bobo11111111111 wrote:Yes, I understand what you're saying. But, I've also been curious as to why some would choose ND over IU-Bloomington given that they are similiarly ranked.
And, also how much or little would a master's and work expeirence play into my favor.
These are good questions in general. However, when you come in and ask "what LSAT do I need to get into these schools?" you're going to get the kind of response you did, which is that "what if I make X" questions are largely pointless wastes of time on here and are treated accordingly. People don't plan to get a certain LSAT score, they try their hardest and get the highest score they can and then evaluate their options from there. No matter what you "plan" you could end up much higher or lower on test day than you expect, and as a result any pre-results discussion is largely unhelpful.
To answer your legitimate general questions:
Rankings are not everything. They are a pretty good overall indicator of school value and prestige, but they're just a starting, not an ending, point for evaluating different schools. The fact that IU-B and ND are ranked together and in that way are "peer schools" makes them worth considering next to each other, but there's things that set them apart.
For example, IU-B used to be ranked lower and just vaulted up in the rankings. Some people question whether the school is actually worthy of this higher ranking or if it'll fall back down where it was. They also question whether the school has the actual prestige, alumni connections, and job placement to go with peer schools at its current ranking.
On the other hand, ND is very well known for its strength of alumni connections and name recognition. It's regarded by some people to be even
beyond its rankings in this regard and to have more of a national placement ability than its rankings peers, and thus a much better choice for people than IU-B. However, this has to be balanced against other factors, especially since ND is a rather bluntly religious institution with a distinguishable atmosphere from its peer schools, and one has to consider whether they'd be happier living at ND or IU-B for 3 years more.
Regarding the other question, having both a master's degree and significant work experience can greatly help you to make up for a low GPA. I'm attending a T14 school with a 3.0 GPA, in part because I had five years of WE that distinguished me from other applicants. (I've spoken to the adcomms and was told bluntly the WE was a big part of why they let me in with a low GPA.) However, I also got their median LSAT score (170), and that's something you'll have to keep in mind. Your WE and master's will only help compensate for low GPA, and you're going to need an at/above-median LSAT for any school you apply to in order to be taken seriously there.
This is one reason why people say to just take the LSAT and then ask. Every single LSAT point is going to change what's possible and what's not for you, because with your low GPA and master's/WE, your LSAT score will be a huge focus of your application. The advice changes, sometimes radically, even with a single LSAT point of difference (the difference between 169 and 170, for example, can be enormous). It can also be a huge difference in financial aid; with a high enough LSAT you might even get $$ from schools like IU-B and ND, even with your low GPA. It just really seriously depends on what your score actually is.
You've got a shot at some great schools, as a splitter, but only if you nail the LSAT. So go study hard, do the best you can, and
then try to figure out where you want to go and start comparing schools in your range.