Suggestions for Safeties/Targets? Forum

[zarathustra25]

Just dropping in to see if I can get suggests on targets, but, more importantly, some safeties. I have an LSAC fee waiver, so I can afford to put in some shots in the dark. Money is an issue and I have taken the LSAT twice so please, do not suggest a third time. I studied very long and hard to get that 163, to be honest, and I doubt I will improve much with more practice.

LSAT: 163/163
LSDAS GPA: 3.77 (No B in 3 years, however, strong upward trend; 3.9 prog GPA)
UG: LPS; Rhet and Comm. Double Major
Softs: Decent, at best. Some volunteer, research asst. to my adviser
LORs: Great. Probably won't matter, much. They are from two professors that I go out with regularly, though.

For targets I was thinking (perhaps optimistically): Iowa, UC Davis, BU/BC, Georgia, UIUC
For safeties, I am pretty lost: Maybe UC Boulder or something lower and...not sure what else here.

Thanks a lot for the advice and wish me luck on this cycle!

[law4vus]

It'd be helpful if you could tell us where you'd prefer to live. Maybe not a specific city, but a type of locale/what you WOULDN'T want.

[nmcdgt]

It'd be helpful if you could tell us where you'd prefer to live. Maybe not a specific city, but a type of locale/what you WOULDN'T want.

Yeah, knowing what region you'd like to work in, and what your goals are in general would help. As for the schools you mentioned, I can't speak to all of them but as far as UGA goes, unless you are a URM or have some extraordinary softs you will probably have a tough time getting in with a 163 (they place an enormous emphasis on LSAT as long as your GPA is decent, and seem to have LSAT floors much like Emory). It is looking like their median LSAT for the class of 2014 will be 165, and even in the past few years a 163 would be below their median. They enroll an overwhelming number of graduates from in-state, so if you are out-of-state it will be even tougher.

http://georgia.lawschoolnumbers.com/sta ... Cycle=1011

[zarathustra25]

I absolutely do not care where I live. If Alaska had a top law school, I would apply there and learn to love it. Possible preferences would likely be D.C. or NYC/Boston in the East or San Fran/LA in the West. Boulder could be nice in mountain West. Austin in Texas or Athens in Georgia are awesome. Chicago/Milwaukee/Minneapolis in the Midwest all suit me fine. I would take Ontario in Canada, even. It honestly does not even matter; I've lived all over and adapt and learn to love my environments. As far as work goes: if I had my way, I would go big law for several years and get out. Since I do not have my way, I would love to do something I can feel good about, that is intellectually stimulating and challenging, and for which I can get loan repayment assistance, if not a massive salary and bonus checks. I would enjoy, perhaps, lobbying somewhere in DC, work for Drug Policy Alliance, or head south and work with something like Southern Poverty Law Center. I know there are schools like Northeastern in the late 70's to early 100's that have excellent public interest programs, will throw me money, and have great LRAP's either way. However, I refuse to accept that is my best option and the LSN/LSP puts me at a Consider/Strong Consider for quite a bit in 14 - 35. Anecdotal, but a friend of mine last year got into Iowa with a 161/3.55 and got $. Being from Iowa, that would suit me fine. I am confident that I want a T1 school and I am positive that I can accomplish that with a 3.77 and a 163. My real question, then, is how many of these considers will likely become an acceptance, and what schools below that should be considered safeties.

Thanks for the replies

Edit: To be perfectly honest, as a double-major undergrad, that took an extra year just to enjoy more challenging intellectual endeavors and explore a bit, I can say that--like, if I can be so bold, probably most other people coming straight out of UGrad who took an interest in law but do not have family employed in the law or direct experience other than glorified clerical work at a local divorce/family firm--I have no clue prior to going in what I want to do in any concrete sense. Bankruptcy/real property/non-patent IP all sound challenging, environmental law would be interesting to say the least. I plan to explore a bit in my 2L/3L years, honestly. So, maybe just tell me what the school has the best overall OCI that I can get into is and I will figure it out from there. Thanks

[Samara]

Yeah, you should be able to get in a T30 with those numbers, at the very least Wisconsin. I would suggest Florida as a good safety. Your numbers would be strong there and its the top school in that state. From what I understand, it has good placement there and Miami, etc. are decent markets.

Other than that, maybe Arizona or Tulane? Most schools in the bottom of T1 are either in smaller markets (Utah, UConn) or far down the totem pole in a large, competitive market (American, Cardozo).