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I have a 3.3 and a 164 with strong softs and international work experience. I've been accepted at both Minnesota and Notre Dame and my goal is to work in corporate law in the Midwest. How seriously should I be considering these schools if I have to pay full tuition? At what point does a scholarship make these two programs worthwhile? Or should I postpone another year and retake? I've taken the LSAT twice already with the first score 161 and I found studying the second time around challenging because I could remember most of the questions so it was difficult to get an accurate assessment of my abilities. What the next best move?

You should not consider either of these schools at full tuition.

Don't go to either one of these schools w/o a substantial scholarship

flower28 wrote:I have a 3.3 and a 164 with strong softs and international work experience. I've been accepted at both Minnesota and Notre Dame and my goal is to work in corporate law in the Midwest. How seriously should I be considering these schools if I have to pay full tuition? At what point does a scholarship make these two programs worthwhile? Or should I postpone another year and retake? I've taken the LSAT twice already with the first score 161 and I found studying the second time around challenging because I could remember most of the questions so it was difficult to get an accurate assessment of my abilities. What the next best move?

The midwest is a big region. Do you have a specific city you want to work in? If so, its possible a local city school with substantial scholarship would make some sense. But, I'll happily join the chorus and tell you that neither Minnesota nor ND are worth it at full tuition.

I am thinking Chicago but Michigan could also be a possibility. If I'm able to get 50% scholarship at either of these places, would it be worth it? If not, is it better to retake or go for something regional like Loyola whom I already have a substantial scholarship offer from. Thanks!

Half to full tuition at ND would work for the midwest, and Minnesota for ONLY Minnesota.

flower28 wrote:I am thinking Chicago but Michigan could also be a possibility. If I'm able to get 50% scholarship at either of these places, would it be worth it? If not, is it better to retake or go for something regional like Loyola whom I already have a substantial scholarship offer from. Thanks!

Honestly, if you're aiming for Chicago, Notre Dame is not a bad bet at 50% scholarship. Chicago is by far ND's strongest market in terms of networking and connections and that's within law and applies to the Dome generally. If you're determined not to take the LSAT again, go to ND, but do not try to take the ND degree anywhere other than Chicago--not even Indianapolis.

If targeting Chicago, go to Illinois on a full scholarship.

reasonableperson wrote:If targeting Chicago, go to Illinois on a full scholarship.

+1. ND is a good school, but even if you got 50% tuition you'd be in like $120k debt. Don't go to ND for that much when most will end up with salaries of more like $60k. With your numbers you should get a lot of money from Illinois. But you should also retake the LSAT and shoot for a t-14 if you really want corporate law

fliptrip wrote:

flower28 wrote:I am thinking Chicago but Michigan could also be a possibility. If I'm able to get 50% scholarship at either of these places, would it be worth it? If not, is it better to retake or go for something regional like Loyola whom I already have a substantial scholarship offer from. Thanks!

Honestly, if you're aiming for Chicago, Notre Dame is not a bad bet at 50% scholarship. Chicago is by far ND's strongest market in terms of networking and connections and that's within law and applies to the Dome generally. If you're determined not to take the LSAT again, go to ND, but do not try to take the ND degree anywhere other than Chicago--not even Indianapolis.

This isn't entirely true. ND does have a lot of alums in Chicago, but many have had trouble getting to Chicago without sufficient ties. Meanwhile, people often find it easier to get jobs in their home markets with an ND degree than its "regional" status would have you believe. That includes Indianapolis, but without ties it is not gonna work.

I concur that ND at sticker is exceedingly dumb.