Top Law Schools

So... what is one thing you wish someone would have told you during the admissions process, but didn't? For pre-admissions?

Apply to schools within your range you don't really want to go to if you have a shot of getting money (so that you can use it as leverage). Should've applied to Northwestern, Duke, UVA, etc.

Apply as early as possible.

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NU_Jet55 wrote:Apply as early as possible.

+1. This apparently makes a pretty big difference.

Don't be shy to negotiate scholarships. I used to feel like there was a stigma to it, and that the school would think I'm taking advantage. But they are just doing business. So are we.

Somehow I was under the impression that scholarships for law school were a rarity. I would have applied to a few more lower targets if I'd known how much money was available.

The withdrawal method isn't all that effective.

I wish someone told me what a "splitter" was and how they typically fared at top law schools, before I wasted hundreds of dollars blanketing T2 schools out of fear my "low" 3.0 GPA would keep me out everywhere.

Only retake the LSAT if your actual was 15-20 pts off your PT's. Waiting another year to go up 4 points...not worth it.

Hold on.....let me edit the wrong out of that

MrKappus wrote:[strike]Only retake the LSAT if your actual was 15-20 pts off your PT's. Waiting another year to go up 4 points...not worth it.[/strike]

ok, continue.

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D. H2Oman wrote:Hold on.....let me edit the wrong out of that

MrKappus wrote:[strike]Only retake the LSAT if your actual was 15-20 pts off your PT's. Waiting another year to go up 4 points...not worth it.[/strike]

ok, continue.

God you're dum.

MrKappus wrote:

D. H2Oman wrote:Hold on.....let me edit the wrong out of that

MrKappus wrote:[strike]Only retake the LSAT if your actual was 15-20 pts off your PT's. Waiting another year to go up 4 points...not worth it.[/strike]

ok, continue.

God you're dum.

MrKappus wrote:

D. H2Oman wrote:Hold on.....let me edit the wrong out of that

MrKappus wrote:[strike]Only retake the LSAT if your actual was 15-20 pts off your PT's. Waiting another year to go up 4 points...not worth it.[/strike]

ok, continue.

God you're dum.

Wrong. I'd definitely wait a year if I though I'd go up 4 points. But I kinda squandered my three attempts already. Maybe it depends on what your initial score is. If you got a 130, 4 points ain't gonna help. I'd love a 4 point boost on my 168 though. That'd make all the difference in the world.

cendien wrote:Maybe it depends on what your initial score is. If you got a 130, 4 points ain't gonna help. I'd love a 4 point boost on my 168 though. That'd make all the difference in the world.

TITCR.

I guess that's a good point. My comment was fixated on my experience (low 160s), but at the tippity top schools (and scores), 4 pts might be a bigger deal.

MrKappus wrote:I guess that's a good point. My comment was fixated on my experience (low 160s), but at the tippity top schools (and scores), 4 pts might be a bigger deal.

162-->166 is still definitely worth waiting a year for

MrKappus wrote:I guess that's a good point. My comment was fixated on my experience (low 160s), but at the tippity top schools (and scores), 4 pts might be a bigger deal.

Even in the low 160s 4 points can be a big difference. A 166 can get you considered at UCLA or Texas and a 162 can get you dismissed with the same application. That's huge.

lawduder wrote:

MrKappus wrote:I guess that's a good point. My comment was fixated on my experience (low 160s), but at the tippity top schools (and scores), 4 pts might be a bigger deal.

162-->166 is still definitely worth waiting a year for

A year of your life for +6 right answers on a standardized test? Hmmm. I guess it depends on your GPA, current job, current salary, time out of UG to that point, et al. My two cycles looked exactly the same, as though the 4 pts didn't happen.

MrKappus wrote:

lawduder wrote:

MrKappus wrote:I guess that's a good point. My comment was fixated on my experience (low 160s), but at the tippity top schools (and scores), 4 pts might be a bigger deal.

162-->166 is still definitely worth waiting a year for

A year of your life for +6 right answers on a standardized test? Hmmm. I guess it depends on your GPA, current job, current salary, time out of UG to that point, et al. My two cycles looked exactly the same, as though the 4 pts didn't happen.

May be reflective of how competitive it is this year?

Not to fall asleep during your only LSAT sitting.

OmbreGracieuse wrote:What do you mean by blanket them all, or EDing?

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OmbreGracieuse wrote:This is going to sound completely silly. I am still new to TLS so I don't quite have all the lingo in my current vocabulary. What do you mean by blanket them all, or EDing?

Did you not apply to schools you wish you had, then? Do you think I actually stand a chance if I get a high enough LSAT? I am not taking them til June and have both the standard book which was sent via the LSAC people as well as the Barrons guide.

Well, if you're new, I'm glad I can give you guidance on all this stuff before it's too late!

"Blanketing" means applying to all the schools you can in a particular range. For instance, "Blanket the T14" means "apply to all the T14 schools". It's a shotgun approach to applications, with the idea being that the more good schools you apply to, the more likely you are one will take you. This is usually only recommended with people who are hard to predict (like splitters, or URMs) because if you have more normal numbers and stats then you can easily tell where you're likely to get in and throwing money at a lot of apps is a waste.

ED means applying Early Decision. Early Decision is binding; you can only apply to one school ED at a time, and if you get in you are committed to attending that school. Some schools are more willing to accept a splitter ED than they would RD (Regular Decision), so this is something that can increase your odds of acceptance. ED decisions are given back more quickly than RD decisions, hence the term "Early Decision".

Most schools that do ED have a deadline for applying in November or December; a couple schools (GULC and UVA) have started allowing ED applications all the way until March. As a result, you can now ED to more than one school in a row. For example, you can ED to Penn, and then if that fails, ED to UVA. Note what I said earlier about how you're only allowed to be ED at one school at a time, though; you can't ED at UVA until after Penn makes a decision on your application.

OmbreGracieuse wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:
A 3.5 is a very sellable GPA for most schools. If you want to get into the T14, get a 170+ and blanket them all, or consider EDing. People in much worse positions than you GPA-wise have gotten into T14s. (And that's exactly what I wish I'd been told going in last cycle.)

This is going to sound completely silly. I am still new to TLS so I don't quite have all the lingo in my current vocabulary. What do you mean by blanket them all, or EDing?

Did you not apply to schools you wish you had, then? Do you think I actually stand a chance if I get a high enough LSAT? I am not taking them til June and have both the standard book which was sent via the LSAC people as well as the Barrons guide.

blanketing means applying to every school in a certain range, despite how much you really want to go there. You never know where you will get a huge offer from, and sometimes that will entice you to go to somewhere you didn't think about earlier, plus you may get a huge offer you can leverage on a school you DO want to go to. It works for splitters (check my LSN for an example of T30-T50 range of a blanket, I apped to every school who would do a free app).