Midwest Law Decisions Forum

[soconfused123]

Hey all.

Longtime lurker but could really use some input in my law school decision for this cycle. My stats are 3.6 GPA and a 160 LSAT. I was born and raised in St. Louis with some ties to the area (friends whose dads are lawyers, etc...nothing too major, though).

My career goals are fairly wide open. I am not exactly sure what I want to do yet. I worked at various non-profits that advocated for people with disabilities after undergrad and would love to be involved in employment law/disability law. However, I am not tied down to anything in particular. Biglaw is not really on my radar...dont think Id have a chance at it, and its not really what I want to do anyway.

Basically, what I would have to pay at each school as my offers stand thus far are:

SLU: 24k (with options of living at home)
Mizzou: 9k
Loyola Chicago 30k
Iowa with a little of money but basically sticker
Wash U @ Sticker

I know conventional wisdom would be not to go to Iowa or Wash U at sticker...however I am really, really lucky in that my grandfather has a bit of a fund saved for me that would help offset most, if not all, of that debt. But, obviously, it would be amazing to have that money in my pocket rather than have to use it for law school debt...but its available for whatever I want to use it for. Also I know this an extremely lucky situation to be in...definitely is not lost on me.

I am definitely torn, and would love any advice you all have for me!

Thanks so much!

EDIT: Should have added in here I took Dec '14 LSAT and got a 156, went up to 160 in Feb. Even with a 3rd retake I am not sure I could do much better, I know for TLS its not great, but I was proud of the 160.

[BigZuck]

I went 160 to high 160s with a couple of retakes and ended up with a full ride to WUSTL. Similar GPA. If a dummy like me can do it so can you, I would retake June and then September if need be. There really is no reason to pay tuition at a school like WUSTL when you have a solid GPA.

[adil91]

Retake, apply to WUSTL, get $$$$$, enjoy life

[zombie mcavoy]

Retake, apply to WUSTL, get $$$$$, enjoy life

[soconfused123]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure if a retake would really help...going from a 156 to a 160 was a big step for me, Im not sure I could make the jump to the high 160s, and I really have my heart set on starting in August. But thanks for the responses.

[Clearly]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure if a retake would really help...going from a 156 to a 160 was a big step for me, Im not sure I could make the jump to the high 160s, and I really have my heart set on starting in August. But thanks for the responses.

You're making a mistake, you can do better.

[adil91]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure if a retake would really help...going from a 156 to a 160 was a big step for me, Im not sure I could make the jump to the high 160s, and I really have my heart set on starting in August. But thanks for the responses.

Which section are you struggling on the most? I went from a 159 to 167 from Dec to Feb, it's certainly possible to increase your LSAT score by by quite a bit in a short period of time.