Top Law Schools

A part of me feels like I'm being greedy and unappreciative because, for my stats, I feel like I've had a good cycle.

non-URM (Caucasian)
3.9X GPA top-40 private U , double major, summa cum laude
149 LSAT

I entered my cycle expecting to be a reach at my home-state law school I had my eye on (Penn State), but to my surprise, I gained admission, and I would only have to pay about half tuition.

Also, I applied to several reach schools and a few more, what I called, "super-reach" schools, and--out of these--I got waitlisted at one T-20 (not T-14) and accepted at another T-20 with half my tuition paid in scholarships.

So, the crux. More need-to-know info:

-Goals: I want to work as a practicing attorney for a respectable firm.
-I like the area of the T20 school I have been accepted to, but my dream job is a big firm in the Pittsburgh area
-I would, in fact, like Big-Law, but honestly wasn't considering this before--but, I would consider this a bonus if I happen to be near the top of my class--which, from what I understand, is possible at the school I've been accepted to
--I do want to study business law
--I have no undergrad debt, I would have to pay the difference in loans, but some of my expenses like cell-phone bill, transportation
--I am currently working 3 part time jobs < 1 year out of UG

For further background, I did study for the LSAT. I won an award for a free course. I studied for approx. 9 months off and on but only 3 months were more intensive. At one point was only averaging mid-150s, but untimed tests were around 173 (although, I know they say untimed doesn't mean anything...)

I am now studying for June, using techniques mentioned on this site. 7sage for logic games has been great so far, but I'm still early in the process.

My attack-plan going forward is to deposit at the T-20 school that I really like, study until June, and if I get a 160+, eat the deposit, and apply early next cycle, and maybe really bunker down and take the following December LSAT for a bigger score.

If it matters, I was a poor SAT taker too. I was below the lower 25th SAT and above the 75th GPA coming out of high school. My college didn't really have much of a grade-inflation problem at all.

(Edit: I had a bunch of softs info, but I received some good advice. I'll post back when I retake. Thanks guys.)

You can't have been lurking long if you have a 3.9x GPA and can't figure out why you should retake.

Less than a year out of undergrad? There's absolutely no reason to go to law school this year.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE retake!! Don't waste that gpa on ANY t-20 school. And I don't just mean 15-20, I mean the T-20. Retake the LSAT at the savings of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars with way better employment prospects at the end. If that's not enough to sway you, what on earth would?

There is no problem with posting as much information as you like, but you may want to ask people not to quote your original post, so if you decide you don't want so much identifying information floating around the internet, you can go back and edit your original post.

And here I agree with the standard retake advice, for all the reasons you must be familiar with by now.

Don't even bother depositing. Ignore this cycle and focus on the LSAT.

I stopped reading after the second 9.

The rest of the stuff does not matter. Go back and delete it and then retake.

btw: poor test takers just need practice. If you have major test anxiety -- and many do -- get counseling to learn some ways to adjust your stride. (Check out a book called, Choke.)

Good luck.

That is a really shitty score. I am amazed that you got a T-20 scholarship with that. You must've written one hell of an admissions essay. But if you have that kind of GPA, you obviously have the intellect to score much better on the LSAT.

Alright. Thanks everyone. And I'll edit the post soon. Thanks for taking the time to hear my story.

Yes, you need to retake, don't deposit now. Your post screams "I would not be happy working in a non-biglaw field" and you're not going to a biglaw school.

it's gotta be flame. Summa from a decent college and you hit 149 on the LSAT? And you blew $ on applications? I mean, you could be real but I'm frankly surprised.

Clearly since your current opportunities out of college surpassing what you could from most T20's, paying and spending 3 yrs just to hurt your career prospects is ill advised in just about every way.

You should be targeting T6 or T14 w/ $$$ and not settle until you have it.

What T-20 is taking 149 non-URMs?? embarrassing median gaming

james.bungles wrote:What T-20 is taking 149 non-URMs?? embarrassing median gaming

gotta be GW

Didn't bother reading the thread.

Retake

Considering how different schools 15-20 can be in terms of employment prospects, I'm not sure you'd get the best advice in your situation.

Luckily for you, retake is the obvious option and you don't have to worry about [redacted] advice.

First off, Congrats on a wonderful cycle compared to ur LSAT.

But please retake. You can definitely do better. You seem like a person who cares about others and more people like that deserve to go to a better school. With ur GPA and the current plummeting numbers of apps, even a 164 (90th percentile) can get u into some t14 with perhaps $$

Go to http://www.lawschooltransparency.com and look at the actual employment prospects. Things are not pretty these days.

Please don't let that GPA become worthless. Study ur ass off, drill what u r weak on and u should do better than a 149. That number is so unrealistic considering ur background that I almost feel like this is a flame.

To not retake would be a tremendous mistake. Bumping up your score to 165+, even if it takes a few years of studying, and you'll have much better schools at better prices. Work for awhile and study. There's no need to go to law school immediately after undegrad.

I have to echo the retake advice. You are the perfect candidate for a retake! If you can get admissions and $ to T20 schools with a 149, just imagine what a 160-165 or more could give you!

good luck OP!!