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I grew up in North Shore, and have, upon graduation, what I expect to be anywhere from a 3.75 GPA to a 3.8 GPA. I got a 160 on my diagnostic and let's assume I can get a 175 after 10 months of study.

I know the lower T14 would be within my reach, but Chicago is a rather big if, and Northwestern may want work experience first. Most of my family lives in the Chicago area thus that is where all of my ties are.

Say I went to somewhere like Cornell or another lower T14 school not near Chicago. Could I still score a big-law job there?

Thats a big assumption. I hope you get there but remember, less than half of 1 percent of test takers get a 175. It is by no means guaranteed that you get even near 175. Until you have an lsat score that will get you into a t14 (which you currently don't), then this shouldn't be a worry. Just worry about the lsat and crush it.

grades?? wrote:Thats a big assumption. I hope you get there but remember, less than half of 1 percent of test takers get a 175. It is by no means guaranteed that you get even near 175. Until you have an lsat score that will get you into a t14 (which you currently don't), then this shouldn't be a worry. Just worry about the lsat and crush it.

Don't worry lol, if I can't get a good LSAT this question doesn't even matter because I won't be going to law school. I was just wondering while I had time to spare.

EDIT: To further add, I also have plans if I get a 170 or so, 175 is on the optimistic side.

ForumCommissar wrote:

grades?? wrote:Thats a big assumption. I hope you get there but remember, less than half of 1 percent of test takers get a 175. It is by no means guaranteed that you get even near 175. Until you have an lsat score that will get you into a t14 (which you currently don't), then this shouldn't be a worry. Just worry about the lsat and crush it.

Don't worry lol, if I can't get a good LSAT this question doesn't even matter because I won't be going to law school. I was just wondering while I had time to spare.

EDIT: To further add, I also have plans if I get a 170 or so, 175 is on the optimistic side.

Listen I appreciate your optimism. As a 175+ scorer, I know the legit work it takes to get there. Less wondering while I had time to spare, more studying the lsat. For example, I took every single lsat that had been released at the time (like 1-74 or so) 3 times. In full testing conditions. It took me a full year. To get the 170+ mark, it takes a long time and a lot of studying.

grades?? wrote:

ForumCommissar wrote:

grades?? wrote:Thats a big assumption. I hope you get there but remember, less than half of 1 percent of test takers get a 175. It is by no means guaranteed that you get even near 175. Until you have an lsat score that will get you into a t14 (which you currently don't), then this shouldn't be a worry. Just worry about the lsat and crush it.

Don't worry lol, if I can't get a good LSAT this question doesn't even matter because I won't be going to law school. I was just wondering while I had time to spare.

EDIT: To further add, I also have plans if I get a 170 or so, 175 is on the optimistic side.

Listen I appreciate your optimism. As a 175+ scorer, I know the legit work it takes to get there. Less wondering while I had time to spare, more studying the lsat. For example, I took every single lsat that had been released at the time (like 1-74 or so) 3 times. In full testing conditions. It took me a full year. To get the 170+ mark, it takes a long time and a lot of studying.

Well thanks for that. I'm not trying to say that it doesn't a lot of hard work. But I'm not about to take a PT 30 minutes before bed, a year before the test. I already practice several hours a day.

I'm sure you worked very hard, congratulations. I am fully aware of the work required, and you are taking a little too much about my life from a 3 sentence post that took a minute to make.

I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. or NU.

Don't put the cart before the horse

.

Pretty pointless thought exercise at this point, but if you score a 175, you should just go to Chicago and stop thinking about it - there is no better option. imo, its unlikely you get into Cornell but don't get into Northwestern, so if you don't get into Chicago, go there (they care about work experience, but still something like a quarter of their class don't have any). If you want to be in Chicago, there's very little reason to leave.

grades?? wrote:

ForumCommissar wrote:

grades?? wrote:Thats a big assumption. I hope you get there but remember, less than half of 1 percent of test takers get a 175. It is by no means guaranteed that you get even near 175. Until you have an lsat score that will get you into a t14 (which you currently don't), then this shouldn't be a worry. Just worry about the lsat and crush it.

Don't worry lol, if I can't get a good LSAT this question doesn't even matter because I won't be going to law school. I was just wondering while I had time to spare.

EDIT: To further add, I also have plans if I get a 170 or so, 175 is on the optimistic side.

Listen I appreciate your optimism. As a 175+ scorer, I know the legit work it takes to get there. Less wondering while I had time to spare, more studying the lsat. For example, I took every single lsat that had been released at the time (like 1-74 or so) 3 times. In full testing conditions. It took me a full year. To get the 170+ mark, it takes a long time and a lot of studying.

Anecdotes aren't necessarily that helpful. I can provide my own story which is the complete opposite. My diagnostic was barely higher than OPs (162) and then I browsed the games bible and took a PT roughly every 2 days for the next 5 weeks and was in the high 170s (176-180 for my last several PTs). Ended up with a 175 on the real thing.

OP, you'll have a better idea of what's realistic after you read a guide/bible or two and then reassess. I don't think it's unreasonable to be considering options that are well within the realm of possibility (options that involve a score in the 170s, assuming your score jumps notably after you're not literally look at the test cold).

Yes, assuming you're above median at Cornell or similar school. Just invent a good "Why Chicago" and, given your ties, you'll get a jerb.

You've got the ties, so now it's just school. If you're Chicago or bust, I'd say Chi > HYS > NU > C+N. If you actually hit a 175, you're golden, but don't underestimate the work to get there.

You can check the T14 schools that place more students in Chicago on lstscorereports.com

Thank you all for your help and support. It's definitely be good and useful for me to consider in the future where I should go, at the University of Chicago is what I should be gunning for.

Joscellin wrote:You've got the ties, so now it's just school. If you're Chicago or bust, I'd say Chi > HYS > NU > C+N. If you actually hit a 175, you're golden, but don't underestimate the work to get there.

TCR

jbagelboy wrote:I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. The chicago market can be tough even coming from Northwestern, and certainly from other lower T14 schools.

GPA's not good enough for that. Get a 170 and go to NU for a full ride.

Get your GPA to a 3.8 though.

star fox wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. The chicago market can be tough even coming from Northwestern, and certainly from other lower T14 schools.

GPA's not good enough for that. Get a 170 and go to NU for a full ride.

Get your GPA to a 3.8 though.

Why do you say GPA isn't good enough? What GPA would be good enough in your opinion?

scottyboy wrote:

star fox wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. The chicago market can be tough even coming from Northwestern, and certainly from other lower T14 schools.

GPA's not good enough for that. Get a 170 and go to NU for a full ride.

Get your GPA to a 3.8 though.

Why do you say GPA isn't good enough? What GPA would be good enough in your opinion?

Look at UChicago's median admission GPA. You're not gonna a sizable scholarship if you're below that median.

star fox wrote:

scottyboy wrote:

star fox wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. The chicago market can be tough even coming from Northwestern, and certainly from other lower T14 schools.

GPA's not good enough for that. Get a 170 and go to NU for a full ride.

Get your GPA to a 3.8 though.

Why do you say GPA isn't good enough? What GPA would be good enough in your opinion?

Look at UChicago's median admission GPA. You're not gonna a sizable scholarship if you're below that median.

Depends on what you mean by sizable, and to a lesser extent whether you qualify for anything need based. Chicago can be quite generous--and I mean up to 1/2--at the 3.8/172+ mark, which is still below their absurd median gpa.

I'm curious why nobody is really recommending UMich in this thread. I know UMich's law placement is less than stellar across the country these days, but so much so that it can barely break Chicago? Even Northwestern has a better chance of the Chicago market now? Wow.

blerggggg wrote:I'm curious why nobody is really recommending UMich in this thread. I know UMich's law placement is less than stellar across the country these days, but so much so that it can barely break Chicago? Even Northwestern has a better chance of the Chicago market now? Wow.

Well, NU is a T14 in Chicago. Has Michigan ever outplayed NU there?

idk, new trier?

.

jbagelboy wrote:

star fox wrote:

scottyboy wrote:

star fox wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:I would target UChicago with a sizable scholarship as your top choice. The chicago market can be tough even coming from Northwestern, and certainly from other lower T14 schools.

GPA's not good enough for that. Get a 170 and go to NU for a full ride.

Get your GPA to a 3.8 though.

Why do you say GPA isn't good enough? What GPA would be good enough in your opinion?

Look at UChicago's median admission GPA. You're not gonna a sizable scholarship if you're below that median.

Depends on what you mean by sizable, and to a lesser extent whether you qualify for anything need based. Chicago can be quite generous--and I mean up to 1/2--at the 3.8/172+ mark, which is still below their absurd median gpa.

OP: UChicago will be the best bet, if you hit those numbers you will be solid.

Now a side note, I always wanted to ask why it is the case the UChi has the highest median GPA. I know "why" but I do not know what their purpose is. Is it perhaps, a different admissions philosophy? Or perhaps a desire to be set apart? And is that media GPA really that absurd?

LeDique wrote:idk, new trier?

dropped to #22 in the usnwr rankings (whoa!). Hopefully OP has the grades to transfer to Stevenson...