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Admissions Status: Accepted to Villanova and Temple with full tuition scholarships for both

Goals: I would be happy with mid-law in the Philadelphia area. Ideally I would love the opportunity for any position starting at 70k.

I am very very afraid of the risk I take in taking a year off to study and retake. I am afraid of leaving two full ride scholarship offers on the table, not doing well on a retake and then not getting those offers back next year. Not sure if this is an irrational fear or not.

I understand that the top 5-10% at Temple or Villanova have decent big law prospects in Philadelphia. I am wondering if it would be wise to accept one of those offers, and aim for the top percentages of my class at one of those schools, and hope for big law without debt. Or would a retake be a better option? I am also worried that even if I score well on a retake (167-170) that my GPA will be too low for a T16 or T8 school and to get decent money from them.

Please let me know if there are any additional details I am leaving out and I apologize for my ignorance on any topics

If you want any shot at big law, you have to sit out and retake. It's just so unlikely from Villanova or Temple that it's not worth even considering, especially as an underage KJD with no work experience. Sitting out and retaking doesn't really provide a risk and if you really commit to studying for the LSAT and follow the resources on this board I would be shocked if you didn't improve by more than 5 points. Your GPA does not preclude you from a large amount of scholarship money in the lower T14 if you can get over the LSAT median.

ETA: this is the second thread you've made on the subject and my advice that you need to retake is the same. You also need to do far more research and realize that "midlaw" isn't really a thing for entry-level attorneys. Salaries are bimodal and most new grads who don't get biglaw make in the 40-50k range. You essentially only get one shot at biglaw and the school you go to is immensely important.

Actually I disagree. 70k a year is very doable coming out of Temple for Philadelphia. I know of many small firms, under ten attorneys, that pay around 60-70 for new attorneys. Plus you'll have a massive Alumni network to draw upon. I'd say top third from Temple can do it.


Knowledge comes as a working attorney in Philadelphia.


Though I will agree with your biglaw assertion that you need to place top in your class for it most likely. But that's only if you are gunning for the 120k+ in Philly. 70k, medium sized firm, very feasible.

Retake.

You will not be a weaker candidate with a year of WE under your belt. You'll know more about your goals and build connections (if you work at a relevant job), and you can save some money for living expenses during law school. And that is just if you don't score higher on the LSAT--which should not be the case after a year of dedicated studying.

You should be very reluctant abut hedging on getting top 5-10% or even top-third of your class. I'm a 0L, but the general TLS consensus is that it is exceedingly difficult to safely predict where you will end up on the curve. Everybody is smart, hard working, and ambitious. Everybody is shooting for those top spots.

You say that you are worried your GPA is too low to secure T14 admission even if you boost your LSAT score. What is your GPA? Plug it in mylsn and play around with different LSAT scores to get a gauge on your potential options.

http://mylsn.info/r/pre-law/admissions/search/

Temple and Nova are both good options for Philly. But, what do you want to practice? I know you said mid-law, but that's kind of general. Also, how much would it cost you to attend both schools?