Top Law Schools

Hi All,

I am a recent college graduate and am looking to begin law school this fall. My LSAC GPA is 3.63 and LSAT scores are 160 and 163. I would prefer not to take the LSAT again, but am foremost looking for some realistic advice. I am still waiting on a few decisions, but thus far my best options are the University of Alabama and William & Mary. I am a Virginia resident (in-state tuition is about $30,000) and received a $12,000 annual scholarship from W&M. However, I attended college in the state of Alabama and so would be considered in-state there as well (according to the admissions office.) In-state tuition there is about $21,000. I have not received any scholarship money from the school thus far. Based on my research, it seems the COA would be very similar for these schools. W&M is ranked 24 and Alabama is ranked 23. I am interested in practicing in Atlanta after graduation. It seems that both schools have a fairly good reputation in the south.

Do you all have any advice you would give me when making this decision? I have also applied to Emory but have not received a decision yet. If I am admitted to Emory do you think I should take the offer over these schools because of its location in Atlanta?

Thank you in advance for the help!

Why not UGA?

Go to W&M if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Virginia

Go to Alabama if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Alabama

If you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Georgia, go to a school in Georgia

Don't go to any of them if it isn't cheap (I'd say about 50-60K, tops)

ermatherma wrote:Hi All,

I am a recent college graduate and am looking to begin law school this fall. My LSAC GPA is 3.63 and LSAT scores are 160 and 163. I would prefer not to take the LSAT again, but am foremost looking for some realistic advice. I am still waiting on a few decisions, but thus far my best options are the University of Alabama and William & Mary. I am a Virginia resident (in-state tuition is about $30,000) and received a $12,000 annual scholarship from W&M. However, I attended college in the state of Alabama and so would be considered in-state there as well (according to the admissions office.) In-state tuition there is about $21,000. I have not received any scholarship money from the school thus far. Based on my research, it seems the COA would be very similar for these schools. W&M is ranked 24 and Alabama is ranked 23. I am interested in practicing in Atlanta after graduation. It seems that both schools have a fairly good reputation in the south.

Do you all have any advice you would give me when making this decision? I have also applied to Emory but have not received a decision yet. If I am admitted to Emory do you think I should take the offer over these schools because of its location in Atlanta?

Thank you in advance for the help!

I would do Emory in Atlanta because of the alumni connections. I know you said you didn't want to do this, but if you get about 3 more pts on the LSAT (165/166 ish) you could get a significant scholarship to Emory (like 80K).

U of Alabama is supposed to be really strong in the South (not sure if this reputation extends past Alabama though- ask their career services how many students they place in Georgia).

ticklemesilly wrote:

ermatherma wrote:Hi All,

I am a recent college graduate and am looking to begin law school this fall. My LSAC GPA is 3.63 and LSAT scores are 160 and 163. I would prefer not to take the LSAT again, but am foremost looking for some realistic advice. I am still waiting on a few decisions, but thus far my best options are the University of Alabama and William & Mary. I am a Virginia resident (in-state tuition is about $30,000) and received a $12,000 annual scholarship from W&M. However, I attended college in the state of Alabama and so would be considered in-state there as well (according to the admissions office.) In-state tuition there is about $21,000. I have not received any scholarship money from the school thus far. Based on my research, it seems the COA would be very similar for these schools. W&M is ranked 24 and Alabama is ranked 23. I am interested in practicing in Atlanta after graduation. It seems that both schools have a fairly good reputation in the south.

Do you all have any advice you would give me when making this decision? I have also applied to Emory but have not received a decision yet. If I am admitted to Emory do you think I should take the offer over these schools because of its location in Atlanta?

Thank you in advance for the help!

I would do Emory in Atlanta because of the alumni connections. I know you said you didn't want to do this, but if you get about 3 more pts on the LSAT (165/166 ish) you could get a significant scholarship to Emory (like 80K).

U of Alabama is supposed to be really strong in the South (not sure if this reputation extends past Alabama though- ask their career services how many students they place in Georgia).

80K isn't significant enough, IMO. Emory is expensive and job placement isn't particularly strong.

I'm not sure that any school outside of Harvard and probably Duke, Vanderbilt, and UVA have a really strong reputation in the south.

I'm sure Alabama is king in Alabama but I wouldn't expect it to get a person a job in Atlanta. Atlanta is a tough nut to crack.

BigZuck wrote:Go to W&M if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Virginia

Go to Alabama if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Alabama

If you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Georgia, go to a school in Georgia

Don't go to any of them if it isn't cheap (I'd say about 50-60K, tops)

All of this is credited.

Thank you all for the advice! I hadn't considered putting an application into UGA because I was told by a few lawyers to try to get into a top 25 school. Now I think it would probably be a pretty good idea. Do you think it would be too late to apply?

ermatherma wrote:Thank you all for the advice! I hadn't considered putting an application into UGA because I was told by a few lawyers to try to get into a top 25 school. Now I think it would probably be a pretty good idea. Do you think it would be too late to apply?

No get a fee waiver and try. The least that can happen is you lose 25 bucks. Good luck.

ermatherma wrote:Thank you all for the advice! I hadn't considered putting an application into UGA because I was told by a few lawyers to try to get into a top 25 school. Now I think it would probably be a pretty good idea. Do you think it would be too late to apply?

Shoot them an app. Rankings are meaningless here since UGA is a feeder to the Atlanta market (which you'll definitely need if intent on Atlanta without ties).
You have almost zero chance of Atlanta with these two schools.

What kind of practice are you hoping to have in Atlanta (meaning what kinds of firms do you want to work for or what kind of law do you want to do)?

romothesavior wrote:

BigZuck wrote:Go to W&M if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Virginia

Go to Alabama if you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Alabama

If you want to work at a small firm/local government job in Georgia, go to a school in Georgia

Don't go to any of them if it isn't cheap (I'd say about 50-60K, tops)

All of this is credited.

Yep.

Keep in mind that your chances of getting scholarship money at UGA are a bit less now because it is so late in the application cycle (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

If you don't get substantial scholarship there, it's worth waiting a year and re-applying early next year. And in that case, there is zero reason not to retake

I didn't submit my app to UGA last year until March 1 and was accepted with a pretty good scholarship (in-state equalizer + 15k). I recommend you apply because it's definitely not too late.

.

Just sent in my application to UGA with fee waiver. Thanks so much for all the advice! Hopefully I will get some good news back and will be one step closer to my dream of Atlanta.

Thank you all for the quick and thoughtful advice! It's much appreciated

ermatherma wrote:Just sent in my application to UGA with fee waiver. Thanks so much for all the advice! Hopefully I will get some good news back and will be one step closer to my dream of Atlanta.

Thank you all for the quick and thoughtful advice! It's much appreciated

Good luck!