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3.6/173, STEM
applied to T6 minus yale plus berkeley on/after 1/20/17
Got ~50k at NYU, 60k at CLS, Reject stanford, and the rest waitlist

My dream is to attend HLS and eventually work in PI - law reform, impact litigation

Should I go to CLS? or reapply on 9/1? Been out of school for 3 years... am not really enjoying my current job as a paralegal (don't see it as challenging), but am not sure what I would do until next fall

anyone know of co-ops or internships that would pay decently in a large coastal city for ~6-8 months?

You should (re)apply to the rest of the T14.

Edit: Also I'm no expert, but I believe HLS is going to be pretty tough with 3.6

Yeah, I wouldn't pin all your hopes on HLS. I'm not convinced that your numbers get you better scholarships anywhere (or that improving your LSAT would do much to move the needle), so I'd go with CLS, unless you're willing to reapply to the lower T14 for better money.

What's wrong with CLS here? Seems like a great choice with your numbers.

What do you view as the differences between CLS and HLS that would impact this decision? Even assuming it would be possible with a 3.6, there's little to establish that one offers $60k plus a year of waiting in added value over the other.

Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

jbagelboy wrote:What's wrong with CLS here?

I think, depending on goals, 250k at repayment is a lot of money if you could go to a lower T14 for much cheaper.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

The question would be why he's uninterested in the other schools.

existentialcrisis wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:What's wrong with CLS here?

I think, depending on goals, 250k at repayment is a lot of money if you could go to a lower T14 for much cheaper.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

The question would be why he's uninterested in the other schools.

Thank you for all the replies.

Seems like H has a very robust alumni network in many practice areas and places. I keep hearing about their alumni with their hands in everything, and don't hear as much about CLS. Also, I am not enamored with the idea of staying in NYC forever. Cost of living in manhattan is astronomical

My debt load would be around ~125 to 150k, after some parental contribution

2020throwaway wrote: Seems like H has a very robust alumni network in many practice areas and places. I keep hearing about their alumni with their hands in everything, and don't hear as much about CLS. Also, I am not enamored with the idea of staying in NYC forever. Cost of living in manhattan is astronomical

Then you aren't listening hard enough. Columbia doesn't limit you to NYC after graduation, let alone forever. Although, for the record, you don't have to live in Manhattan to work in NYC (not that the other boroughs are cheap by the standards of any other city).

Does Harvard give you a better shot at impact litigation? Sure, at least marginally. But most people from Harvard still don't end up in impact lit, because there are very few jobs in that area (and 0Ls also tend to really want impact lit, but they grow out of it). And your GPA makes Harvard admission relatively unlikely.

I went to CLS and do impact lit in Chicago. You can do whatever you want from CLS so long as you plan and follow through.

2020throwaway wrote:

existentialcrisis wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:What's wrong with CLS here?

I think, depending on goals, 250k at repayment is a lot of money if you could go to a lower T14 for much cheaper.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

The question would be why he's uninterested in the other schools.

Thank you for all the replies.

Seems like H has a very robust alumni network in many practice areas and places. I keep hearing about their alumni with their hands in everything, and don't hear as much about CLS. Also, I am not enamored with the idea of staying in NYC forever. Cost of living in manhattan is astronomical

My debt load would be around ~125 to 150k, after some parental contribution

The alumni network is not a veritable distinguishing factor. Both schools have alumni across organizations. Feels like a proxy for some sort of intangible fixation that doesn't map onto realities of the legal marketplace and actual student loan debt. Columbia at $60k is a good offer for you. If you were going to reapply, it should be with the aim of getting more money at another T14 school, not less.

jbagelboy wrote:

2020throwaway wrote:

existentialcrisis wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:What's wrong with CLS here?

I think, depending on goals, 250k at repayment is a lot of money if you could go to a lower T14 for much cheaper.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

The question would be why he's uninterested in the other schools.

Thank you for all the replies.

Seems like H has a very robust alumni network in many practice areas and places. I keep hearing about their alumni with their hands in everything, and don't hear as much about CLS. Also, I am not enamored with the idea of staying in NYC forever. Cost of living in manhattan is astronomical

My debt load would be around ~125 to 150k, after some parental contribution

The alumni network is not a veritable distinguishing factor. Both schools have alumni across organizations. Feels like a proxy for some sort of intangible fixation that doesn't map onto realities of the legal marketplace and actual student loan debt. Columbia at $60k is a good offer for you. If you were going to reapply, it should be with the aim of getting more money at another T14 school, not less.

Totally agree with this, and those lower T14 options could potentially help push Columbia marginally higher so you're making the choice between Columbia at like $75k vs. Duke at $105k or something similar.

I am in a very similar situation like you. late application. above 75% lsat for H but international applicant though. I am in for CLS with more money and wl with H. I will attend whichever school this fall. I will leave my job very soon and do not know what to do next if I reapply. I am in a gap year now and want no more gap years. My goal is in biglaw, so I don't think going to CLS will put me at any disadvantage. As for networks, I think it's still up to us to develop. I don't think it's hard at all to connect with people from other schools if you are really good at networking, at least in my current field of healthcare industry. not so sure about legal field though...

existentialcrisis wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:What's wrong with CLS here?

I think, depending on goals, 250k at repayment is a lot of money if you could go to a lower T14 for much cheaper.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I'd say CLS since it seems like you were uninterested in the lower t13

The question would be why he's uninterested in the other schools.

At the time, I felt sort of strapped for money (cost about $1000 to apply to T6, take lsat, and register for LSAC), and wasn't originally planning to go to LS this fall. Really should have had my applications in much sooner

Based on LSN, you really wouldn't have done *that* much better with the rest of the T13 anyway. You kind of have the worst possible LSAT for that GPA. It's high enough that you are basically guaranteed in at NYU and CLS with little to no money, and the bottom T13 would certainly not be unwarranted in waitlisting you assuming that you are just going to take the highest ranked school like so many people do.

I think if you would reapply in September with some killer "Why X" essays, at least one of Mich, VA, Duke would offer 120k+. Additionally, I would give consideration to ED at NW if that is something you'd be interested in. Looking at 50k or 60k to a T6 seems pretty poor compared to that 150K in hindsight. If you can spin your STEM properly, the sky is the limit!

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/fancifulrock

LRAP train breh.