Top Law Schools

Hi all

So I was offered a Dean's Fellowship at WUSTL, which includes full tuition + other benefits, like being guaranteed a paid research position for a semester. I'm obviously happy about this, but I've read on a few threads here that if I want BigLaw, I should avoid WashU. How much truth is there in that statement?

I've applied to other T14 schools and haven't heard back (except for Harvard, where I got rejected..lol).
I'm also in at Vandy, W&M, GW, University of Washington, but WUSTL is currently my first choice. (I'm waiting on GULC, Cornell, Emory, UCLA, NU, Penn, NYU, Columbia, UChicago, and Stanford...honestly not holding my breath for anything above UCLA)
I have a 3.7 LSDAS GPA (3.9 from my degree institution, but not sure how much that matters), 167 LSAT (2nd time; cancelled my 1st score). Also KJD and not a URM

Should I take the Dean's fellowship (assuming I don't get into any T14) or, given my career goals, wait a cycle to see if I can get a higher LSAT score?
(In terms of where I want to practice, I don't have much of a preference there.)

Thank you in advance for any and all advice!

I think the thread is premature without all your duckies in a row so I would wait a bit

I took a school ranked lower than a T14 with a goal of big law. I wouldn't neccessarily recommend it if you're big law or bust. That's what the T14 is for.

WUSTL might be your best option when all is said and done but let's wait until all is said and done first.

I would definitely retake June no matter what, you're at a point where every lsat point matters a lot.

If your goal is a large firm, I don't see how WUSTL is a reasonable choice. Their large firm numbers are, what, 25 percent? 30 percent? Undoubtedly some of those folks have IP backgrounds, or connections, or URM status, or something else going for them, so YOUR chances are definitely less than that.

However, they're only making you pay opportunity cost bc of the legit full tuition, which is nice. I'd say that if you can be happy without a large firm job, take the money. If you can't, then retake for lower T14 with $.

Edit - it's a little concerning that you've applied to a number of regional schools in very different regions, and are K-JD. Where are you from/where have you worked?

If you want Biglaw and don't want to pay an exorbitant price to get it (and you shouldn't want to pay an exorbitant price to get it) then I think you are going to need a higher LSAT. But I may be wrong here, because it seems that admissions standards have dipped a bit since I last looked at the numbers.

..

I am also very happy at Wustl (1L) and took it at a full ride. I am not shooting for big law but I did very well in everything I applied to for 1L summer and ended up with my first choice. I think it's an excellent low-risk option but if you are 100% big law you might want to go T-14. Of the schools you have so far however, I'd say Wustl is a good bet unless you have ties to the south in which case you might want to consider Vandy.

sublime wrote:I took a full to come here and am doing biglaw my 2L summer but I was not biglaw or bust. I like it here, and it seems to be working well for me, and for some others in my position. However, I was not biglaw or bust and would have been find looking for other work.

For me, it was a low risk option and I am happy that I took it. Much of that may be outcome based, but for a number of people, I think it is a solid option.

Yeah, I mean, this is pretty much the same situation for me and how I feel

I do question how fine Sublime and I would have been with hustling for a job. It's easy for us to say that but I have a feeling that would really suck. Also, 60ishK debt isn't life ruining but it would still be kind of a PITA to pay off on like a 50K salary.

Obviously I'm not anti-strong regional schools but you need to really make your peace with what it is the school offers you employment-wise.

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If you want BigLaw, there are about 20 schools that place well. Unfortunately for this post, WUSTL is not one of them.

You can dig around here to find the 20 schools that place well in BigLaw. Not a shocker, but they are the usual top schools in major markets.

Informative wrote:If you want BigLaw, there are about 20 schools that place well. Unfortunately for this post, WUSTL is not one of them.

You can dig around here to find the 20 schools that place well in BigLaw. Not a shocker, but they are the usual top schools in major markets.

Lol 20?

WUSTL is like #22 and not materially different from the USC/BC/ND/Fordham group that is #18-21 in c/o 2013 BL placement

You and I must define "place well" differently because only 13 schools even break the 50% mark, meaning a student is more likely than not to land the goal BL job.

Fiero85 wrote:

Informative wrote:If you want BigLaw, there are about 20 schools that place well. Unfortunately for this post, WUSTL is not one of them.

You can dig around here to find the 20 schools that place well in BigLaw. Not a shocker, but they are the usual top schools in major markets.

Lol 20?

WUSTL is like #22 and not materially different from the USC/BC/ND/Fordham group that is #18-21 in c/o 2013 BL placement

You and I must define "place well" differently because only 13 schools even break the 50% mark, meaning a student is more likely than not to land the goal BL job.

LOL, true. Everything is relative.

BigZuck wrote:I think the thread is premature without all your duckies in a row so I would wait a bit

I took a school ranked lower than a T14 with a goal of big law. I wouldn't neccessarily recommend it if you're big law or bust. That's what the T14 is for.

WUSTL might be your best option when all is said and done but let's wait until all is said and done first.

I would definitely retake June no matter what, you're at a point where every lsat point matters a lot.

First reply was a good one, OP.

You might yet get a better offer and retaking is really the best move.

~3 pts on LSAT would mean some way better options based on your goals and background: $$$ to Cornell, $$ to UVA, $ to NYU, etc.

Good luck!

take the june lsat. if you score higher, sit out a year. i you don't, go to wustl.