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I am considering applying to Upenn law school for next year early this september. I will graduate next year from college. For personal reasons I have narrowed my choice down to a few schools in the philadelphia area, and I really love UPENN. Is it worth applying early decision in my case? If one is not admitted early decision, is it possible to be waitlisted? Also how does financial aid work?

Stats?

3.5ish, LSAT 169

Unless you are a URM, your chances are close to zero with those numbers. You should retake the lsat for another point which will make you competitive with an ED. If you don't wish to retake and want to attend a T-14 school, i think you have a shot at Michigan and Cornell.

Btw if you are really set on attending a school in Philly then ED to Upenn can't do any harm since you should get in everywhere else unless you get YP.

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mdnitebalo wrote:I am considering applying to Upenn law school for next year early this september. I will graduate next year from college. For personal reasons I have narrowed my choice down to a few schools in the philadelphia area, and I really love UPENN. Is it worth applying early decision in my case? If one is not admitted early decision, is it possible to be waitlisted? Also how does financial aid work?

lawschoolnumbers.com

Uh...are you being serious? If yes, 3 possibilities - accept, deny, hold for further review

Finaid is mostly merit but Penn has been known to give out decent need-based awards.

That GPA is fine, but you don't really have a good shot at Penn with that LSAT. 1 more point and an ED app would make you a near lock.

law2015 wrote:Btw if you are really set on attending a school in Philly then ED to Upenn can't do any harm since you should get in everywhere else unless you get YP.

No. 3.5, 169 is not even close to being YP territory for t14s. Without any further retake, OP should send an ED app to Mich if he wants to maximize his chances of getting into the best school possible. Even with an ED app, its a toss-up.

t14fanboy wrote:

law2015 wrote:Btw if you are really set on attending a school in Philly then ED to Upenn can't do any harm since you should get in everywhere else unless you get YP.

No. 3.5, 169 is not even close to being YP territory for t14s. Without any further retake, OP should send an ED app to Mich if he wants to maximize his chances of getting into the best school possible. Even with an ED app, its a toss-up.

He was referring to the other law schools in the Philadelphia area.

Assuming OP isn't URM and doesn't have a nobel prize, he is almost certainly out at Penn, even with ED.

OP: If you retake and raise your LSAT by one point, you'll go from being near auto-reject(waitlist) to auto-admit. Being below both medians is the kiss of death.
http://penn.lawschoolnumbers.com/applic ... =3&type=jd

mdnitebalo wrote:I am considering applying to Upenn law school for next year early this september. I will graduate next year from college. For personal reasons I have narrowed my choice down to a few schools in the philadelphia area, and I really love UPENN. Is it worth applying early decision in my case? If one is not admitted early decision, is it possible to be waitlisted? Also how does financial aid work?

Watch out. Penn could reject you ED. You aren't guaranteed to be put into the regular applicant pool.

Your best shot is retaking, even if that means your ED application doesn't get in right away. Better to apply with a higher LSAT in October or November.