T14 vs. T50; Work-Life Balance in Career Forum

[iknowlaws]

Hello, all!

I still have a few applications pending and as far as I'm concerned, looking for the best opportunity with the least debt is my priority. I do not think I want to get into big law, but am wondering if the T14 should be a consideration. My February LSAT put my application late in the cycle and I feel that I would have more acceptances, but likely without scholarships from the T14. At the moment, I believe that I would like to practice intellectual property, business, real estate, or estate law. Also, I would like to end up in the Seattle area when I find a career.

Is there a best course of action that I should take? As listed in my lawschoolnumbers profile below, Indiana University - Bloomington is my best option as of this post. Would this be a good fit?

Best,

iknowlaws

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/UMich18

[Vianco]

Considering you're a non-URM with a 3.63 and a 166 I'm not sure why you're even worried about this, especially since the only t14s you applied to are Michigan and Northwestern...

[nrthwst4now]

Going to be hard to get from Indiana to Seattle. The legal market is not huge in Seattle and many people from T14s try to get back there in addition to the UW and SU grads. Hopefully you get into Irvine or UCLA with some $...might be worth to sit out a cycle and reapply to a few places. If you could get 2-3 more points on LSAT you may have way more options.

Good luck.

[iknowlaws]

Considering you're a non-URM with a 3.63 and a 166 I'm not sure why you're even worried about this, especially since the only t14s you applied to are Michigan and Northwestern...

The question is more towards whether I should sit out this cycle and reach for the low 170's on the LSAT. Also, I have an addendum noting that my GPA since major change was 3.92. I know that it wasn't likely given my first score at time of application, but medical issues and deaths in the family cut into my study time.

[albanach]

Like nrthwst4now says, the best way to end up in Seattle is to go to a regional school that's nearby or a school with national reach (i.e. something from or near the T-14).

If you're avoiding big law, you're going to be debt adverse (unless you have cash to pay for law school). Either apply to schools on the West Coast or look for a 170+ on the LSAT in the summer/September. If you're already at 166, you can make that additional leap.

[iknowlaws]

Going to be hard to get from Indiana to Seattle. The legal market is not huge in Seattle and many people from T14s try to get back there in addition to the UW and SU grads. Hopefully you get into Irvine or UCLA with some $...might be worth to sit out a cycle and reapply to a few places. If you could get 2-3 more points on LSAT you may have way more options.

Good luck.

Thank you for your input, it is definitely a consideration and I do not think that I would aim for a legal firm there, but rather counsel within a company. Indiana's network is somewhat sizable at 111 (as a percent of total alumni, it is decent).

A primary concern of mine is landing a job in a financial field for only a year while reducing my potential financial aid from the government with no guarantee my LSAT would improve.

[albanach]

Thank you for your input, it is definitely a consideration and I do not think that I would aim for a legal firm there, but rather counsel within a company. Indiana's network is somewhat sizable at 111 (as a percent of total alumni, it is decent).

A primary concern of mine is landing a job in a financial field for only a year while reducing my potential financial aid from the government with no guarantee my LSAT would improve.

1) So, to add to the mix, your goal on graduation is effectively a "unicorn job". According to LST, 6 out of 191 graduates went into counsel positions with firms. There's a good chance that most of those positions were local (60 percent of graduates end up in IN/IL/NY) and obtained through connections. You're looking to achieve the same on the other side of the country.

2) Why would a job reduce your federal aid? You should be able to borrow up to the cost of attendance.

3) Graduating class size is only one part of an alumni network. The other part is where folk end up. You're going to be looking for IU graduates who are CLO/GC with Seattle businesses and therefore have influence at hiring. That's going to be much less common.

[alhookem2020]

Thank you for your input, it is definitely a consideration and I do not think that I would aim for a legal firm there, but rather counsel within a company. Indiana's network is somewhat sizable at 111 (as a percent of total alumni, it is decent).

A primary concern of mine is landing a job in a financial field for only a year while reducing my potential financial aid from the government with no guarantee my LSAT would improve.

1) So, to add to the mix, your goal on graduation is effectively a "unicorn job". According to LST, 6 out of 191 graduates went into counsel positions with firms. There's a good chance that most of those positions were local (60 percent of graduates end up in IN/IL/NY) and obtained through connections. You're looking to achieve the same on the other side of the country.

2) Why would a job reduce your federal aid? You should be able to borrow up to the cost of attendance.

3) Graduating class size is only one part of an alumni network. The other part is where folk end up. You're going to be looking for IU graduates who are CLO/GC with Seattle businesses and therefore have influence at hiring. That's going to be much less common.

2) OP is talking about financial aid, not fed loans.

[albanach]

2) OP is talking about financial aid, not fed loans.

Need based aid is pretty rare outside HYS, at least absent some mitigating circumstances. The entire cost of attendance is generally available to those qualified for federal loans which makes it harder to argue need. Even if IU offered need based aid, the idea of postponing is to find a school better matched geographically for OP's goals.

[iknowlaws]

2) OP is talking about financial aid, not fed loans.

Need based aid is pretty rare outside HYS, at least absent some mitigating circumstances. The entire cost of attendance is generally available to those qualified for federal loans which makes it harder to argue need. Even if IU offered need based aid, the idea of postponing is to find a school better matched geographically for OP's goals.

I was actually convinced that federal loans would be reduced as a function of your income as mine was adjusted for undergrad (but that may have been due to scholarships as well). I may have to reconsider based on that notion... Also thinking whether I should really push to go to a T14 where I hope to be in the median range or at a lower-ranked school towards the top.

[albanach]

I was actually convinced that federal loans would be reduced as a function of your income as mine was adjusted for undergrad (but that may have been due to scholarships as well). I may have to reconsider based on that notion... Also thinking whether I should really push to go to a T14 where I hope to be in the median range or at a lower-ranked school towards the top.

It is a pretty widely held belief that it is next to impossible to predict your law school performance. It is therefore extremely risky to attend a lower ranked school under the impression that you will be ranked more highly in your class. Particularly when you're looking at schools in the T-14 and T1 range, all your classmates will be high performers, used to excelling in school. You can't all be top.