Top Law Schools

I'm set to start at USC this fall but am starting to have doubts. Wondering if I should withdraw and take the next couple months to reapply for the next cycle.

GPA: 3.2
LSAT: 174

USC is offering a little money but I'd still end with $180K+ in loans.

No other options on the table (am on the waitlist for a couple T14 schools and will probably accept regardless of $$ if offered but seems unlikely at this point).


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Taking out that much in loans at USC is idiotic. Reapply. Taking off another year won't have any effect on your apps.

Mal Reynolds wrote:Taking out that much in loans at USC is idiotic. Reapply. Taking off another year won't have any effect on your apps.

this. resubmit on the first possible day.

tkr wrote:IAlso I am interested in BigLaw but not in LA (not sure exactly where - Seattle is my dream but I know that is a long shot) so I think a Top14 school would be my best bet. I'd be more willing to take that sort of debt on for T14 but I'm getting nervous about doing it for USC (though ideally I wouldn't have to take that much debt on at all).

Also I just saw this. You don't want to work in California?? Are you nuts?

Mal Reynolds wrote:

tkr wrote:IAlso I am interested in BigLaw but not in LA (not sure exactly where - Seattle is my dream but I know that is a long shot) so I think a Top14 school would be my best bet. I'd be more willing to take that sort of debt on for T14 but I'm getting nervous about doing it for USC (though ideally I wouldn't have to take that much debt on at all).

Also I just saw this. You don't want to work in California?? Are you nuts?

Born and raised in LA - it's not my favorite place.


Also in regards to taking a year off not having an effect on my apps - is this true even if I don't have a job/anything else going on while reapplying? Or do I need to at least show that I am doing something?

tkr wrote:

Mal Reynolds wrote:

tkr wrote:IAlso I am interested in BigLaw but not in LA (not sure exactly where - Seattle is my dream but I know that is a long shot) so I think a Top14 school would be my best bet. I'd be more willing to take that sort of debt on for T14 but I'm getting nervous about doing it for USC (though ideally I wouldn't have to take that much debt on at all).

Also I just saw this. You don't want to work in California?? Are you nuts?

Born and raised in LA - it's not my favorite place.


Also in regards to taking a year off not having an effect on my apps - is this true even if I don't have a job/anything else going on while reapplying? Or do I need to at least show that I am doing something?

You could be homeless and better schools will still accept you.

It's not like they accepted you for volunteer work lol.

u underperformed ur numbers
i would have expected nu with $$ and gulc with $
and more than "a little money" from usc (how much did they offer?)

you have two months, i'd start getting apps ready for the coming cycle
considering your numbers, u had what can only b considered a bad outcome

super splitters w mid to high 2.x and 175+ lsat have been making their way off nu's wl this cycle
it wouldn't surprise me if u get in
i wouldn't go if i were u tho
u should be able to do better than sticker at nu
esp with apps continuing to decline

Stop talking like that.

Brut wrote:super splitters w mid to high 2.x and 175+ lsat have been making their way off nu's wl this cycle
it wouldn't surprise me if u get in
i wouldn't go if i were u tho
u should be able to do better than sticker at nu
esp with apps continuing to decline

I was rejected at NU. The T14 schools I mentioned being waitlisted to are Duke and Michigan. Did not apply to any other T14 besides Chicago (I was just recently released from their waitlist).

tkr wrote:

Brut wrote:super splitters w mid to high 2.x and 175+ lsat have been making their way off nu's wl this cycle
it wouldn't surprise me if u get in
i wouldn't go if i were u tho
u should be able to do better than sticker at nu
esp with apps continuing to decline

I was rejected at NU. The T14 schools I mentioned being waitlisted to are Duke and Michigan. Did not apply to any other T14 besides Chicago (I was just recently released from their waitlist).

what
no app to uva? gulc? nyu? you had a shot at all of those schools
also, surprised about nu, might be the fact the app was so late, but any other red flags?

also how are you only taking out $180k with $15k/yr?
lot of financial help from parents? living at home?

Brut wrote:

tkr wrote:

Brut wrote:super splitters w mid to high 2.x and 175+ lsat have been making their way off nu's wl this cycle
it wouldn't surprise me if u get in
i wouldn't go if i were u tho
u should be able to do better than sticker at nu
esp with apps continuing to decline

I was rejected at NU. The T14 schools I mentioned being waitlisted to are Duke and Michigan. Did not apply to any other T14 besides Chicago (I was just recently released from their waitlist).

what
no app to uva? gulc? nyu? you had a shot at all of those schools
also, surprised about nu, might be the fact the app was so late, but any other red flags?

As I mentioned in my original post - I decided to apply late in the cycle plus my apps were late and sub-par (personal statement written the day I submitted).

I basically thought I would get rejected everywhere and end up resubmitting anyway but figured I should try a few apps anyway and if I got lucky at least I could start a year earlier. Once I got into USC I was so happy to be in somewhere despite the horror that was my app process that I did not really give a second thought to attending.


**It would prob be closer to $190K - I get an $11,000 grant from my service work the last two years. The rest is all loans.

.

Incoming USC 1L here.

USC originally offered me $15k per year, but I negotiated with them twice to get it up to $25k/year (they're so stingy). My numbers aren't as good as yours and I'd expect you to get closer to $35k/year or more.

But honestly with your numbers I wouldn't go to USC.

instride91 wrote:Incoming USC 1L here.

USC originally offered me $15k per year, but I negotiated with them twice to get it up to $25k/year (they're so stingy). My numbers aren't as good as yours and I'd expect you to get closer to $35k/year or more.

But honestly with your numbers I wouldn't go to USC.

You shouldn't either.

tkr wrote:

Mal Reynolds wrote:

tkr wrote:IAlso I am interested in BigLaw but not in LA (not sure exactly where - Seattle is my dream but I know that is a long shot) so I think a Top14 school would be my best bet. I'd be more willing to take that sort of debt on for T14 but I'm getting nervous about doing it for USC (though ideally I wouldn't have to take that much debt on at all).

Also I just saw this. You don't want to work in California?? Are you nuts?

Born and raised in LA - it's not my favorite place.

I think he means you're nuts for considering USC if you don't want to work in So Cal. USC is a decent school if and only if you want to work in California. It's not going to be portable to the Pacific Northwest. You'd be better off going to UW, depending on which is more important to you: Big Law anywhere or being in Seattle.

Also, reapply early in the cycle. You seriously underperformed your numbers. I have a 3.3 and a 168 and got NU, UVA, and GULC with $$. I have some work experience/military soft factors that I think helped, but you also have a considerably higher LSAT. You should be looking at some money from the lower T14, or big money from UW.

Please reapply, and this time work hard on your applications and get them in the day applications open. Just get some sort of job to show that you're doing at least something this year.

You have to be ok with working in California if you attend USC, but frankly you should have gotten more money for that high LSAT.

...

Don't go to USC with that debt and especially if you don't want to work in LA

Thanks for the input everyone, it's made my decision pretty clear.

As far as Duke and Michigan go - I'm planning on attending either if they call (which I don't think is likely but I am prepared to stay on the waitlist until the end). Are there any strong arguments against attending either of those at sticker?

tkr wrote:Thanks for the input everyone, it's made my decision pretty clear.

As far as Duke and Michigan go - I'm planning on attending either if they call (which I don't think is likely but I am prepared to stay on the waitlist until the end). Are there any strong arguments against attending either of those at sticker?

NO

tkr wrote:Thanks for the input everyone, it's made my decision pretty clear.

As far as Duke and Michigan go - I'm planning on attending either if they call (which I don't think is likely but I am prepared to stay on the waitlist until the end). Are there any strong arguments against attending either of those at sticker?

It just floors me that you would be willing to take on that kind of debt. I mean, yeah, if you go to Duke or Michigan you have a pretty solid chance at getting a job that will allow you to make your payments, but do you even know how much sticker is? Are you really willing to be $250,000 in debt?

Apps for next cycle open up in six weeks. Be patient. If you're going to take on 200k debt do it at a place like Northwestern or NYU where you are very likely to get a job that can service that kind of debt. And apply early and broadly to maximize your negotiating leverage.

As for retaking, you wouldn't be crazy to do it but only if you are consistently in the 177-180 range on PTs. Dust off the books, take a handful of PTs and see where you are.