Top Law Schools

Schools and total COA:
Michigan: around 105k (120k scholarship)
UVA: around 140k (90k scholarship)

Others:
Duke: around 140k (90k scholarship); Columbia: waiting on aid offer; Cornell (45k), Gtown, Minnesota (full ride).
Still waiting for NYU, Northwestern.

How you will be financing your COA:
almost entirely loans (some savings will help with living the first year)

Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
I've moved around a lot, but I'm mostly a midwestern boy. Significant personal ties in Minnesota and some decent personal/professional ties to public interest circles in Chicago. I would like to settle in Chicago or Minneapolis, though I could do the east coast if the unicorn job presented itself.

Your general career goals
I am most interested in the public interest route, fairly broadly defined, though I am not married to it and could probably stomach a few years of biglaw. Government work interests me, especially on the federal level (which makes UVA appealing). I worry a bit that my PI/government goals may conflict with my regional preferences.

Your LSAT/GPA numbers
3.6x GPA, 172 LSAT. Taken once, and I am not opposed to retaking this June (I PTed in the upper 170s regularly)


My understanding is that Chicago can be a little tough to crack, which is why Northwestern at a comparable scholarship would be really appealing to me. Unfortunately they put my application on Hold (which is supposedly different from a waitlist) and said that I may not receive an actual decision until after other deposit deadlines have passed. I'm not really considering Columbia, Duke or NYU (if they ever get back to me) because I'm not a big New York fan and don't expect much money. A few questions:

1) If I really want Chicago, would NU at a comparable scholarship definitely be the optimal choice? What about for public interest?
2) I am riding the waitlist at UChicago, though I wouldn't go without decent money. Would a June retake be worth the effort to a) get off that waitlist, and b) increase scholarship offers at Mich/UVA/NU?
3) Will UVA provide enough of a boost toward my goals that it is worth the extra $$$/sacrificing regional preference? I know Mich is known for public interest as well; does UVA's DC proximity really give it a boost?

Thanks in advance.

I voted wait for NU. If they give you a comparable scholarship, I would choose NU over UVA or Michigan here. If they don't, then it's really tough one for me. NU is great for Chicago, obviously, but is far from ideal for PI (which is definitely not to say there is no support for PI). If it doesn't work out there, I would say Michigan over UVA for getting you back to a major market in the midwest + lower cost.

yeah that's another concern i have. Michigan is probably better for PI, but NU is better for Chicago.

not sure what to make of that dilemma, though I feel pretty confident that my ties to chicago public interest circles could help me land something if i went with NU. all of this is moot of course if NU never gets back to me.

would like to bump this for perspectives on PI/government prospects coming out of NU.

also, is UVA worth 35k more than Mich given my goals?

is PI/government more difficult to get in the midwest? do i need to be open to the east coast for that kind of work?