Any advice? Forum

[Browncapital]

Hello,

I am currently a junior and I am interested in a couple of law schools including Howard Law School, Chapman, Villanova, Pepperdine, and Syracuse. I currently have a 3.75 GPA and haven't taken the LSAT yet. As far as extracurriculars I was apart of a mentoring program for inner-city kids, but due to COVID, we haven't been able to visit the schools and work with the students. I will take an LSAT prep class during the summer.

I just wanted some advice on admissions within these schools, and whether or not these schools are extremely competitive. Does anyone attend the following schools?

[crazywafflez]

Get the best LSAT score you can. The higher the score, the more money you'll get. I wouldn't recommend Chapman.
For the other schools, like Syracuse, Nova, and Pepperdine, if you are fine practicing in their geographic areas, and get good scholarships to them, it could be worth attending depending on your career goals. Syracuse if fine for upstate NY, and if you won't go into sizeable debt, and you're interested in working for a small firm in Albany or Syracuse or local govt, it can be a great deal. Likewise for the other Nova in PA and Pepperdine in SoCal (but to a lesser extent, as SoCal is very competitive). None of these schools have a good chance at biglaw though (and at Chapman, there's a real chance you wouldn't get an attorney position).
Howard has a much better biglaw placement rate, however, it is still below the T20, and certainly the T14 , in placement power. You've got a great GPA, go to the best school you can for the cheapest inside the T14/20 or the T1 school in your geographic area for the cheapest. (If you don't know the ranking system/terms; T14= the top 14 schools on the US news rankings; T20= the top 20 or so schools, usually stopping at WashU and USC; T1= the top 50ish or so.)
If you are an URM, a 165 secures you for a lot of the T14, and possibly with some scholarship money. If you are an AA, I think perhaps an even lower score makes it unattainable- i'd check mylsn. It's hard for us to give you advice or our thoughts without your scores and goals.
If I had to sum up my recommendations- don't go to a T1 school unless it is for a really good cost/deal. I'd suggest some T2s could fit into that category or state flagship Us as well (like U of Wyoming). I would not go to schools like Chapman though, even for free.

[Browncapital]

Get the best LSAT score you can. The higher the score, the more money you'll get. I wouldn't recommend Chapman.
For the other schools, like Syracuse, Nova, and Pepperdine, if you are fine practicing in their geographic areas, and get good scholarships to them, it could be worth attending depending on your career goals. Syracuse if fine for upstate NY, and if you won't go into sizeable debt, and you're interested in working for a small firm in Albany or Syracuse or local govt, it can be a great deal. Likewise for the other Nova in PA and Pepperdine in SoCal (but to a lesser extent, as SoCal is very competitive). None of these schools have a good chance at biglaw though (and at Chapman, there's a real chance you wouldn't get an attorney position).
Howard has a much better biglaw placement rate, however, it is still below the T20, and certainly the T14 , in placement power. You've got a great GPA, go to the best school you can for the cheapest inside the T14/20 or the T1 school in your geographic area for the cheapest. (If you don't know the ranking system/terms; T14= the top 14 schools on the US news rankings; T20= the top 20 or so schools, usually stopping at WashU and USC; T1= the top 50ish or so.)
If you are an URM, a 165 secures you for a lot of the T14, and possibly with some scholarship money. If you are an AA, I think perhaps an even lower score makes it unattainable- i'd check mylsn. It's hard for us to give you advice or our thoughts without your scores and goals.
If I had to sum up my recommendations- don't go to a T1 school unless it is for a really good cost/deal. I'd suggest some T2s could fit into that category or state flagship Us as well (like U of Wyoming). I would not go to schools like Chapman though, even for free.

Oh you think I can get into the tier 14? I didn’t think I had a chance lol. Which ones are more generous in aide than others? I was thinking Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, Georgetown, UCLA , USC or NYU were some of the top ones I had in mind. Any insight into those? Or any others you’d recommend?

[crazywafflez]

I mean, we kinda need to know what your goals are- if you want to be a public defender in Upstate NY or work at a small firm there, Syracuse for total COA (including living costs) for all three years below 70k could be a good deal.
If you want to work in biglaw in NYC, that would be a bad choice. You really ought to look at your goals before setting schools and picking- you've got a pretty wide geographic range as well, which makes me think you aren't sure where you want to be- so going to a regional school like USC would be a poor choice if you wanted to work in NYC.
You've got 14 or so schools that're truly national. The others, even the best T20s (UCLA, UT, and Vandy) are regional.
Regardless, your test scores are going to predict where you go.
If you are an URM you can have a lower LSAT score and get in (this is really a blackbox as we don't know exactly what schools are looking for- i'd enter your info into mylsn and see). I've heard of AAs with low 160 scores get into T14 schools with scholarships and others that have been rejected. If you are not an URM, you'll need at least a 167+ to get into a T14.
Our advice will depend on your LSAT score & your goals- you've got a great GPA, study hard for the LSAT.

[Browncapital]

I mean, we kinda need to know what your goals are- if you want to be a public defender in Upstate NY or work at a small firm there, Syracuse for total COA (including living costs) for all three years below 70k could be a good deal.
If you want to work in biglaw in NYC, that would be a bad choice. You really ought to look at your goals before setting schools and picking- you've got a pretty wide geographic range as well, which makes me think you aren't sure where you want to be- so going to a regional school like USC would be a poor choice if you wanted to work in NYC.
You've got 14 or so schools that're truly national. The others, even the best T20s (UCLA, UT, and Vandy) are regional.
Regardless, your test scores are going to predict where you go.
If you are an URM you can have a lower LSAT score and get in (this is really a blackbox as we don't know exactly what schools are looking for- i'd enter your info into mylsn and see). I've heard of AAs with low 160 scores get into T14 schools with scholarships and others that have been rejected. If you are not an URM, you'll need at least a 167+ to get into a T14.
Our advice will depend on your LSAT score & your goals- you've got a great GPA, study hard for the LSAT.

I have an interest in Corporate Law and some niche fields of law: Entertainment, International, or Government law.

As for the LSAT I am investing in a prep class. Any advice on which specific one? Blueprint or LSAT max were two I had in mind.

[crazywafflez]

I'd look through the forum at comments on different LSAT preps. I just bought old tests and an LSAT for dummies book and studied and took the test- I wouldn't recommend my approach.
As for your goals- International law is a huge field- if you are thinking things like Tyson foods or Walmart trading deals to German companies like mass kids cuisine meals, you're best served by being at a T14, Vandy, or top 5% at UofA fay. If you are thinking of UN type stuff- you'll need to be in the T14, and realistically, HYS, with top grades. These jobs are extremely few and far between and folks who take them usually have other stuff going for them.
Entertainment law is just contracts but for the entertainment industry- it is a pretty niche field and I know that Nashville and LA both have some jobs- I'd be guessing, but I'd assume USC, UCLA, and Vandy could potentially do this and the T14 (maybe some niche schools where markets are for it too like Tulane and Emory for smaller stuff in Atlanta and NOLA-but i'd be totally guessing). I know a lot less about this- I've heard some firms do take on some projects in this sorta stuff.
Government law I'm not sure what you mean by this, but I'm assuming you are referring to administrative law or working for an AG of some kind? This can be done from any flagship state U with decent grades and showing commitment. If you mean something akin to election/ voting stuff going on right now or big fed stuff, those are mostly handled by top firms which will have similar reqs for corporate law or by folks working in fed.
Corporate law- I'm assuming this is just a net for biglaw. Basically need a T14 school, maybe T20 with decent grades, or a T1 with top 10% grades give or take. If you mean corporate law in smaller markets, adjust accordingly.
I think there are other folks on here who can speak to all of these forms of law much better than I can. They may be able to help with more.