Top Law Schools

Need some help, folks. I have a pretty low GPA (3.0) and a fine, but not stellar LSAT (164). I am, however, a 32 year old 80% disabled veteran, and maintained a 4.0 GPA for the second half of undergrad. Basically, started college right out of high school, did terribly, dropped out, joined the army. 8 years later I'd grown up a lot and finished strong. I expected to have trouble getting into any school with my GPA being so low, but to my surprise, I was accepted to Iowa, George Mason, Temple, Villanova, Wisconsin, Minnesota, William and Mary, Washington and Lee and Wake Forest, and waitlisted at Notre Dame. I'm still waiting on Vanderbilt and Texas, and an acceptance at either of those or Notre Dame makes the following question irrelevant, because I'd go to any of those three above any of those that I've currently been accepted to.

I'm really torn with my options moving forward. Of the schools I've been accepted to, I'm considering 4: Iowa, WM, WL and WF. Iowa is 5 hours from my hometown, and by all accounts a good school with good career prospects, but I see a lot of conflicting opinions on whether a degree from there is regional or national. My wife and I are open to living in the midwest, but would prefer the middle/mid-Atlantic states.

Why then, wouldn't I immediately choose WM, WL or WF? I'm concerned about the proximity of such better schools. Iowa has no real competition nearby. The VA/NC schools compete with all of the DC schools, UNC and Duke. Also, none of these schools are national brands as far as I know.

I should note that with the GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon Program and scholarships, cost will play no role whatsoever in my decision, as I should be able to get through all of these programs with no debt.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Daveosupremo wrote:Need some help, folks. I have a pretty low GPA (3.0) and a fine, but not stellar LSAT (164). I am, however, a 32 year old 80% disabled veteran, and maintained a 4.0 GPA for the second half of undergrad. Basically, started college right out of high school, did terribly, dropped out, joined the army. 8 years later I'd grown up a lot and finished strong. I expected to have trouble getting into any school with my GPA being so low, but to my surprise, I was accepted to Iowa, George Mason, Temple, Villanova, Wisconsin, Minnesota, William and Mary, Washington and Lee and Wake Forest, and waitlisted at Notre Dame. I'm still waiting on Vanderbilt and Texas, and an acceptance at either of those or Notre Dame makes the following question irrelevant, because I'd go to any of those three above any of those that I've currently been accepted to.

I'm really torn with my options moving forward. Of the schools I've been accepted to, I'm considering 4: Iowa, WM, WL and WF. Iowa is 5 hours from my hometown, and by all accounts a good school with good career prospects, but I see a lot of conflicting opinions on whether a degree from there is regional or national. My wife and I are open to living in the midwest, but would prefer the middle/mid-Atlantic states.

Why then, wouldn't I immediately choose WM, WL or WF? I'm concerned about the proximity of such better schools. Iowa has no real competition nearby. The VA/NC schools compete with all of the DC schools, UNC and Duke. Also, none of these schools are national brands as far as I know.

I should note that with the GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon Program and scholarships, cost will play no role whatsoever in my decision, as I should be able to get through all of these programs with no debt.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

You shouldn't be surprised that you got into those schools. There is a tremendous admissions advantage for veterans. I know several vets at my T10 (myself included) with sub-3.0 UGPA. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but you're leaving a lot of opportunity on the table. With a LSAT of 168-170, you'd probably get into at least one of Michigan, Penn, UVA, Northwestern, or Georgetown. https://mylsn.info/zbhcot

I get that sucks to wait a year, especially at your age. But I started when I was 31 and two of the vets in my class started after 35. All of us were able to land biglaw jobs in NYC, DC, CA, and other mid-Atlantic markets. Btw, not only does waiting, retaking, and going to a T13 mean better outcomes, it's better for your health. It is significantly less stressful to going to a school where you have an 80% of landing a job that starts at $190k and 20% of jobs that start at $65k compared to one where those percentiles are reversed. Check out this thread for some perspective. http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... &hilit=pme

Of the schools you listed, none give you a better than 1/5 shot at biglaw - the only job that would justify taking yourself out of the workforce for 3 years at your age. Biglaw placement is also a decent proxy for getting desirable legal careers in general. Additionally, all of those schools are going to restrict you to the region. If you want the mid-Atlantic, then I would ditch Iowa and WF. Those 2 also have the lowest BL placement.
https://www.lstreports.com/compare/wm/wl/wake/

If you don't want to retake, your focus should be to get off W/L at Vandy, since it has the best overall placement rates, and it puts a good chunk of its classes in NYC/mid-Atlantic. https://www.lstreports.com/compare/vand ... notredame/ You can consult other threads on how to tailor your LOCI and get in.

If you are dead-set on starting in 2019 and those are your only 4 options, I guess take W&M because it has slightly higher fedclerk rates, is closer to Richmond & Norfolk, and has slightly better placement in DC than W&L.

How did you decide to apply to these schools?
I’m not clear what your goals are?
Where would you like to live more specifically, if you have a choice?

It’s nice to see you’re doing better than you expected. With your benefits I think law school is a good option for you.

I agree about retaking the LSAT and seeing where you can get in next year.

I’m not a veteran so I don’t know about a veteran boost. I do understand that admins are smart enough to see the difference between your life experience and grades compared to someone who just went straight through undergrad.

I'm also at 80%! Not sure if that's something to be excited about but whatever...

Not sure what your overall goals here are in terms of where and what you'd like to practice. I see a lot of commenters for big law but is that what your goal is? If not, what else interests you? I think we'll be able to give more accurate advice if we know what your plan is. Good luck!