Top Law Schools

I am forever growing and cutting my list of schools to apply to this cycle. I currently have a 158 LSAT, but hopefully will break into the 160s for the September administration. I want to apply ASAP for this coming cycle, so I want to have my schools decided and applications ready to go before those scores come out.

My question is: What schools around the top 100 have deep pockets/are generous with scholarships? For example, I know that Villanova is VERY generous for LSATs around 160 (they gave out over 100 full-rides last year, so stips). I think that Penn State Law may be as well, though I don't know if I would attend their remote location and lack of influential alums at this time (being so new) for law school and internships.

I'm looking to remain on the east coast, preferably not further north than Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Ohio. I love the city of Atlanta and GSU is a definite as well for me (and, I could possibly live with my brother there). I don't have a specific preference when it comes to a state to practice in.

I want to hold my applications down to 10-12 schools, so I'm researching the best options, even if just for $$ leverage. Thanks

GPA? Goals? I would not go to Villanova unless it was absolutely free and you had modest small law goals to practice in the Philly area. Personally would take Temple over both.

bmathers wrote:I am forever growing and cutting my list of schools to apply to this cycle. I currently have a 158 LSAT, but hopefully will break into the 160s for the September administration. I want to apply ASAP for this coming cycle, so I want to have my schools decided and applications ready to go before those scores come out.

My question is: What schools around the top 100 have deep pockets/are generous with scholarships? For example, I know that Villanova is VERY generous for LSATs around 160 (they gave out over 100 full-rides last year, so stips). I think that Penn State Law may be as well, though I don't know if I would attend their remote location and lack of influential alums at this time (being so new) for law school and internships.

I'm looking to remain on the east coast, preferably not further north than Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Ohio. I love the city of Atlanta and GSU is a definite as well for me (and, I could possibly live with my brother there). I don't have a specific preference when it comes to a state to practice in.

I want to hold my applications down to 10-12 schools, so I'm researching the best options, even if just for $$ leverage. Thanks

Why the rush on applying? I'm a firm believer that if you're capable of a 158, you're capable of a 165+, which would drastically change your outcomes. Do what you will, but I think taking as much time you need to study for the LSAT is TCR here.

It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

The lack of action on this board by some people absolutely kills me, lol. Believe it or not, a lot of people make out just fine without scoring a 165 LSAT and attending a T14 LS. I'll be just fine. This thread proposed a question, I am not looking for advice beyond answers to that proposed question.

It's crazy how life and death the LSAT is to some people on this board... I tend to think they are K-JD or maybe a gap year or two. The real world and the academia bubble are starkly different things. I'm at a point in my life that I just want to go through with things, not sit here giddy like a school boy about getting a 161 LSAT compared to a 165, and putting off my life two more years over that. Sorry, I'm in a different stage of life than you.

EDIT: Waiting until 35 or 36 to start my life is not happening... don't even think about putting in the effort to make that suggestion, b/c it will not be considered and is a waste of typing.

And, by the way, I'm ready. I should be able to graduate from a T1/T2 border LS with very little to no debt. I can cover my living expenses and maybe $10k tuition/year without financing (hence my question about generous schools). I guess that's when being near-30 helps

The LAST thing I would want to do is BigLaw, to be honest. $180k/year is not even close to enough to purchase my life like BigLaw would. So, just to be clear, thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I'm a big boy.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Nothing about it is "so bad," at all. However, I have been considering law school since high school and it's time to finally act on that. I want to be a lawyer. Nothing against my current occupation (I'm an entrepreneur in the health/fitness/sales area),

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Still a question you could ask of anyone considering law school, regardless of age.

Can we just focus on my original post and the question posed, please? I appreciate you all for caring enough to try to talk me into waiting further, but that's simply not the question that I posed and is not happening. Thank you

I think your best bet is looking on MyLSN.info. I hope people will answer, but LSN has probably got the best compilation of info out there.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Still a question you could ask of anyone considering law school, regardless of age.

Nah for K-JDs it's"At 22, what about literally any other career option before you is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation and also you're an idiot"

At 30 they should know better

<-------- (is 31 and does not know better)

George Mason has been throwing money around a lot recently due to the gifts they received from Scalia's estate and others. Might wanna check them out.

I am super for people taking the full scholarship at a good T1 law school.

One caveat though is to make sure they give you good scholarship retention terms (ideally, they tell you they'll never, ever, ever take your scholarship away or reduce it!).

Also, check their scholarship retention numbers. Some schools, like Notre Dame Law School play a bait and switch where they let you in with money only to take it away a year later!

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Still a question you could ask of anyone considering law school, regardless of age.

Okay.....what's your point? Still a question worth answering/thinking about nonetheless

bmathers wrote:

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Nothing about it is "so bad," at all. However, I have been considering law school since high school and it's time to finally act on that. I want to be a lawyer. Nothing against my current occupation (I'm an entrepreneur in the health/fitness/sales area),

My point is, why is it the time to act? You could say that about anything; "I've always thought about being a ballerina, and I've decided now is the time to act."

bmathers wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

The lack of action on this board by some people absolutely kills me, lol. Believe it or not, a lot of people make out just fine without scoring a 165 LSAT and attending a T14 LS. I'll be just fine. This thread proposed a question, I am not looking for advice beyond answers to that proposed question.

It's crazy how life and death the LSAT is to some people on this board... I tend to think they are K-JD or maybe a gap year or two. The real world and the academia bubble are starkly different things. I'm at a point in my life that I just want to go through with things, not sit here giddy like a school boy about getting a 161 LSAT compared to a 165, and putting off my life two more years over that. Sorry, I'm in a different stage of life than you.

EDIT: Waiting until 35 or 36 to start my life is not happening... don't even think about putting in the effort to make that suggestion, b/c it will not be considered and is a waste of typing.

If you don't like the attitude of people on this board, then you should probably go elsewhere for advice; what else did you expect to be honest?

Also, studying for the LSAT doesn't take 5-6 years. Suck it up, and put a few months of diligent work in if you're a "big boy" as you proposed in an earlier post.

Edit - don't assume you're in a different stage of my life because I advised you to retake the LSAT; assumptions will kill you in law school buddy

You know the attitude of people on this board, but still act the way you are and call yourself an adult...


Anyway, as you know the general composition of active posters on this board, you know most aren't going to have a helpful answer for you (at the very most you'll get a largely incomplete list). I would look at 509 reports -- you'll be able to see what percentage of students get scholarships, the distribution of those scholarships, and how many students retain their scholarships. Also, since you know what area you want to practice in, just look at the 509's in that area. You could probably get a pretty comprehensive answer with 2 hours and a spreadsheet. Might be helpful to others if you posted your findings afterwards!

RamTitan wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Still a question you could ask of anyone considering law school, regardless of age.

Okay.....what's your point? Still a question worth answering/thinking about nonetheless

My point was that there isn't any worse reason for someone to go to law school at 30 than at 22, so why bring up age? People here sometimes seem to impose some higher standard on older applicants which I think is inappropriate.

(Also the comment about life not starting till 35-46 meant that's when they'd graduate school if they retake, not that that was when they'd take the LSAT again.)

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

Capitol_Idea wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

bmathers wrote:It's my 3rd take, I'm 30, I already put it off 1 cycle. I refuse to wait 2 additional years to retake (my earliest retake would be June 2018 - that's NOT happening, and I am not up for negotiating). Sometimes you just need to act instead of just waiting forever.

Why do you want to go to law school at age 30?

Edit - I think acting in this case would be studying for the LSAT, not applying before you're ready for the best outcome.

Why does anyone want to go to law school at any age?

I think the question is: "At 30, what about your current profession is so bad and why do you think a law degree will improve your situation?"

Still a question you could ask of anyone considering law school, regardless of age.

Okay.....what's your point? Still a question worth answering/thinking about nonetheless

My point was that there isn't any worse reason for someone to go to law school at 30 than at 22, so why bring up age? People here sometimes seem to impose some higher standard on older applicants which I think is inappropriate.

(Also the comment about life not starting till 35-46 meant that's when they'd graduate school if they retake, not that that was when they'd take the LSAT again.)

I was legitimately curious. I'm not an admissions committee for crying out loud.

I never said you were. I get that you're curious and "why do you want to go to school now" is perfectly reasonable, again, I just don't think age is really relevant.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I never said you were. I get that you're curious and "why do you want to go to school now" is perfectly reasonable, again, I just don't think age is really relevant.

How is age not relevant? A 30 year old is in a different stage of their life than when they are 22 (or 45, or 60, or whatever), so different factors are going to influence their decision.

RamTitan wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I never said you were. I get that you're curious and "why do you want to go to school now" is perfectly reasonable, again, I just don't think age is really relevant.

How is age not relevant? A 30 year old is in a different stage of their life than when they are 22 (or 45, or 60, or whatever), so different factors are going to influence their decision.

Of course, but asking "why do you want to go to law school now" or even just "why do you want to go to law school" serves the same purpose regardless of someone's age. Asking "why do you want to go to law school at 30" sounds more like there's something weird about going at 30.

I recognize I'm probably overreacting to your post, but people here do tend to hold older candidates to a higher standard for justifying going to school later in life, and it annoys me.