Top Law Schools

Here is the breakdown:

1. Washington & Lee ($35,000/yr)---COA for 3 years: ~$80,000
2. IU MAURER ($30,000/yr)---COA for 3 years: ~$97,000
3. UNC** ($18,000/yr)---COA for 3 years: ~$110,000

Method of financing: loans for all 3 schools

Area of interest: Soft IP (copyrights, trademark, etc.)

Area of practice: Close to VA/DC (not a must though)

3.62/161

I could probably even lower COA for W&L down to somewhere $87,000 since cost of living in Lexington, VA is very cheap.

Retake is not an option as I have already taken the LSAT 3 times. FYI waitlisted to ND, UMN, BU, W&M

**Im OOS so I would have to apply for in-state during my second year and COA for UNC is assuming I would quality for in state during 2L and 3L.

jw5035 wrote:Here is the breakdown:

IU MAURER ($30,000/yr)---COA for 3 years: ~$97,000
Washington & Lee ($35,000/yr)---COA for 3 years: ~$93,000

I could probably even lower COA for W&L down to somewhere $87,000 since cost of living in Lexington, VA is very cheap. I would want to stay somewhere close to east cost but doesn't have to be.

Area of interest: Soft IP (copyrights, trademark, etc.)

Retake is not an option as I have already taken the LSAT 3 times.

You didn't give us all of the information we need.

-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers

I am going to assume these schools were picked out of a hat (hat=USNWR). If you do not have serious ties to and want to live in Indiana or Virginia over the long-term, respectively, these schools should be considered under essentially no circumstances.

But even if you did have said ties and geographic desires, these COAs are too risky, in my opinion, to be justifiable. Both have quite poor placement; 100K is too much risk for the reward.

Retaking is an option two years from your first take. That seems to be a superior choice to me, but we need the information above in order to give the best advice possible.

ETA: I guess you added a third option; same advice goes w/r/t ties. How is your COA possibly that low for UNC when you'd for sure be paying out of state tuition the first year? Also I have heard that out of state people have serious struggles getting in-state at UNC their second and third years.

If you have ties to Indiana/wouldn't mind working in the Midwest post-grad, I think it's a viable option. Try to negotiate first though.

fyi, Indiana increased my scholarship unsolicited after I rejected them (from 30k - 40k/yr). Might not be a bad strategy if you are willing to take a gamble...