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I have a quick question with regards to wanting to practice in Michigan.

Due to there being a pretty big disparity between UofM and MSU/WSU, what is the best school to go to for someone with a 3.4/165?

Notre Dame I think would be the next best option, but if one cannot obtain admission, what is another option without having to settle with one of the other Michigan schools? Do the other Big 10 schools carry equally (Iowa, Minn, Wisc, etc)? I may be completely off base with ruling out MSU/WSU, but I feel it would be a waste of a free education and 165. I will be re-taking again this summer in hopes to get a 169+ for a shot at UMich.

Side note, law school fully funded by GI Bill and I am a native of Michigan with fairly significant Grand Rapids legal connections.

Thank you in advance!

Your plan A should definitely be getting into Michigan, which is a great school (especially for your goals). I wouldn't even worry about the other stuff until you've put months of sustained effort into improving the LSAT.

The other Midwestern flagships (OSU/Indiana/UIUC/Iowa/UW/Minn.) and ND are all decent schools, and if you aren't paying tuition and you're confident your network can get you interviews at home then they're not, like, shoot-yourself-in-the-foot-life-mistake options. But UM is a whole other ballgame.

Agree with your assessment that MSU and WSU would be a mistake unless you have a buddy who can guarantee you a decent job after graduation (and even then you're betting the farm on that guy coming through for you).

Fwiw, I got rejected from UM (early decision) as a veteran with a 3.7 and 165. I retook, drastically improved my score, and graduated from Harvard last spring.

There's no reason not to maximize your score, especially because you can ED to a school since it's free. Don't settle.

Thank you for the quick responses! I'm currently in Iraq so there's no reason I can't continue to grind in my 'free' time. I need to be better with a UMich or bust attitude so I don't mentally settle.

To be honest, I posted this in a moment of weakness haha. After being fairly consistent between 167-170 my last dozen PTs, I've started to hit a 165ish plateau as my LR is falling off. I'm going to be a lot more deliberate with my blind review going forward.

Any LR tips and tricks are greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!