Top Law Schools

Hi All,
Here's where I'm sitting:
-LSAC GPA: 3.6ish
-LSAT #1: Mid-150's
-LSAT #2: 163
-Softs: alright, but nothing special. A handful of major's, president of university community outreach club, etc...
-URM: No
-Have been WL at Iowa and WUSTL with 1st LSAT score
-Where I want to work and/or what I want to do: I'm not sure what type of law I want to go into. I'm the first in my family to go to law school, so unfortunately I'm just going to get a feel for what I like in law school. That said, I just want to go to a school that gives me as many options as possible. Currently I'm not gunning for big-law or anything like that, but I wouldn't mind having the possibility to pursue it someday (if I change my mind and perform well enough in my class). As of right now I just want to make a decent living and not be strangled by my debt my whole life (I'm against taking on some debt, as long as it's worth it). I don't care where I work, but I'm aiming for the Midwest and/or any of the major cities in it. Finally, while studying for my last LSAT I scored mostly between low to mid 160's, occasionally hit high 160's, and rarely hit 170+. So should I....

1) Keep what I got and hope that this cycle provides me with an opportunity to go to a tier 1 Midwest school for an affordable price (I could do UW in state or Minn Reciprocity)
2) Buckle down for 3rd time and retake the LSAT
3) Go into sales and plan on getting an MBA....this thought mainly comes from seeing so many posts about not going to law school if you can't get a 165+ and a great scholarship.

Any and all advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Just 1 bump from me.

When did you apply this past cycle? If you applied sort of late I would wait and re-apply on the first day apps open and retake in October if you feel you can do better.

I applied right around Thanksgiving last cycle, give or take a few days depending on the school.

1. You need to figure out if you are truly more interested in law or business.

2. If that second LSAT score came out after you had gotten decisions from most of your schools I would reapply (not necessarily retake). And then follow the money to a T1.

merichard87 wrote:1. You need to figure out if you are truly more interested in law or business.

2. If that second LSAT score came out after you had gotten decisions from most of your schools I would reapply (not necessarily retake). And then follow the money to a T1.

Thanks for the Reply
1. Yeah I'm definitely set on law school. The only reason I would look elsewhere is if it wasn't a viable option with my numbers and the current market. I've always had a passion for it, but I'm trying to make sure that passion doesn't put me in a bad situation.
2. The second LSAT score is from June, so less than a week old. I wasn't really sure if I would be able to get any money in the Midwest from a tier 1 school. I looked at http://www.hourumd.com, but the scholarship statistics always seem a bit sketchy to me (I don't know why). If I could get any money or in-state/reciprocity from some schools I'd be very excited.
3. I'll be sending out apps as soon as LSAC lets me

You were WL'd at Wash U with a score in the 150's?

Yup...I was very very surprised. I got so excited I drove down and toured the school.

Poster Child wrote:Yup...I was very very surprised. I got so excited I drove down and toured the school.

Congrats for that! That is awesome. I say keep your 163 since you're not consistently scoring higher on the practice tests. That's just one man's opinion and I'm hardly as experienced as some of these other cats. Maybe just make it perfectly clear to Wash U that if they accept you, you will absolutely attend. Otherwise, I hear it is sometimes helpful to send them baked hams.

ahh yes, the old baked ham trick. I'll keep that in mind. The only scary thing about wash u is I'm pretty sure I wouldn't see any $$$ and it's a pretty expensive school. I'm not saying I wouldn't go, but it makes the decision a bit tougher for me. Thanks for the input though, the campus/city was really nice.

Anybody have any thoughts on my chances at Minnesota. LSP says 50/50, but that seems a bit high. I know its a bit of a reach, but what if I applied early (I'm thinking I'll apply ED there also)? I'm going to apply regardless of the advice, but any predictions would be nice.