BC/BU vs. UH as Houston Resident Forum

[mackoftexas]

Before anyone scoffs at the title, the two main things I have been considering when choosing a law school have been location and debt. GPA is 3.79 (3.66 when LSAC averaged), with a 161 LSAT. I have taken the LSAT once: October 2015. I'm kicking myself now for not taking it again as I was PTing around 164-165. As it stands, I don't want to wait a year for another admissions cycle.

Current goal is Corporate Law with a possibility of Big Law if I could get into it and like it as a career.

My offer from UH came with $16,000 a year, for a total of $48,000. Also, since I already live here, living costs will be negligible. I'm estimating overall debt from UH being roughly 60k at worst. Further, I have considered an MBA to help with Corporate Law prospects. That would be 35-40k extra if I received no scholarship offers.

Boston College has offered me $5,000 a year for a total of $15,000 for the entire term. Even with the scholarship, I would expect to have around 170-180k of debt (at worst) for Boston College. Probably would not pursue a MBA at BC or BU.

Currently I am on the BU waitlist and as such I expect no scholarship.

All tuition will come from a combination of loans and scholarship money.

I've lived in Houston all of my life, all my friends and family are here. No girlfriend/wife/kids. I'm concerned leaving for Massachusetts would mean I'm gone for good. Most of the lawyers at my work (A litigation firm run by South Texas grads) have told me that what state I go to school in is where I will work and have been advising me towards UH. I also have ties to Texas A&M as a graduate. Considering going to UH and then trying to transfer to UT but I have heard transferring is incredibly difficult. Already been reading Getting to Maybe and ordering E&Es.

I rather like cold weather but I've heard Boston winters can take your breath away. Ultimately climate is a negligible factor for me. As for where I want to work, I don't really have a preference beyond Houston because it's what I know and the aforementioned reasons for staying. Going to Boston might be new and exciting for awhile but then I fear not being able to see much of my friends and family in Texas. Harris County statistically has one of the highest concentration of lawyers in the nation, so there may be fierce competition from shiny T1 and T2 grads when I graduate. Alternatively, it seems like if I go to BC I have a decent shot at a good firm, much better than the >15% chances of Big Law at UH.

Overall employment statistics for UH look decent, but I'm not entirely convinced. However, BC law salary stats seem to be a bit lower than UH on the whole which has been surprising. https://www.law.uh.edu/career/employment-statistics.asp and http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/sch ... 202014.pdf.

It comes down to either two negative outcomes for me A) Taking the safe option and never realizing how far I could have gone/not getting as great a job if I had gone to a better school or B) Washing out in the bottom 25th percent of my class at BC/BU and having almost 200k of debt.

As it stands, I'm leaning more towards UH Law due to the location/scholarship. Have I missed anything in my pros/cons? Thanks.

[WokeUpInACar]

Before anyone scoffs at the title, the two main things I have been considering when choosing a law school have been location and debt. GPA is 3.79 (3.66 when LSAC averaged), with a 161 LSAT. I have taken the LSAT once: October 2015. I'm kicking myself now for not taking it again as I was PTing around 164-165. As it stands, I don't want to wait a year for another admissions cycle.

Current goal is Corporate Law with a possibility of Big Law if I could get into it and like it as a career.

My offer from UH came with $16,000 a year, for a total of $48,000. Also, since I already live here, living costs will be negligible. I'm estimating overall debt from UH being roughly 60k at worst. Further, I have considered an MBA to help with Corporate Law prospects. That would be 35-40k extra if I received no scholarship offers.

Boston College has offered me $5,000 a year for a total of $15,000 for the entire term. Even with the scholarship, I would expect to have around 170-180k of debt (at worst) for Boston College. Probably would not pursue a MBA at BC or BU.

Currently I am on the BU waitlist and as such I expect no scholarship.

All tuition will come from a combination of loans and scholarship money.

I've lived in Houston all of my life, all my friends and family are here. No girlfriend/wife/kids. I'm concerned leaving for Massachusetts would mean I'm gone for good. Most of the lawyers at my work (A litigation firm run by South Texas grads) have told me that what state I go to school in is where I will work and have been advising me towards UH. I also have ties to Texas A&M as a graduate. Considering going to UH and then trying to transfer to UT but I have heard transferring is incredibly difficult. Already been reading Getting to Maybe and ordering E&Es.

I rather like cold weather but I've heard Boston winters can take your breath away. Ultimately climate is a negligible factor for me. As for where I want to work, I don't really have a preference beyond Houston because it's what I know and the aforementioned reasons for staying. Going to Boston might be new and exciting for awhile but then I fear not being able to see much of my friends and family in Texas. Harris County statistically has one of the highest concentration of lawyers in the nation, so there may be fierce competition from shiny T1 and T2 grads when I graduate. Alternatively, it seems like if I go to BC I have a decent shot at a good firm, much better than the >15% chances of Big Law at UH.

Overall employment statistics for UH look decent, but I'm not entirely convinced. However, BC law salary stats seem to be a bit lower than UH on the whole which has been surprising. https://www.law.uh.edu/career/employment-statistics.asp and http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/sch ... 202014.pdf.

It comes down to either two negative outcomes for me A) Taking the safe option and never realizing how far I could have gone/not getting as great a job if I had gone to a better school or B) Washing out in the bottom 25th percent of my class at BC/BU and having almost 200k of debt.

As it stands, I'm leaning more towards UH Law due to the location/scholarship. Have I missed anything in my pros/cons? Thanks.

No no no no no no no no no no no no. Skip this cycle, study harder, get a 165+, go to UT. One year is nothing compared to your whole career.

[oil]

Just a note, but your non-LSAC gpa no longer matters. Also, can you wait a year and retake? More points could get a full ride at UH, which wouldn't be a terrible option for a Houston resident. But if you want big law (and it sounds like you do), then UT would be the play.

[mackoftexas]

I suppose I could wait a year, I've got a decent job as a file clerk at the previously mentioned litigation firm. I do appreciate the honesty, although why is attending BC/UH with what I have such a raw deal, gauging from the stark responses to wait and reapply next cycle?

I have to admit, re-doing the LSAT was something I thought was a foregone conclusion and it is heartening to see that people here think that having another go the next cycle is the best option.

[Clearly]

[mackoftexas]

I spent some time thinking about it and brought it up with family, friends, and work colleagues. After some initial apprehension, the reaction has overall been very positive and I think you are all correct that the decision to retake is the right one. I can save up more money, get more experience, and obviously (try) to improve my score. My initial trepidation has diminished once I realized I'm getting a second chance at getting into UT and going to UH is not inevitable. Ultimately though, I wanted to thank you for your honesty.

I'm planning on making a new thread in the LSAT Prep forum, but before I do I had some questions floating around in my head. If necessary, I'll repost this in a different forum.

I have three LORs right now, one from a professor - senior year Constitutional Law that I received an A in, the other from a doctor I've worked for who I've known my entire life and is very close to me personally, and the last from one of my managers from my internship at DC. I've seen a few threads saying you can recycle LORs (right?), but I wanted to get one of the lawyers at my work to write me one and if I leave in August of 2017, then I'll have worked for this firm for 21 months and I would really like to have that recommendation. Which one of the pre-existing ones should I exchange for that one, if at all? UT only accepts three at maximum.

I took a PowerScore class and I peaked at a 167 and a 169, the 167 was truly serendipitous while the 169 I think was due to me having taken the same test before. Ultimately I believe my true peak was around 164-165. Is UH so bad at 1/2 tuition so as to not warrant attendance? Also lets say I get a 162-165 on the LSAT next time and somehow get UT but then have to take it at the full 90k+ tuition. Is it still worth it to go at sticker? I know my initial reaction would be to leap on it, but I'm not entirely sure what the proper course of action would be.

I ordered the LSAT Trainer as I've heard great things about it, any other suggestions?

When should I take the LSAT? June and then September if it goes south? Should I max out all four tries if I don't score where I want?

Edit: I'm working full time, what do you think a good schedule for studying would be? My book gets in Tuesday and I was thinking of spending two hours of studying after work. When I was first studying for the LSAT I let it dominate my life and I got burned out. I don't want to be anxious about it this time around and I want to be in control of the test, not the other way around.

[WokeUpInACar]

I spent some time thinking about it and brought it up with family, friends, and work colleagues. After some initial apprehension, the reaction has overall been very positive and I think you are all correct that the decision to retake is the right one. I can save up more money, get more experience, and obviously (try) to improve my score. My initial trepidation has diminished once I realized I'm getting a second chance at getting into UT and going to UH is not inevitable. Ultimately though, I wanted to thank you for your honesty.

I'm planning on making a new thread in the LSAT Prep forum, but before I do I had some questions floating around in my head. If necessary, I'll repost this in a different forum.

This is a great decision and one that many people in your position don't make due to impatience and shortsightedness.

I have three LORs right now, one from a professor - senior year Constitutional Law that I received an A in, the other from a doctor I've worked for who I've known my entire life and is very close to me personally, and the last from one of my managers from my internship at DC. I've seen a few threads saying you can recycle LORs (right?), but I wanted to get one of the lawyers at my work to write me one and if I leave in August of 2017, then I'll have worked for this firm for 21 months and I would really like to have that recommendation. Which one of the pre-existing ones should I exchange for that one, if at all? UT only accepts three at maximum.

This won't really matter because letters of rec are pretty inconsequential in the end compared to GPA/LSAT, but I would get rid of the one from the person who knows you the least, and is the least likely to write a non-generic genuine LOR, which sounds like it might be the UG Con Law prof.

I took a PowerScore class and I peaked at a 167 and a 169, the 167 was truly serendipitous while the 169 I think was due to me having taken the same test before. Ultimately I believe my true peak was around 164-165.

Basically, you need to work much harder. That was a helpful first step, but you need to really bust your ass, because each additional LSAT point is worth thousands of dollars in $EV over the course of your career.

Is UH so bad at 1/2 tuition so as to not warrant attendance? Also lets say I get a 162-165 on the LSAT next time and somehow get UT but then have to take it at the full 90k+ tuition. Is it still worth it to go at sticker? I know my initial reaction would be to leap on it, but I'm not entirely sure what the proper course of action would be.

UH at half tuition isn't horrible if you can live at home or something. If you've gotta take out loans for COL and 1/2 tuition, it's a very meh decision. Not life ruining, but you're probably capable of too much to settle for that outcome.

UT at full in-state sticker is relatively similar, but with higher upside. Hit 167 and you'll get a scholarship at UT, which makes it a perfect option.

I ordered the LSAT Trainer as I've heard great things about it, any other suggestions?

When should I take the LSAT? June and then September if it goes south? Should I max out all four tries if I don't score where I want?

Yes and yes.

Edit: I'm working full time, what do you think a good schedule for studying would be? My book gets in Tuesday and I was thinking of spending two hours of studying after work. When I was first studying for the LSAT I let it dominate my life and I got burned out. I don't want to be anxious about it this time around and I want to be in control of the test, not the other way around.

It's been like 4 years since I've studied for the LSAT, but yes, if you're working while studying avoiding burnout is crucial. Consistently studying for 10-15 hours a week is probably the key.

[mackoftexas]

Thank you for the great advice. I'll post in here if anything relevant comes up and I'll be thinking over my study schedule over the weekend. If/When I make the new thread in the LSAT forums, I'll be sure to link it to this thread.

Any other insights are greatly appreciated.

[Clearly]

[kfh37]

I have three LORs right now, one from a professor - senior year Constitutional Law that I received an A in, the other from a doctor I've worked for who I've known my entire life and is very close to me personally, and the last from one of my managers from my internship at DC. I've seen a few threads saying you can recycle LORs (right?), but I wanted to get one of the lawyers at my work to write me one and if I leave in August of 2017, then I'll have worked for this firm for 21 months and I would really like to have that recommendation. Which one of the pre-existing ones should I exchange for that one, if at all? UT only accepts three at maximum.

I would replace either the doctor or manager. Most law schools want at least one academic rec. How much work did you do for the doctor? If the letter is mainly about how s/he has known you your whole life and how great a person you are, it's probably not going to be all that helpful.

[mackoftexas]

I made a new thread in the LSAT Study Prep subforum: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=260497

I've had some pushback from some of the lawyers at work, the head lawyer said flat out the idea was stupid and another was on board with that appraisal. Another was indifferent and the last was skeptical but still supportive. Most of the support staff, friends, and family have been pretty positive.

I do understand it's my decision overall, but having such a strong negative reaction from some people is disconcerting. Either way, I outlined a plan in the thread at the beginning of my post. At least with that I can reconcile studying for the LSAT while still having the current admissions cycle in the air.

As for the LORs, I worked for the doctor for a summer and at the internship for a semester, so 3-4 months vs. 5 months. I just thought the doctor would be able to say something about having seen me progressed through my life and would be able to offer something that the other LORs would not.

[deadpanic]

Seems like you made the right decision. Couple things for future reference.

Getting an MBA with your JD probably really won't help your chances at corporate law. Corporate law = big law, and for the small shot you would have from UH at it, you just have to have the top grades. Outside of around the top 10% of your class will not really be working in corporate law.

BC is basically at sticker; I mean, that is truly a negligible amount. That is way, way too much debt to go to a school in a region you have never been/have no ties and a school that does not have amazing big law prospects.

Good luck on the retake. Texas is definitely the right option here with a retake, or even UH with more money, as long as you are okay knowing you probably won't be working in corporate law from U of H.

[Mullens]

You made the right decision to retake. Good job OP.

[mackoftexas]

Seems like you made the right decision. Couple things for future reference.

Getting an MBA with your JD probably really won't help your chances at corporate law. Corporate law = big law, and for the small shot you would have from UH at it, you just have to have the top grades. Outside of around the top 10% of your class will not really be working in corporate law.

BC is basically at sticker; I mean, that is truly a negligible amount. That is way, way too much debt to go to a school in a region you have never been/have no ties and a school that does not have amazing big law prospects.

Good luck on the retake. Texas is definitely the right option here with a retake, or even UH with more money, as long as you are okay knowing you probably won't be working in corporate law from U of H.

Thanks for the appraisal, I was speaking to a few people, one who works for corporate lawyers in oil and gas and another who is counsel at work who used to work for Big Law. The former had stated that most Corporate Law jobs come from people in Big Law, as in there was a 5 year minimum requirement to work in Big Law before you did Corporate. I suppose that is what you mean by Corporate Law equating to Big Law?

The former Big Law lawyer was advising me to try to get a job in a Fortune 500 company and he thought an MBA was advisable in order to do that. Wouldn't that be Corporate Law?

A few things to clarify now that I've written out some stuff. I overestimated the debt I'd owe at UH by around 10k, additionally I'd probably be living at home so rent would not be a factor. Takes a little sting off, but if I can get my score up to a point where I'm comfortable than I'll continue with the retake option.

You made the right decision to retake. Good job OP.

Thanks! I'll keep everyone updated in my other thread.

[kfh37]

I made a new thread in the LSAT Study Prep subforum: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=260497

I've had some pushback from some of the lawyers at work, the head lawyer said flat out the idea was stupid and another was on board with that appraisal. Another was indifferent and the last was skeptical but still supportive. Most of the support staff, friends, and family have been pretty positive.

I do understand it's my decision overall, but having such a strong negative reaction from some people is disconcerting. Either way, I outlined a plan in the thread at the beginning of my post. At least with that I can reconcile studying for the LSAT while still having the current admissions cycle in the air.

As for the LORs, I worked for the doctor for a summer and at the internship for a semester, so 3-4 months vs. 5 months. I just thought the doctor would be able to say something about having seen me progressed through my life and would be able to offer something that the other LORs would not.

I wouldn't use the doctor. Recs from family friends don't carry much weight. A shorthand I've seen used is FYM (or FYW) for fine young man, and the rec carries almost no weight.

[mackoftexas]

Studying is going very well and I'm feeling great about the decision to re-take, confidence means a lot to me for this test.

UH sent me an e-mail the other day offering an additionally 10k which sucks because I've already registered for the June LSAT. Total scholarship offer is 58,000. I can do better.

At this point I've essentially made up my mind that if I can't get into UT then I want to go to UH for free or at least as close to free as possible, so thank you for pushing me to the right state of mind.

Looking up the numbers for UT on LSN, it seems like a 167 doesn't get you much in the way of scholarship. In fact, a 167 with a GPA in my range seems enough to get you in, but not much else. However, those who report on LSN seem to be a fraction of the entire class. Either way I think a scholarship offer is unlikely unless I murder the LSAT. However, there is an Early Decision offer that grants 1/3rd of the scholarship if you are accepted at UT. I applied for that last time and got shifted into Regular Decision, then rejected. I plan on repeating an ED app the second time.

Two questions then:

Is and ED app worth it if I got a 165+ or should I be keeping my options open, to say a full ride at UH?

Do schools look favorably on people who wait a year and re-apply? I suppose the assumption is if UT knew that I waited a year to re-apply to get into their school particularly.

Another, lesser concern, is that I'm having this money thrown at me from UH and I anticipate my stats being even better next time around. Resume will have 21 months of experience at a law firm (I anticipate working at the same place until I go to LS), a better recommendation (I'll drop the Doctor rec for one of the ones written by the lawyers at my work), and hopefully a higher LSAT. My fear is that the scholarship offer, if there is one next time, from UH will be either the same or lower. I don't anticipate that it will and I know its likely contingent on a higher LSAT score, but the concern is still there. At the moment it seems like UH is kind of desperate for people above their medians so at least that's good for applicants, I'm just not sure if that would necessarily transfer over to the next applicant cycle. I suppose my question is, do you think I have a good chance off of a better resume, better LOR, and marginally higher LSAT of either staying at the same scholarship numbers or alternatively getting a substantially better offer?

Among the lawyers I've spoken to, the consensus among all of them has been that if I want to get into BigLaw, you need to get into the top 10-20% with the emphasis being in the top ten. This has been corroborated consistently on TLS. Given that, wouldn't it be 'easier' to get into the top 10% at UH than UT? I'm aware that smart people go down in rank to get the scholarships and that its fallacious to believe that top 10% would be simple or easy. From what I understand, the margin for BigLaw at UT goes beyond the top 10-15% and up to the top 20-25%, hence the appeal for people shooting at BigLaw?

I'll probably post my old Personal Statement on the relevant forum and write a new one for this cycle. My question is, should I write one specifically for UT and another for all other schools? Can I re-use a Personal Statement?

Thanks again.

[WokeUpInACar]

Studying is going very well and I'm feeling great about the decision to re-take, confidence means a lot to me for this test.

UH sent me an e-mail the other day offering an additionally 10k which sucks because I've already registered for the June LSAT. Total scholarship offer is 58,000. I can do better.

At this point I've essentially made up my mind that if I can't get into UT then I want to go to UH for free or at least as close to free as possible, so thank you for pushing me to the right state of mind.

Looking up the numbers for UT on LSN, it seems like a 167 doesn't get you much in the way of scholarship. In fact, a 167 with a GPA in my range seems enough to get you in, but not much else. However, those who report on LSN seem to be a fraction of the entire class. Either way I think a scholarship offer is unlikely unless I murder the LSAT. However, there is an Early Decision offer that grants 1/3rd of the scholarship if you are accepted at UT. I applied for that last time and got shifted into Regular Decision, then rejected. I plan on repeating an ED app the second time.

Two questions then:

Is and ED app worth it if I got a 165+ or should I be keeping my options open, to say a full ride at UH?

I would definitely keep your options open to a full ride, but it would come down to how much you want biglaw as a career. If it is very important to you, attending UH is just not a great decision at any price. On the other hand, if you are fine with striving for biglaw while knowing that it's very unlikely and willing to settle for much lower-paying jobs, UH could be a fine choice.

Do schools look favorably on people who wait a year and re-apply? I suppose the assumption is if UT knew that I waited a year to re-apply to get into their school particularly.

This will not matter at all either way.

Another, lesser concern, is that I'm having this money thrown at me from UH and I anticipate my stats being even better next time around. Resume will have 21 months of experience at a law firm (I anticipate working at the same place until I go to LS), a better recommendation (I'll drop the Doctor rec for one of the ones written by the lawyers at my work), and hopefully a higher LSAT. My fear is that the scholarship offer, if there is one next time, from UH will be either the same or lower. I don't anticipate that it will and I know its likely contingent on a higher LSAT score, but the concern is still there. At the moment it seems like UH is kind of desperate for people above their medians so at least that's good for applicants, I'm just not sure if that would necessarily transfer over to the next applicant cycle. I suppose my question is, do you think I have a good chance off of a better resume, better LOR, and marginally higher LSAT of either staying at the same scholarship numbers or alternatively getting a substantially better offer?

You will not get a substantially lower scholarship number unless UH drastically changes their merit aid strategy, which is unlikely. If you raise your LSAT at all, I would count on getting a better offer. Scholarship offers for given LSAT/GPAs do change over the years, but it's usually gradual and slow-moving where significant changes are rare in a single year. Also you need to realize that LSAT and GPA are ~90% of what determines your admission/scholarships to law school. I know it sounds silly to boil everything down to those narrow metrics, but that's just the way it is for law school admissions. They have numbers to make to remain competitive in the USNWR rankings, and LSAT and GPA are a large part of that calculus. Your work experience, recommendations, etc. will be helpful at the margins, but probably aren't worth more than just 1 single point on the LSAT.

Among the lawyers I've spoken to, the consensus among all of them has been that if I want to get into BigLaw, you need to get into the top 10-20% with the emphasis being in the top ten. This has been corroborated consistently on TLS. Given that, wouldn't it be 'easier' to get into the top 10% at UH than UT? I'm aware that smart people go down in rank to get the scholarships and that its fallacious to believe that top 10% would be simple or easy. From what I understand, the margin for BigLaw at UT goes beyond the top 10-15% and up to the top 20-25%, hence the appeal for people shooting at BigLaw?

This is a common fallacy, even though it appears to make sense. First, there is an unfortunate level of randomness to your grades. Because at both UH and UT, the vast majority of students are smart and work hard, the margins between them for grading purposes are very small. Law professors can be notoriously arbitrary, which is especially problematic when your entire grade is based on a single exam at the end of the semester. It's not like a linear thing where being in the top 10% at Harvard is x harder than top 10% at UT is x harder than top 10% at UH, because there are too many other variables out of your control.

Skill in writing exams still does obviously play a large role in your grade outcome, but you simply cannot predict whether you will be skilled at writing law school exams. There are very smart hardworking people at the bottom of the class, and people at the top of the class who just breeze through because they naturally took to writing law school exams. I cannot emphasize enough how different this is from your experiences in HS and undergrad. You cannot just work your way to an A. The best way to approach things is to assume that you'll be at the median.

UH sends 18% of its graduates to either biglaw or a federal clerkship (usually even more prestigious than biglaw). UT has 46.4% of its students achieve those outcomes. Basically, you have a credible shot at biglaw if you're in the top 20% or so at UH. Of course you'll still have to interview well. At UT, you'd have a credible shot at biglaw from around median and above. As I said, if biglaw is very important to you, you've gotta choose UT.

I'll probably post my old Personal Statement on the relevant forum and write a new one for this cycle. My question is, should I write one specifically for UT and another for all other schools? Can I re-use a Personal Statement?

Thanks again.

I would probably not re-use a personal statement, but it's not against the rules or anything and is unlikely to really hurt you. I personalized parts of mine for UT, but kept the substance basically the same as the ones I sent to other schools, and was pleased with my outcome.

[BigZuck]

OP- what do you mean by "corporate law?"

Usually when people say that they're talking about transactional work for companies, usually in a law firm setting. But it sounds like you mean something else.

[mackoftexas]

Took my third full-length LSAT today, I'll likely be updating my other thread this weekend.

WokeUpInACar thank you for your comprehensive response.

When I mean Corporate Law, I mean working in the in-house legal team for a large company. I have been told a prerequisite for that has been a minimum of 5 years at BigLaw. Please correct me if that is wrong.

[Clearly]

Took my third full-length LSAT today, I'll likely be updating my other thread this weekend.

WokeUpInACar thank you for your comprehensive response.

When I mean Corporate Law, I mean working in the in-house legal team for a large company. I have been told a prerequisite for that has been a minimum of 5 years at BigLaw. Please correct me if that is wrong.

Mostly right, except 5 years is entirely too long. Think 2-4. At some point your biglaw salary is too high, it makes you too expensive to recruit to in-house.

[mackoftexas]

I posted this in my LSAT studying thread but I might as well post it here as the people who posted here may not frequent that part of TLS all that much.

University of Houston upgraded their offer to a full ride yesterday, well after I had turned them down on the 15th of April.

I'm still registered for the June 2016 LSAT, I e-mailed UH back asking for a timeframe to accept/deny and thus far they have not responded. COL for Houston would be very little: no renting costs and now no tuition. Is it still a poor decision to take them up on it?

What should I do?

[poptart123]

.

[WokeUpInACar]

Honestly it's tough to beat UH for absolutely free. I'm assuming you'd be paying rent costs anywhere else, so even a massive scholarship to a good school would leave you in so much more debt. I'd probably just deposit and plan to attend, but still take the June LSAT and re-evaluate if you get a 167+.

[mackoftexas]

IMO deposit if you can afford, but still retake. That way you keep both options on the table for the time being while you make up your mind.

Honestly it's tough to beat UH for absolutely free. I'm assuming you'd be paying rent costs anywhere else, so even a massive scholarship to a good school would leave you in so much more debt. I'd probably just deposit and plan to attend, but still take the June LSAT and re-evaluate if you get a 167+.

I'll do that, I just hope the cutoff dates don't screw things up on that end. Say for instance that I deposit/accept and then get back a 167. What then? If I deposit/accept it, am I bound to UH no matter what?

I just called their admissions office and apparently I have until tomorrow or Thursday to accept.

[Nachoo2019]

IMO deposit if you can afford, but still retake. That way you keep both options on the table for the time being while you make up your mind.

Honestly it's tough to beat UH for absolutely free. I'm assuming you'd be paying rent costs anywhere else, so even a massive scholarship to a good school would leave you in so much more debt. I'd probably just deposit and plan to attend, but still take the June LSAT and re-evaluate if you get a 167+.

I'll do that, I just hope the cutoff dates don't screw things up on that end. Say for instance that I deposit/accept and then get back a 167. What then? If I deposit/accept it, am I bound to UH no matter what?

I just called their admissions office and apparently I have until tomorrow or Thursday to accept.

If you get back a 167+ then you can let UH know that you will not be attending law school this year and you will lose your deposit. then you apply to UT next cycle