WUSTL or reapply Forum

[doiretakeiii]

My only options are WUSTL or reapply next year. I would leave WUSTL with about 65k in loans. I am pretty debt adverse.

Currently very unhappy at work. If I were to retake there is no way I would be able to stay in my current position for another 16 months. I do not believe my immediate career prospects to be great and would not be surprised if it took me 4+ months to find a job paying even 2/3rds what I currently make. Would be able to live off savings and a 25hr/wk coffee shop job til fall of '17 if I needed to, but I would go to law school with no money.

Goals are clerkship -> bigfed. I realize wustl gives me an outside chance of that at best. biglaw for a couple years to bigfed more likely, still no means guaranteed. Honestly don't think I'd mind state govt work, da/sa, etc, though. Low debt coming out of wustl would help towards that.

I am from Chicago and never want to come back. mid-size rust belt cities are where I'd like to end up, but I have no significant ties to any.

3.3/167

LSAT: one take, studied poorly, at least 15 timed PTs in the low 170's+, took the lsat literally the sickest I have been my entire adult life. Very confident in a low 170's score if I were to put in the work (I would be able to work part time while studying for it and I would try not to get deathly sick beforehand this time!). Is that a 171 or a great test and a 178, I don't know. Not sure it matters, though.



So my question is, should I go to school this year? I'm not sure how far a retake would take me. Someone just posted a 3.5/175 would still see them with something like 200k in loans to NYU. NYU would be a dream for me, but 175 is a big ask and honestly I'd probably turn down that much debt. Michigan would really be what I would be gunning for with a retake, but what's a 3.3/172, say, going to see in loans? mylsn is saying maybe 30-50k in scholarships. That's way too much debt for me and I'm not sure what my SO would do in Ann Arbor for 3 years career-wise.

I just think my gpa means no matter what I'm going to be looking at 150k+ to go to nyu/michigan/cornell, right?

[Fiero85]

Tough call. I think this is probably true:

I just think my gpa means no matter what I'm going to be looking at 150k+ to go to nyu/michigan/cornell, right?

Do with that what you will. I'd probably retake and reapply just because it is such a mystery for applicants with 170-175 / 3.3 numbers (and because you seem pretty serious that you underperformed). You might get improved options. But WUSTL for 65k aint bad either if debt adverse and realistic.

[tsujimoto74]

3.33/173 splitter here. In all honesty, I'm not sure that retaking the LSAT would get you much better outcomes. It may, and I suppose it doesn't hurt to try, but I still wouldn't bank on getting any significant $ from T14s with that GPA. I haven't had a lot of luck with my stats.
Feel free to PM me if you want more precise details on how my cycle's gone.

[cavalier1138]

I think you need to evaluate how well WashU's program would meet your needs. Would it lead to you getting a job in the field you want to work in? If so, then I'd take it. And you should note that biglaw/federal opportunities don't usually come to small cities in the rust belt. However, WashU places excellently in that region of the country.

From your post, it seems like your main issue is with having to take out $65k in loans, which I am assuming is basically just to cover the cost of living during school. And if that's the case, then you should know that you're going to be taking at least that much out no matter where you go (unless you have free housing at a specific location). No school in the top 20 is going to be giving you a full scholarship plus enough of a stipend to totally cover COL. And WashU is actually the most likely school to provide any form of stipend over full tuition.

So short version: if your only barrier is that $65k in debt, then suck it up. You'll be able to pay that back without any problems.

[doiretakeiii]

I think you need to evaluate how well WashU's program would meet your needs. Would it lead to you getting a job in the field you want to work in? If so, then I'd take it.

So short version: if your only barrier is that $65k in debt, then suck it up. You'll be able to pay that back without any problems.

I don't think WUSTL gets me my dream job, but I think I'd be happy with most outcomes.


65 is fine imo. My hesitation is could I get away with less than 2x the debt and a greater chance at dream jobs (michigan, nyu would be where I'd be looking at. Everywhere else would be to negotiate)? I feel like even a 3.3/180/spend all next year volunteering isnt going to see me get over 50% off Michigan, so there's no point to retake.

[existentialcrisis]

I feel like I've seen people on here get the Northwestern ED with 3.3x and scores in the 170s. Not positive about that though.

[mornincounselor]

My only options are WUSTL or reapply next year. I would leave WUSTL with about 65k in loans. I am pretty debt adverse.

Currently very unhappy at work. If I were to retake there is no way I would be able to stay in my current position for another 16 months. I do not believe my immediate career prospects to be great and would not be surprised if it took me 4+ months to find a job paying even 2/3rds what I currently make. Would be able to live off savings and a 25hr/wk coffee shop job til fall of '17 if I needed to, but I would go to law school with no money.

Goals are clerkship -> bigfed. I realize wustl gives me an outside chance of that at best. biglaw for a couple years to bigfed more likely, still no means guaranteed. Honestly don't think I'd mind state govt work, da/sa, etc, though. Low debt coming out of wustl would help towards that.

I am from Chicago and never want to come back. mid-size rust belt cities are where I'd like to end up, but I have no significant ties to any.

3.3/167

LSAT: one take, studied poorly, at least 15 timed PTs in the low 170's+, took the lsat literally the sickest I have been my entire adult life. Very confident in a low 170's score if I were to put in the work (I would be able to work part time while studying for it and I would try not to get deathly sick beforehand this time!). Is that a 171 or a great test and a 178, I don't know. Not sure it matters, though.



So my question is, should I go to school this year? I'm not sure how far a retake would take me. Someone just posted a 3.5/175 would still see them with something like 200k in loans to NYU. NYU would be a dream for me, but 175 is a big ask and honestly I'd probably turn down that much debt. Michigan would really be what I would be gunning for with a retake, but what's a 3.3/172, say, going to see in loans? mylsn is saying maybe 30-50k in scholarships. That's way too much debt for me and I'm not sure what my SO would do in Ann Arbor for 3 years career-wise.

I just think my gpa means no matter what I'm going to be looking at 150k+ to go to nyu/michigan/cornell, right?

Do you plan on spending a significant amount of your or someone else's money? That $60k debt estimate seems way too low if you are financing heavily through loans.

I don't know your specific scholarship, but I know other students with similar numbers have received $37.5k/yr in aid. With this size scholarship a student at WUSTL who financed the cost of acceptance entirely through loans would take out about $113,000 in loans. Upon graduation, that student would owe over $137,500*.

The answer to your final question, imo, is yes unfortunately. But, I believe a retake with a score increase of even 1-2 points could get you much closer to a full ride for WashU, if you don't already have one.


*Minimally. This figure was calculated using the My Worksheets on LSTscorereports.com, it accounts for modest tuition increases and a $22,000 / yr cost of living plus figures for books, and other expenses. Importantly, the cost of living portion of this prediction is based upon a 9 month calendar. Then, one can assume the CoL portion of the estimate could be as much as 25% higher than calculated or more.