Villanova vs. CUNY vs. Drexel w/$$ Forum

[ConLawNerd91]

I haven't heard back from many law schools, but of the ones I've heard back from Villanova (won't hear about $$ until January), CUNY (no $$ but $21000/yr tuition), and Drexel (renewable $27500/yr scholly) are my top 3. I want to do PI or government work. I know if i went to CUNY I'd have to stay in NYC. Which I'm ok with in theory but in practice I'm not sure I could live there on a PI salary.

I'm from the Philadelphia area and also wouldn't mind staying here (which I know is basically required for Drexel or Villanova).

My numbers are 155/3.94. I know you'll all say retake. But assuming I decide to go to law school this semester, what would those of you who are familiar with these schools/the PI job market recommend?

Thanks for helping!

[Mullens]

You should retake. My senior year of college I faced a similar dilemma and was convinced to retake by several attorneys and the hiring partner of a firm. I took two years off and retook the LSAT. It was the best decision I have ever made. Please don't waste your HYS GPA at a TTT.

[BigZuck]

I would retake or not go to law school. But because I would want to go to law school I would retake. I would set my sights on Harvard as the goal.

Now go. Live my dream.

[0913djp]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

[JuTMSY4]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

This is basically credited. PI or Government work in philly is easier to obtain from Temple than Drexel/Nova. I'd do Drexel over Nova based on debt (Nova's cheap with scholarships and doesn't do great in the city). At least with Drexel's "co-op" (it's not real co-ops, its externships), you can network into some PI/Gov't jobs.

Has Cuny really jumped to 21k?

[Nova]

My numbers are 155/3.94.

You have a HYS GPA and a TTT LSAT. Get your shit together

[jbagelboy]

My numbers are 155/3.94.

You have a HYS GPA and a TTT LSAT. Get your shit together

+1

[jingosaur]

Studying hard for the LSAT and maxing out your attempts will be the best decision that you will ever make in your life. And I'm not exaggerating.

[timbs4339]

CUNY is a relatively good deal, compared to the other NYC options, at in-state tuition especially if you want to do PI in the trenches, but at OOS tuition, it's job prospects are still pretty grim. It's not a place you take on 120K of debt to go, because only half the people even get jobs as lawyers. As for the other two, Drexel is an abysmal school in a saturated market, and Nova is not much better. Especially because with the proper LSAT score your ceiling is Yale.

I know if i went to CUNY I'd have to stay in NYC. Which I'm ok with in theory but in practice I'm not sure I could live there on a PI salary.

It always astounds me how people who seem to have even a modicum of financial responsibility don't want to wait a year or two, retake, and saving themselves hundreds of thousands in debt or getting into a school with markedly better prospects. It seems that you're at least aware that there's this thing called money and not having any sometimes makes life not so great. Think about this: many PI jobs start off at 50K. If you increased your LSAT score by 5 points in the next year, you might end up with a full ride to these same or better schools. That's the equivalent of working four PI jobs at the same time and saving the entire amount for law school.

[objection_your_honor]

Consider your final semester of school to be retaking the LSAT. No school is off limits, so do it right.

[phillywc]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

Temple doesn't (didn't?) give out full rides.

[john1990]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

Temple doesn't (didn't?) give out full rides.

They don't give full rides

Drexel and Villanova have comparable career stats except for biglaw stats. They both have about 50% of the class becoming attorneys. It looks like 46,42 and 52,52 I wouldn't spend that much to make up just 5-10% I would go with Drexel. You will only pay 15k in tuition/yr

[BigZuck]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

Temple doesn't (didn't?) give out full rides.

They don't give full rides

Drexel and Villanova have comparable career stats except for biglaw stats. They both have about 50% of the class becoming attorneys. It looks like 46,42 and 52,52 I wouldn't spend that much to make up just 5-10% I would go with Drexel. You will only pay 15k in tuition/yr

15K a year is way too much to pay for Drexel. Stop trolling, troll.

[john1990]

Your GPA is too good for those schools. Temple with full ride or Penn would be my suggestions for Philly.

Temple doesn't (didn't?) give out full rides.

They don't give full rides

Drexel and Villanova have comparable career stats except for biglaw stats. They both have about 50% of the class becoming attorneys. It looks like 46,42 and 52,52 I wouldn't spend that much to make up just 5-10% I would go with Drexel. You will only pay 15k in tuition/yr

15K a year is way too much to pay for Drexel. Stop trolling, troll.

I know people who spend that much at community college

[jchiles]

FWIW it's worth I ended up getting a full ride to Temple, but only in July after numerous attempts to get them to raise my scholarship. So, it's possible to get a full ride there, and that would be an excellent option for doing PI in Philly or the suburbs.

[Nova]

Is that a self tar, John?

[phillywc]

FWIW it's worth I ended up getting a full ride to Temple, but only in July after numerous attempts to get them to raise my scholarship. So, it's possible to get a full ride there, and that would be an excellent option for doing PI in Philly or the suburbs.

That's interesting. They stated over and over again that they give near full rides but not full ones.

Probably should just go look at the numbers.

[Snowboarder1588]

I usually hate to tell people to retake, but honestly....you just have to. My GPA is siginificantly lower than yours (talking over a whole point lower). I had your LSAT score last cycle and barely got any bites. I took the TLS advise and retook. I got 160. Although by TLS standards it's "terrible" it's still a really good score (80th percentile). 10 more questions answered on a silly test have changed my life's outlook. Drexel gave me practically a free ride, along with acceptances to other schools, some with Scholly and others without. I'm talking schools I would've never gotten in with a 155. Give yourself a chance. you almost have a 4.00..Even if you only go up to 160, you are looking at Full Rides from many many many schools (potentially Temple as well), along with admittance to some reverse splitter friendly schools (some T20). You can PM me if you have any questions about my personal struggle with the LSAT (not a big test taker here) and ways I overcame them. GL and wish you success!

[Gooner91]

I haven't heard back from many law schools, but of the ones I've heard back from Villanova (won't hear about $$ until January), CUNY (no $$ but $21000/yr tuition), and Drexel (renewable $27500/yr scholly) are my top 3. I want to do PI or government work. I know if i went to CUNY I'd have to stay in NYC. Which I'm ok with in theory but in practice I'm not sure I could live there on a PI salary.

I'm from the Philadelphia area and also wouldn't mind staying here (which I know is basically required for Drexel or Villanova).

My numbers are 155/3.94. I know you'll all say retake. But assuming I decide to go to law school this semester, what would those of you who are familiar with these schools/the PI job market recommend?

Thanks for helping!

If you can just get about 10 more points on the lsat, maybe even a few less you might be able to get into a T14. Do not waste your gpa. If you are going into PI the LRAP from the top schools will be a big help, not to mention you will have a better chance of finding a job to begin with.

[BigZuck]

I usually hate to tell people to retake, but honestly....you just have to. My GPA is siginificantly lower than yours (talking over a whole point lower). I had your LSAT score last cycle and barely got any bites. I took the TLS advise and retook. I got 160. Although by TLS standards it's "terrible" it's still a really good score (80th percentile). 10 more questions answered on a silly test have changed my life's outlook. Drexel gave me practically a free ride, along with acceptances to other schools, some with Scholly and others without. I'm talking schools I would've never gotten in with a 155. Give yourself a chance. you almost have a 4.00..Even if you only go up to 160, you are looking at Full Rides from many many many schools (potentially Temple as well), along with admittance to some reverse splitter friendly schools (some T20). You can PM me if you have any questions about my personal struggle with the LSAT (not a big test taker here) and ways I overcame them. GL and wish you success!

What's wrong with telling people to retake?

Also, you're kind of straw manning TLS here. It's a logical fallacy, a lot of anti-LSAT reverse splitter bros like to do it. Hmmm, I wonder why...

Anyway, 160 isn't objectively terrible, but the fact that it is 80th percentile is meaningless. Just because you're in the 80th percentile doesn't mean you should roll with it if its not good enough. Whether it is good enough or not depends on the person and their goals.

[Snowboarder1588]

What's wrong with telling people to retake?

Also, you're kind of straw manning TLS here. It's a logical fallacy, a lot of anti-LSAT reverse splitter bros like to do it. Hmmm, I wonder why...

Anyway, 160 isn't objectively terrible, but the fact that it is 80th percentile is meaningless. Just because you're in the 80th percentile doesn't mean you should roll with it if its not good enough. Whether it is good enough or not depends on the person and their goals.[/quote]

I hate to tell people to retake because someone else has already done so and gave that individual a good reason to retake. I have appreciation for TLS and its ability to push people to do the right thing. And yes I agree the percentile does not mean much, I was just using it as a visual for the OP, since the jump between 155 (63rd percentile) to 160 (80th percentile) seems larger that way. I agree with you that one should go with whatever LSAT score gives him/her the best scenario, and that could be a wide range of scores depending on the person's goals.