Top Law Schools

Name scholarship Total Cost Stip
Boulder 20000 42000 2
Miami 35,000 33000 2.5
Temple 15,000 17718 2.5
FIU 32,000 3300 2.9/Top 50%
Drexel 40620 0 2.2

Scholarship is per year. Total cost is 3 years of tuition.

Have successfully played the reconsideration game with FIU and Miami. Have not asked for reconsideration from any other schools yet

Above are offers so far. Waiting to hear back from
Denver, Alabama, MichSU, Duke, FSU, Pepperdine, San Diego, SMU, NOVA (in but idk about $$$ yet), Baylor, Houston, Wake

Also got into PSU full ride but zero interest of attending zero (idk why I applied there honestly)

As of right now, what do you think of my options?

goals, where you want to work... can't really give an accurate response without those.

ETA: Stats and ties as well

GPA 3.92 Psych and CJ Undergrad
Lsat 157- 160 was scoring 158ish on practice tests

Goals: Easier to say what I am NOT interested in. Not interested in pubic interest, criminal pros/defense (did a summer internship in that area),

possibly interested in real estate/land use, sports/entertainment (unicorn jobs i know), small to biglaw, Energy/Environmental, litigation.

Place to Work- Have lived in Pa my whole life, open to possibility of moving if offer is right. Not deadset on an area

You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

+1. And no, OP, you are not too busy/not in a position to retake. Head on over to the LSAT Prep forum and join us in the June thread

Too many decisions that you are still waiting on in order to make any sort of determination now. I would come back in March when you've got all your cards on the table (don't go to Michigan State though).

Edit: Just saw your GPA. Holy shit, retake.

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

I took it 2 times, Sept 2014 and Dec 2014

itascot1992 wrote:

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

I took it 3 times, Sept 2014, Dec 2014, and June 2015

FTFY

Seriously though OP. You have a phenomenal GPA. You can't waste it on a sub 160 LSAT. How much prep did you put into the first two takes? What materials did you use? Study techniques?

Retake, law school isn't worth it for you yet

Also, you need to acquire some geographic focus and some sort of overall strategy. This is just a random hodgepodge of regional schools and you shouldn't consider attending the vast majority of them.

Do you currently live in the Philly area and would be able to commute to Temple? If not, will parents help you out with cost of living expenses?
Of the options you listed, you should try negotiating with Temple.

However, you really should retake. Several more points can really change your future.

jetsfan1 wrote:

itascot1992 wrote:

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

I took it 3 times, Sept 2014, Dec 2014, and June 2015

FTFY

Seriously though OP. You have a phenomenal GPA. You can't waste it on a sub 160 LSAT. How much prep did you put into the first two takes? What materials did you use? Study techniques?

not that it matters but i DID get a 160 my second time around

Retake is definitely the right move. Besides that, though, figure out where you'd like to live first and then pick schools based on that. Your list of schools is a total scatter shot and each of them is a regional school. Going to any of those schools is going to make it very difficult to get a job anywhere other than the area surrounding where they're located. Even if you wanted to come back to PA, you'd probably have a pretty tough time doing so from most of those places.

jetsfan1 wrote:

itascot1992 wrote:

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

I took it 3 times, Sept 2014, Dec 2014, and June 2015

FTFY

Seriously though OP. You have a phenomenal GPA. You can't waste it on a sub 160 LSAT. How much prep did you put into the first two takes? What materials did you use? Study techniques?

I actually have been looking at materials for 2 years (very inconsistently though for those two years), I had a private 1 on 1 tutor for about 6 months. I used powerscore for LR, official pasts tests and minimaly manhattan for logic games. Admittedly, my LG score has been the section hurting me come real test day

MarkfromWI wrote:Retake is definitely the right move. Besides that, though, figure out where you'd like to live first and then pick schools based on that. Your list of schools is a total scatter shot and each of them is a regional school. Going to any of those schools is going to make it very difficult to get a job anywhere other than the area surrounding where they're located. Even if you wanted to come back to PA, you'd probably have a pretty tough time doing so from most of those places.

What's even worse to me is that they might make it difficult to get a job in the region they are located as well!

Rando PA kid who picked a school out of a hat and moves to Alabama is going to be at a disadvantage when trying to get a job anywhere, including Alabama.

itascot1992 wrote:

jetsfan1 wrote:

itascot1992 wrote:

Winston1984 wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. Your gpa is way too high to settle for the score you did. How many times have you taken it?

I took it 3 times, Sept 2014, Dec 2014, and June 2015

FTFY

Seriously though OP. You have a phenomenal GPA. You can't waste it on a sub 160 LSAT. How much prep did you put into the first two takes? What materials did you use? Study techniques?

not that it matters but i DID get a 160 my second time around

Sorry, saw the 158 PT and assumed that was were you were on the actual thing. My bad.

Also, just starting to realize we may have come on a bit strong, especially me. I apologize for that. Let's take a step back. The problem everyone is seeing with your options is that they are so scattered geographically. For us, this makes it seem as if you haven't thought the process through fully. And that's why we are here to help

So the issue with your target schools being so scattered is that all of these schools place their graduates in their local market. For instance, if you go to Temple, you will likely be stuck working in Philly afterwards. For Boulder, CO, and so on. This brings of the question of where you have ties/where do you want to be long term? This is a crucial question for regional schools.

Next, you have to look at the employment stats of these schools, none of which is spectacular. Most of them should only be attended with strong scholarships, which you have to a certain extent. However, if the school is not where you have ties/want to live this is a mute point.

Third, with your GPA there is literally not a school in America not open to you with the requisite LSAT score. Bc a T13 would give you much better options than the schools on your list, everyone is advising you to retake. I think that is the wisest move. The LSAT is a highly learnable test, and with your GPA you are clearly pretty intelligent. And that's why everyone wants to know how you studied for the first two takes.

Anyway, hope this helps/is more constructive then my other posts, and keep your questions coming

BigZuck wrote:

MarkfromWI wrote:Retake is definitely the right move. Besides that, though, figure out where you'd like to live first and then pick schools based on that. Your list of schools is a total scatter shot and each of them is a regional school. Going to any of those schools is going to make it very difficult to get a job anywhere other than the area surrounding where they're located. Even if you wanted to come back to PA, you'd probably have a pretty tough time doing so from most of those places.

What's even worse to me is that they might make it difficult to get a job in the region they are located as well!

Rando PA kid who picked a school out of a hat and moves to Alabama is going to be at a disadvantage when trying to get a job anywhere, including Alabama.

It absolutely looks like I picked out of a hat and i definitely can see how it appears that way. Although my list is a combination of looking at rank, employment outcomes, scholarships, COA, in relation to my stats.

The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

itascot1992 wrote: The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

Ties are more about where you grew up, where you went to college, etc. They don't have to be legal ties.

Dirigo wrote:

itascot1992 wrote: The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

Ties are more about where you grew up, where you went to college, etc. They don't have to be legal ties.

Ties would be philly area

Dirigo wrote:

itascot1992 wrote: The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

Ties are more about where you grew up, where you went to college, etc. They don't have to be legal ties.

Something I've always been curious about: are military brats just fucked in the ties category?

itascot1992 wrote:

Dirigo wrote:

itascot1992 wrote: The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

Ties are more about where you grew up, where you went to college, etc. They don't have to be legal ties.

Ties would be philly area

Then you should try and negotiate a larger scholarship out of Temple by using bigger offers from peer schools when they come in.

Or retake, but that's always implied here.

The Dark Shepard wrote:

Dirigo wrote:

itascot1992 wrote: The "ties" questions brings me to a great question. First, my ties are limited in that my undergrad is a small private university and no family in the legal field. Although, I am a member of the largest fraternity in the Country with a vast network of alumni brothers. I do not know how much that would help but figured that may help.

Ties are more about where you grew up, where you went to college, etc. They don't have to be legal ties.

Something I've always been curious about: are military brats just fucked in the ties category?

Military brat here. I think it could be seen as a plus because you could potentially sell ties in multiple places. I grew up and went to high school in City X, but now my parents live and I went to college in City Y.
I guess it depends, but you're not fucked. NYC doesn't care about ties so there's always that as a fallback.

Post removed.

schmelling wrote: People from NYC are fucked in the ties department. The only place they have ties is the place where ties don't matter.

Ugh yeah tell me about it.

The Dark Shepard wrote: Something I've always been curious about: are military brats just fucked in the ties category?

Complete speculation here, but I would think not as much as you might imagine. I think if anybody has a case for having ties to an area by virtue of going to LS there I would think it's military brats. They at least have a pretty strong argument saying, "well I've lived in tons of places and based off of that I knew that [X city where your firm is located] is a place I would love to finally set down roots."

How well that works in reality, though? I have no idea.

BigZuck wrote:

MarkfromWI wrote:Retake is definitely the right move. Besides that, though, figure out where you'd like to live first and then pick schools based on that. Your list of schools is a total scatter shot and each of them is a regional school. Going to any of those schools is going to make it very difficult to get a job anywhere other than the area surrounding where they're located. Even if you wanted to come back to PA, you'd probably have a pretty tough time doing so from most of those places.

What's even worse to me is that they might make it difficult to get a job in the region they are located as well!

Rando PA kid who picked a school out of a hat and moves to Alabama is going to be at a disadvantage when trying to get a job anywhere, including Alabama.

Strongly agree. If you go out of state you are going to be at a disadvantage in your new state (because no ties) and at a disadvantage in your old state (because you went to school elsewhere, weren't able to develop legal relationships in the school year, etc.).