top20 sticker, or regional school? Forum

Jrr13 · Post by **Jrr13** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:55 pm

Hello TLS!

So, my cycle is actually going pretty well, but I have a question that has been on the back of my mind ever sense I started the cycle.

I am not entirely sure what I want to practice yet. I'm thinking I would like to end up in a litigation boutique, but that may change. I also don't know what market I want to end up in. I am from Miami Florida and I think I'll most likely end up back there, but again, not for sure.

I'm wondering if you think it's best to go to FSU, UF, or UM for cheap, or choose a top 20/14 school at sticker? The Florida schools have given me a lot of money, so I would likely not incur much debt at all. Penn State also gave me a full tuition scholarship, but based on their rankings and employment prospects I am weary of attending.

I'm also thinking of retaking and applying again next year. My current stats are 3.4ish and 158. I think I can reasonably get my score up to a 165 or more after graduation when I have time to study. I have strong softs and a lot of extracurricular activities and great letters of recommendation.

Leonardo DiCaprio · Post by **Leonardo DiCaprio** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:11 pm

go with the home school in FL, since you want to end up in FL. BUT ONLY if they are offering almost full tuition scholarship. how much is the scholarship at those schools? even half scholarship at most law schools will put you in over six figures of debt. think about the money you need to borrow for cost of living expenses and the interest that starts accruing from day 1 of law school until you graduate 3 years later.

none of the "top 20" schools (im guessing you mean vandy/ucla/usc/wustl/fordham type school) will give you any boost in the FL market. do NOT go to penn state even for a full scholarship, if you want to end up in FL.

you should try to retake the LSAT. this is the only time in your life where someone will pay you tens of thousands (potentially even 100k+) for taking a very learnable test.

GreekOmega12 · Post by **GreekOmega12** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:43 pm

Leonardo DiCaprio wrote:go with the home school in FL, since you want to end up in FL. BUT ONLY if they are offering almost full tuition scholarship. how much is the scholarship at those schools? even half scholarship at most law schools will put you in over six figures of debt. think about the money you need to borrow for cost of living expenses and the interest that starts accruing from day 1 of law school until you graduate 3 years later.

none of the "top 20" schools (im guessing you mean vandy/ucla/usc/wustl/fordham type school) will give you any boost in the FL market. do NOT go to penn state even for a full scholarship, if you want to end up in FL.

you should try to retake the LSAT. this is the only time in your life where someone will pay you tens of thousands (potentially even 100k+) for taking a very learnable test.

Emory would.

Smoking Gunner · Post by **Smoking Gunner** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:46 pm

I read this title and thought you were thinking about getting home schooled for law school. Was disappointed.

mathis1490 · Post by **mathis1490** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:48 pm

Smoking Gunner wrote:I read this title and thought you were thinking about getting home schooled for law school. Was disappointed.

+1

A. Nony Mouse · Post by **A. Nony Mouse** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:51 pm

GreekOmega12 wrote:
Leonardo DiCaprio wrote:go with the home school in FL, since you want to end up in FL. BUT ONLY if they are offering almost full tuition scholarship. how much is the scholarship at those schools? even half scholarship at most law schools will put you in over six figures of debt. think about the money you need to borrow for cost of living expenses and the interest that starts accruing from day 1 of law school until you graduate 3 years later.

none of the "top 20" schools (im guessing you mean vandy/ucla/usc/wustl/fordham type school) will give you any boost in the FL market. do NOT go to penn state even for a full scholarship, if you want to end up in FL.

you should try to retake the LSAT. this is the only time in your life where someone will pay you tens of thousands (potentially even 100k+) for taking a very learnable test.
Emory would.

Florida is SUPER insular. Emory might be better than, say, USC, but I don't think it's giving any significant FL boost.

AT9 · Post by **AT9** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:49 pm

The only schools that might give you a leg up over FL schools in the FL market are some of the T14 (HYS, maybe Duke, not sure which others). Vandy might be included in that group, but I think it's closer to Emory in the "won't necessarily disadvantage you but probably won't give you an actual advantage" group.

If you think you want to stay in FL, do UF/FSU/Miami for very cheap or HYS/other T14s that place relatively well in FL. "T20" at sticker shouldn't be an option here, or ever really.

Oh, and do retake until you max out your LSAT potential before you settle on a regional school like UF/FSU/Miami.

Jrr13 · Post by **Jrr13** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:33 pm

Thanks everyone, looks like I'll be retaking.

Assuming I get into somewhere like Vanderbilt, Cornell, Georgetown, Michigan ect with money, would it be better off to just stay in one of the Florida schools?

Jrr13 · Post by **Jrr13** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:42 pm

Leonardo DiCaprio wrote:go with the home school in FL, since you want to end up in FL. BUT ONLY if they are offering almost full tuition scholarship. how much is the scholarship at those schools? even half scholarship at most law schools will put you in over six figures of debt. think about the money you need to borrow for cost of living expenses and the interest that starts accruing from day 1 of law school until you graduate 3 years later.

none of the "top 20" schools (im guessing you mean vandy/ucla/usc/wustl/fordham type school) will give you any boost in the FL market. do NOT go to penn state even for a full scholarship, if you want to end up in FL.

you should try to retake the LSAT. this is the only time in your life where someone will pay you tens of thousands (potentially even 100k+) for taking a very learnable test.

UF and Florida State tuition is MUCH cheaper than the vast majority of law schools at around $20,000 a year. With my scholarship at Florida (waiting on florida state still) it would be about 15,000 a year and I can probably ask both of them for more.

Jrr13 · Post by **Jrr13** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 3:07 am

Alright everyone

I sort of knew the answer to this already but wanted some guidance, as I've been thinking about it for a while. I'm going to take either the June or September LSATs and just see where my current cycle ends up and use the time to visit schools. My GPA is a 3.4ish, so I'm going to be aiming for an LSAT in the 170s to make up for it. I was scoring 163-167 consistently during my practice tests, timing during the actual exam caught me off guard. I know once I graduate I'll have time to practice for September and hopefully knock it out of the park.

Unless I get some amazing offer this cycle (doubtful), I'll be applying as soon as the next cycle begins. I think I'll be aiming for some of the top 14. I'm only 20, so I need to take the time to really think about my decisions and use the opportunity to retake as opposed to signing on to blow 150k+.

Thanks again everyone

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