a Forum

[tipler4213]

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[snowpeach06]

I applied to about 14 schools when I applied, but, that's only because I got a lot of fee waivers. I wouldn't have actually paid to apply to that many schools. If, let's say you apply to 10, the breakdown should look something like this:

6-7 target schools. Ones that lawschoolnumbers.com says you should be accepted to. Within that, I would do some schools where you are likely to receive a lot of money (numbers at or above 75%), and some schools on the higher end of the rankings where you will pay sticker (you are at the medians or slightly below). This will give you some options later.
1- ultra safety. This is only for paranoia's sake. Usually schools that will give you money are safety's, but, in case of something freakish, you should apply somewhere that you are well above the 75% for LSAT.
2-3 reaches. Schools that you probably don't have a chance at, but you have that pipe dream and don't want to say 'what if.' You'll have to pay for these apps and will likely be dissapointed. But, there is the chance that you get Waitlisted, and that gives at least SOME hope.

[pjo]

Originally (before knowing my score) I was going to do the "standard" apps 1 super reach, 2-3 reach, 5-7 target and 1-2 safety. After seeing my score and kind of assessing what I want out of school I've decided just to apply to 1 super reach, and a bunch of reach/targets...no safeties (unless I get a fee waiver). Basically theres five schools I actually want to go to (and only one is in the top 10, so I have a good shot of getting into at least one, or so I think). If I don't get into any one of those schools I'll take a year off and re-take next June. I'm also interested to know the best way to classify LSP predictions.

[tipler4213]

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[snowpeach06]

any tricks on how to get fee wavers? No, I am not a URM or from a "socially disadvantaged" family, etc.

Get a decent LSAT and check your e-mail. Or be really, really poor and ask for one from LSAC.

[Cupidity]

Straight up ask for them. I blanketed between 30-10 with "I would really like to apply but I'm damn poor" emails, most went ignored, some got denied, about 5 resulted in fee waivers.

[missvik218]

Straight up ask for them. I blanketed between 30-10 with "I would really like to apply but I'm damn poor" emails, most went ignored, some got denied, about 5 resulted in fee waivers.

Yep, ask and you shall receive ... or not, but there really is no harm in asking.

[theavrock]

Straight up ask for them. I blanketed between 30-10 with "I would really like to apply but I'm damn poor" emails, most went ignored, some got denied, about 5 resulted in fee waivers.

Yep, ask and you shall receive ... or not, but there really is no harm in asking.

And you just email the schools admissions officers?

[Cupidity]

Yeah,

oh and my advice on the initial question, how many schools?

Apply to many, many schools. If your choice schools have peer schools that you have no interest in, ie: I liked BC but never would have attended ND, apply to them all anyway. I just went through this crazy round of scholarship negotiation, and got my choice school to increase my offer from 0-->30-->55k all by using offers from schools I had no interest in.

[Grizz]

I am curious how many schools most of you will be applying to. How many reach, target, safety? How do you classify each according to the LSP predictors?

Depends on a few factors:

1) Where do you want to practice? - Someone who only wants to practice in a certain state might only need to apply to a few schools.
2) How much money and how many fee waivers do you have? - Decides how many applications you can afford.
3) What is your LSAT score? - If you've got a 172, might as well blanket the T14. If you've got a 163, might aim for the best regional.

So if you're looking for guidance, it really depends a lot on where you're at. Consider Cupidity's advice on peer schools above.

[ggocat]

I am curious how many schools most of you will be applying to. How many reach, target, safety?

Number in each category depends on what you're looking for and what your numbers are.

Here's my recommendation:

If you have T14 target numbers, then you can apply to a lot of reaches and targets with maybe one safety. With these numbers, you have a good shot at getting a high-paying job to repay your loans.

If you have tier 1 target numbers, then you should probably apply to a lot of reaches (T14/20-ish) a few targets and plenty of safeties. With these numbers, attending an expensive tier 1 school is unnecessary. You can get substantial (full or full+ scholarships) from tier 2/3 schools, where job prospects won't be that different from generic tier 1 schools. If you get lucky and crack the national schools, that's probably a better option. The best targets will be cheap schools where you can get in-state tuition.

If you have tier 2 target numbers, then you should probably apply to a few targets and mostly safeties (no reason to apply to reaches because they won't be worth attending over lower-priced schools).

I had tier 1 numbers, so I applied to 5 reaches, 3 targets, and 6 safeties.

[clintonius]

I'm also interested to know the best way to classify LSP predictions.

Don't. Use the information on this board, and on LSN, to gauge your chances at each school. LSP is a great jumping-off point but should not be used for in-depth analysis (i.e., don't pay too much attention to the index number. Somebody with a 174/3.4 might have a relatively high index at Stanford, but they ain't gettin' in).