Is law school predictor really accurate? Forum

[DeeCee]

IMO with our stats well probably be pleasantly surprised at admits, but will they come with scholly offers. I know the lower tier schools do, but what are the chances of getting scholly money at the more desirable schools with lsat below the magical TLS number of, 160 ? This is a very significant dilemma for me and retake retake .... begins to rear its ugly head.

The chances are really not that high that people with our LSATs will get scholly money. But when I applied, I applied to the schools I wanted to go to that are good for my preferred market. I want to go to a very strong regional school, or perhaps even a nationally respected school, and with a 157 I will not get the scholly offers that I would get in the T2. In fact, the only T2 school I applied to gave me a scholly, but the rest of them I have yet to receive anything (though the cycle is not over yet). For me, I want to be accepted and attend a strong school, which overshadows acceptances at lower tiered schools with money, but that's my personal choice.

[lisjjen]

I've already been admitted to five "denies."

[DeeCee]

I've already been admitted to five "denies."

I love your map in the TLS box. Congrats!

[lisjjen]

I've already been admitted to five "denies."

I love your map in the TLS box. Congrats!

Oh thanks. I had fun putting that together.

[drummerboy]

to dee cee: so im assuming that if you get into the school of your choice without scholly, you will pay ticket. the reason this is significant, is that i will probably be in the same shoes as you. Indeed, on previous threads,i was told specifically never to pay sticker for any school less than t14 and maybe up to t18 . the reason given, to much risk of potentially being unemployed and not being able to pay back the loan. this is a very scary proposition. What do you think?

[DeeCee]

to dee cee: so im assuming that if you get into the school of your choice without scholly, you will pay ticket. the reason this is significant, is that i will probably be in the same shoes as you. Indeed, on previous threads,i was told specifically never to pay sticker for any school less than t14 and maybe up to t18 . the reason given, to much risk of potentially being unemployed and not being able to pay back the loan. this is a very scary proposition. What do you think?

For me, I'll pay sticker at certain T1s, that's it. However, my situation is probably a little different, since I have decided that if I get into UNC, I will go there. UNC is only 17k a year for residents, so I'm looking at 35k a year for tuition + COL for 3 years, which will bring me to approx 100k in loans in the end.

I have already figured out my finances, and I can take approx 125k in loans and still be able to pay them. I came to this number by figuring an 80k job out of school, and figuring in making potentially 2 years of loan payments from my savings account, should I not be able to find a job for a while. I also have a SO, and he works, so we could stretch payments out of his salary and whatever job I could find if it comes down to it. So, through those calculations I have decided 125k is about how much I'm willing to easily take in loans. If I don't get into UNC, I will have to see what money (need based, merit, whatever) I get from others, and if the cost is too much, I'll have to sit out this year and retake the LSAT, or come to terms with being risky and taking more than 125k.

So I don't have a definitive answer for you, except for that I personally would never pay sticker outside of the T1, and if my only choice is to pay sticker, I will have to weigh my options at that time. HTH.

[d34d9823]

I have a 158/3.95 (lsdas) and according to law school predictor I should "strongly consider" fordham part time. I'm a bit perplexed because according to LSAC's information, the 25 percentile score for fordham p/t is a 161 LSAT. Additionally, according to law school predictors website, when it says "strongly consider" the outcomes were reasonably close?

I would appreciate any help or if anyone saw the accuracy of lsp for themselves, can they post their results?

Thanks!

You're a huge splitter. The linearization falls apart at the ends of the spectrum. LSN is better for splitters to get a good idea of where they stand.

[drummerboy]

What is your definition of T1? Are you referring to top 100?

[DeeCee]

What is your definition of T1? Are you referring to top 100?

T1= 1-50 (Yale to approximately UMaryland)

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/?p=537

[drummerboy]

in my case it will have to be up to u of miami. my regional school. of course fsu uf are reaches unless of course i factor in urm which puts me at admit to um from a strong consider and up to strong consider for fsu and uf. ive tried to avoid that urm box because i dont want to get my hopes up. in any event im going to have to get a loan and supplement the non tuition expenses. i think i can do that.

[DeeCee]

in my case it will have to be up to u of miami. my regional school. of course fsu uf are reaches unless of course i factor in urm which puts me at admit to um from a strong consider and up to strong consider for fsu and uf. ive tried to avoid that urm box because i dont want to get my hopes up. in any event im going to have to get a loan and supplement the non tuition expenses. i think i can do that.

Miami is not a bad school. Truth be told, there is probably no difference between 50th place and 60th, especially if you want to stay in FL. But in general, FL does not have highly ranked schools, so if you want to stay local and only work in FL than a Florida school (preferably with in state tuition) is an affordable and smart choice. If you want to practice out of FL though, you should probably reconsider and stick with FSU/UF, or go to school out of the state entirely.

[drummerboy]

it all depends on where out of state i get in. i blanketed multiple schools especially with fee waivers. when all is said and done, i will have a pretty good idea of where i stand with so many applications. i keep hoping that the urm so called boost will prevail at some of the higher ranked schools. if the schools is good enough i will definitely go out of state if its in my best interest. scholly or not

[gdane]

Law school isnt a game. You seem to be taking the "ill apply everywhere and go wherever I get accepted" route. You need to make sure that you know what youre getting yourself into. Dont go to a school in Mississippi with hopes of finding a legal job in NYC. For the most part, where you go to school is where youre going to end up practicing. If you can find a worthwhile job in that market at all.

Also, you said youre cuban. From what Ive seen and through anecdotal evidence Ive heard, cubans dont get any URM boost. But, maybe youll get lucky.

[DeeCee]

Law school isnt a game. You seem to be taking the "ill apply everywhere and go wherever I get accepted" route. You need to make sure that you know what youre getting yourself into. Dont go to a school in Mississippi with hopes of finding a legal job in NYC. For the most part, where you go to school is where youre going to end up practicing. If you can find a worthwhile job in that market at all.

Also, you said youre cuban. From what Ive seen and through anecdotal evidence Ive heard, cubans dont get any URM boost. But, maybe youll get lucky.

gdane is right in that you should SERIOUSLY consider where you want to practice, as most schools are highly regional.

However, he is wrong about Cubans, it is obviously a case-by-case basis (as shown by my earlier post where my acceptances are on par with the URM boost). Perhaps you will get a boost, and perhaps not, it just depends on if the school decides to consider you a URM.

[dabbadon8]

Here is how it broke down so far for me. 3.49/173 Still waiting on Columbia and NYU (weak considers) and Duke (strong consider).

Weak Consider: Uchi-WL
Consider- Penn-WL, UVA-WL, Northwestern-Held
Strong Consider: Mich-IN w/$, GULC-IN, Vandy-IN
Admit: Cornell-IN, UT-Ding, UIUC-WL, William and Mary-IN w/$, UF-IN w/$

Was it accurate? Close enough I guess.

[drummerboy]

yes thats why my first choices are in florida. however, if by chance i get into a great school elsewhere, i will take the regional limitations into consideration before i commit. the big issue is ticket versus scholly. hopefully ill get lucky. whether the cut off point for ticket is t20 t50 or higher will depend on my interest in the school and my desire to live there. stetson, for example, does well in tampa st pete and i wouldnt mind living there.