school, which would be a much, much better option. The LSAT is by far the easiest way to improve your job prospects and debt level as compared to gunning for As when you're actually in law school.

Thank you for a non terrible OP.


What was your PT average? How long did you study for the LSAT?

Don't expect biglaw or midlaw from any of those schools-- if biglaw is the most important thing to you then you'll need to get into a T14 school. That said, those CoA amounts are all very reasonable. The amount between BU and BC is small enough that you can just choose which one you like better.

BU seems to slightly have the best employment prospects but I agree to:

Retake/get your score with a >167/170 and reapply

If not that: go to the school that is the best fit as they are all reasonable in cost. BU has the best job prospects by a very minimal margin

Congrats on these choices.

Honestly, I think BC & BU are both a pretty good deal at $45K. I would pay upwards of double that including CoL.

If you score over 170, go ahead and withdraw/reapply for T14. Here's the catch tho; with your GPA, you would be looking at significantly more debt than what you face right now attending a better school. With 3.67/170, you could hit MVP, but at near sticker; DCN with some $ but less than you have right now. If you are very debt averse, your options now are cheaper. Conversely, you could push to full rides at BC/BU, but even a full ride has higher COA than the figures you're posting -- I guess you would be saving your family the $$.

First, I would look at what sinf said -- a lot of depends on your LSAT potential, how hard you prepped for this test, ect. If you believe this retake was your best effort and that you studied sufficiently and it still doesn't break you over 166, then I'd go to whichever you like better between BC and BU. Even if you don't hit biglaw, you're still fine debt-wise.

Thanks for the responses guys. I was PT'ing around a 165, although I honestly did not put as much effort into this June as I did for last year's June test where I took Testmasters beforehand and studied a decent amount over 3-4 months.

I should edit my OP and say that while Biglaw/midlaw would be my optimal outcome I am not dead-set on achieving it and would be happy working in a smaller firm job or even as an in-house counsel for a business, ect.

I should also add that I am looking to pursue a JD/MBA, which I am surprised I left out.

It would be good to know what you mean by "studied a decent amount over 3-4 months." For me that meant studying 3-6 hours each day, 5 days a week for 3-4 months, and it translated into a ~10 point score jump.

If you don't improve dramatically, I would say pick from these the school/surrounding area you prefer. As jbagel mentioned, you would need a 170+ to get into the t14 for a chance to pay far more for a better school. The value you have here is pretty great, especially if you aren't set on biglaw.


As for the JD/MBA, I'm not sure

Reinhardt wrote:It would be good to know what you mean by "studied a decent amount over 3-4 months." For me that meant studying 3-6 hours each day, 5 days a week for 3-4 months, and it translated into a ~10 point score jump.

This is what I mean. Studied everyday for at least 4 hours. Attended classes weekly. Did all the HW. Did a shitload of practice tests. That's why in a way when I was trying to restudy this time around there was a lot of repetition and I only had old PT's to take that I hadn't taken before and looked familiar.

Last year I hit some PT's a little higher than what I got but most were in the 165 range.

gatorfan163287 wrote:
I should edit my OP and say that while Biglaw/midlaw would be my optimal outcome I am not dead-set on achieving it and would be happy working in a smaller firm job or even as an in-house counsel for a business, ect.

I should also add that I am looking to pursue a JD/MBA, which I am surprised I left out.

sinfiery wrote:
As for the JD/MBA, I'm not sure

This does add to the consideration. Honestly, the boston schools do NOT have good MBA programs. Carroll has like a 60% FT employment rate after graduation, which is pretty bad for a b-school. The lowest b-school that is actually worth attending is probably USC Marshall. Or were you intending to do a joint JD/MBA with a different b-school? Emory is better at ~85% FT employment.

If you are very serious about the MBA, Emory trumps BC/BU considering it will actually open up more opportunities. This is tricky though, because I would take the boston schools over Emory for just the JD. You have to really consider what the joint degree would do for you - most MBA's outside of the top 10 schools go into consulting, where your JD might be a small boost but not significant enough to merit the extra years of school.

169+ I probably reapply, if not pick the tastiest poison (with well-tempered expectations, of course). If you score even a point higher make sure you shakedown whatever school you decide on for more money.

Retake > BU / BC > Emory

Those COAs aren't bad, but as others have indicated, those schools aren't very conducive to BigLaw. If you're content with not getting BigLaw, enjoy your choice of BU / BC.