I need help with deciding what schools to apply for. Forum

[dmak118]

I am an AA male and I need some suggestions for law schools. I have a poor gpa 2.53 (LSDAS), but I have excellent softs (Peace Corps, JET Programme, fluent in Portuguese and Japanese. I want to work in the field of human rights, and I heard that NY or DC are the best places to get internships/contacts. I am PTing around 160 and I am going to take the Oct LSAT, and I am wondering what schools should I look at with my stats?
Here my tentative list so far:


CUNY
Widener
Howard
Syracuse
Indiana
Minn
American
Northeastern
WUSL
Temple
Villanova
Brooklyn
Cardozo

[thelawschoolproject]

I think you for sure should apply to American, but what about George Mason? Washington and Lee might through some money at you. Also, what about Fordham? I honestly think you can aim a bit higher than some of the schools you've listed there. If you can get your LSAT up to 162ish, then I think you might be on the bubble for some T14 schools even, depending on your PS and LoR. A few others that might interest you: Tulane, UIUIC, Vanderbilt (maybe), Seton Hall (lots of $$$), Rutgers, and I think you should apply to GWU ED. They give you a full ride if you're accepted under the ED program and I think with your stats it might be possible.

Best of luck!

[BlakcMajikc]

With a 160+ try

CUNY
Widener
Howard
Syracuse
Indiana
Minn
American
Northeastern
WUSTL
Temple
Villanova
Brooklyn
Cardozo
W&L
W&M
GWU
BC
BU
Fordham
UNC
UIUC

I think that chunk of schools between WUSTL and GMU will be your sweet spot for $ and admission. I agree if you break that 162+ mark, you should shoot apps to a couple T14s.

Just as an fyi, a lot of posters on this board will talk about schools not being as forgiving of your low gpa and offering a LSAT boost rather than a GPA boost. I actually disagree, and I think admissions gives both. In the general sense, they need your AA male LSAT score.

[dmak118]

Update: I busted my butt and got a 165 on the lsat this October...I know my gpa is really low, but do I have a shot at Northwestern, GULC, or Cornell given my softs and AA male URM status? NU is my dream and I do have we and I heard they are splitter friendly. Also, it seems that according to TLS all law schools outside of T-14 are regional. I want to study International Law, so does going to a better ranked school such as WUSL, Indiana, or Minnesota would be better than American? American has a strong Intl Law program, so I'm basically trying to figure if going to a good Midwestern school would be better than a lower rank American for my career options? I really appreciate your imput.

[BlakcMajikc]

Update: I busted my butt and got a 165 on the lsat this October...I know my gpa is really low, but do I have a shot at Northwestern, GULC, or Cornell given my softs and AA male URM status? NU is my dream and I do have we and I heard they are splitter friendly. Also, it seems that according to TLS all law schools outside of T-14 are regional. I want to study International Law, so does going to a better ranked school such as WUSL, Indiana, or Minnesota would be better than American? American has a strong Intl Law program, so I'm basically trying to figure if going to a good Midwestern school would be better than a lower rank American for my career options? I really appreciate your imput.

You have a shot at basically all of the T-14. Don't limit yourself. American is out of the picture.

Edited: Wrote too quick... forgot about the low gpa. Apply ~T-30. I still think American is out of the picture.

[patrickd139]

Update: I busted my butt and got a 165 on the lsat this October...I know my gpa is really low, but do I have a shot at Northwestern, GULC, or Cornell given my softs and AA male URM status? NU is my dream and I do have we and I heard they are splitter friendly. Also, it seems that according to TLS all law schools outside of T-14 are regional. I want to study International Law, so does going to a better ranked school such as WUSL, Indiana, or Minnesota would be better than American? American has a strong Intl Law program, so I'm basically trying to figure if going to a good Midwestern school would be better than a lower rank American for my career options? I really appreciate your imput.

You have a shot at basically all of the T-14. Don't limit yourself. American is out of the picture.

While congratulations are definitely in order for rocking out the LSAT, I'm not sure your chances are as rosy as "basically all of the T14." I'd apply everywhere in the T30 that your budget allows, and you'll land some great options. However, I'm fairly certain that T6 is going to be out of the question due to your LSDAS GPA. I may be underestimating the URM-bump though.

Check out lawschoolnumbers.com to see how URM candidates with similar numbers did last year. This will give you an idea of how you'll fare this year.