Married Couple Applying to top 20 Forum

[qou]

Some basic stats

Me:
GPA 3.79 (well ranked public undergrad) Poli Sci (Median graduating GPA is 3.19)
LSAT: 169

Wife:

GPA 4.00 (Same school) Poli Sci/Crim
LSAT: 169


We obviously want to go to the same law school together, and ideally would be in the same city (were applying to several DC schools and NYC schools as well). My question though, Law School calculators have us feeling great about of chances at some schools (Duke, GW, American) etc. but we are really worried about how reliable some of those admission statistics really are. I believe for NYU our chances are something like 50%% and 83%, respectively. I am aware from trolling to forum that PS, EC, undergrad school ranking etc. etc. all play a major factor in those stats, but we really worry come October we aren't going to get into the same school ;/

Anyone have a take on our chances of getting into the SAME school?

[Nova]

I think yall's best bet will be to just apply across the board, from NP to T30. Forget American. I think you would both probably get in nearly everywhere outside the T14, and both have really good shots at MDGC.

If you have not, try this predictor, http://www.mylsn.info

[JamMasterJ]

you should both ED UVA

[dowu]

Some basic stats

Me:
GPA 3.79 (well ranked public undergrad) Poli Sci (Median graduating GPA is 3.19)
LSAT: 169

Wife:

GPA 4.00 (Same school) Poli Sci/Crim
LSAT: 169


We obviously want to go to the same law school together, and ideally would be in the same city (were applying to several DC schools and NYC schools as well). My question though, Law School calculators have us feeling great about of chances at some schools (Duke, GW, American) etc. but we are really worried about how reliable some of those admission statistics really are. I believe for NYU our chances are something like 50%% and 83%, respectively. I am aware from trolling to forum that PS, EC, undergrad school ranking etc. etc. all play a major factor in those stats, but we really worry come October we aren't going to get into the same school ;/

Anyone have a take on our chances of getting into the SAME school?

You and your wife sound...fun.

you should both ED UVA

[Nova]

you should both ED UVA

Wait seriously? is it not binding? what if one gets in and the other doesnt?!

[Dany]

I am aware from trolling to forum that PS, EC, undergrad school ranking etc. etc. all play a major factor in those stats

No they don't.

And both of you need to retake the LSAT in order to have more chances to attend the same school or be in the same city, as well as not having half a million dollars of debt in a couple years.

[JamMasterJ]

you should both ED UVA

Wait seriously? is it not binding? what if one gets in and the other doesnt?!

well, he should ED there, and if he gets in have her do the same the next day

[qou]

The bit of information I left out, is that I'm 29 (she is only 23) We both have extensive work experience as well, she has been in store/office management for 5 years, and I've been in retail market management for roughly 9 (since I left the army).

The prospectus we got at a few schools listed admission statistics and less then 1% were admitted after 29 (and I'm not really sure if that means most are denied, or just that few apply).


Ideally we are looking to apply to GW, Duke, UVA, Georgetown, Northwestern and and NYU.
Thank you again for the replies!

Any married applicants on here by any chance?

[JamMasterJ]

The bit of information I left out, is that I'm 29 (she is only 23) We both have extensive work experience as well, she has been in store/office management for 5 years, and I've been in retail market management for roughly 9 (since I left the army).

The prospectus we got at a few schools listed admission statistics and less then 1% were admitted after 29 (and I'm not really sure if that means most are denied, or just that few apply).


Ideally we are looking to apply to GW, Duke, UVA, Georgetown, Northwestern and and NYU.
Thank you again for the replies!

Any married applicants on here by any chance?

not an applicant anymore, since I'm starting at NYU this week, but yes.

[Nova]

The prospectus we got at a few schools listed admission statistics and less then 1% were admitted after 29 (and I'm not really sure if that means most are denied, or just that few apply).

Hmm, that should not matter since your numbers are on par.

[TLSwag]

you should both ED UVA

ha this

[TLSwag]

and less then 1% were admitted after 29 (and I'm not really sure if that means most are denied, or just that few apply).

your age will not in any way, shape or form hurt your chances of admission

[qou]

Thanks for the reply guys! We will look into UVA ED for sure, someone above had suggested doing it one at a time, how fast is their ED turnaround??

[Yardbird]

Thanks for the reply guys! We will look into UVA ED for sure, someone above had suggested doing it one at a time, how fast is their ED turnaround??

14 days from complete. If you ED first and get in, your wife should be a shoe-in with her GPA and a compelling Why UVA (you being there is a pretty big reason). Just be aware you'll both have to pay close to sticker if you ED.

Make sure to apply early though, the ED loses its luster later in the cycle. You can both theoretically be accepted in September if you apply day 1 and her as soon as you get in.

[Edit] Didnt see that you are a vet, that's a huge soft factor and makes it more likely you'll get UVA.

[JamMasterJ]

and less then 1% were admitted after 29 (and I'm not really sure if that means most are denied, or just that few apply).

your age will not in any way, shape or form hurt your chances of admission

this. isn't it kind of illegal?

[Betharl]

Another option would be to have your wife apply ED to Chicago and both of you apply RD to NU. Chicago likes high GPAs so your wife might have a chance there, and with your WE I would think you'd have a decent chance at NU (your wife too if she doesn't get Chicago). Obviously, the worst case scenario would be if your wife gets Chicago through ED and you don't get NU... So, I guess you have to weigh that risk against the benefit of your wife having a shot at a better school.

Of course if the Chicago ED doesn't pan out and NU doesn't pan out for both of you, you could still ED UVA (unless UVA has a stip that you can't have ED'ed somewhere else earlier in that cycle even if you have been released from that contract... I'm not sure).

What do other people think? Would this be too risky for the OP or would he and his wife stand a decent chance at both ending up in Chicago?

EDIT: Pretty sure UVA doesn't have the aforementioned stip fwiw.

[2014]

The 3.79/169 is not getting into UVA. He is below both medians and thus worthless to them. I don't mean this to be snarky or rude but it is the truth.

Just apply broadly and hope for the best. Going to different schools in the same city like NU/Chi, NYU/CLS/Fordham, GW/GULC, and USC/UCLA could be options as well, though obviously some of those are better than others.

[Liquox]

agree with 2014, unless waitlist admit for uva (though if your wife was admitted your chances might increase slightly)

as a side note, have you guys thought about going to a lower t14 together with scholarships? paying off 1 set of law school loans is already a pain, but 2's gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

[padawanphil]

agree with 2014, unless waitlist admit for uva (though if your wife was admitted your chances might increase slightly)

as a side note, have you guys thought about going to a lower t14 together with scholarships? paying off 1 set of law school loans is already a pain, but 2's gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

not when they're both livin dat 160k life

[Greenandgold]

agree with 2014, unless waitlist admit for uva (though if your wife was admitted your chances might increase slightly)

as a side note, have you guys thought about going to a lower t14 together with scholarships? paying off 1 set of law school loans is already a pain, but 2's gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

I'm not really sure why this is relevant as long as they both want biglaw. Two people on biglaw salaries make a ton of money... It's basically the exact same risk analysis that would be performed if you were single and shooting for biglaw.

ETA: scooped.

[Liquox]

looking at the job market, getting big-law is a lot easier said than done since there're more people who want it than there are positions. 1 person has more mobility when getting a job in big-law; 2 people might end up with distance issues/ conflict of interest/whatever. i'm just saying it's one thing to tell a law school you'd like to be where your spouse is; telling a potential employer's a whole other issue, and having 250k x 2 debt is a lot of unnecessary stress/pressure

[2014]

They will probably both have to gun for NYC but that's where the plurality of jobs are anyway so I don't see the issue. It seems entirely plausible, especially both coming out of a good school.

Also it doesn't cost double as much in basically any expense so assuming they both get a job in the same city it should be easier to pay off the 2 loans. 320k for a married couple goes a lot further than 160k each for 2 singles.

[IAFG]

You need to re-take your LSAT. Your very good GPA just isn't quite good enough to be safe at the schools where your wife will likely get in (as in T14s). Bump that 169 to a 170-172 and you will both have much more doors open up. She doesn't really need to re-take, but if she does you could both have less student loan debt.

[Greenandgold]

They will probably both have to gun for NYC but that's where the plurality of jobs are anyway so I don't see the issue. It seems entirely plausible, especially both coming out of a good school.

Also it doesn't cost double as much in basically any expense so assuming they both get a job in the same city it should be easier to pay off the 2 loans. 320k for a married couple goes a lot further than 160k each for 2 singles.

+1. Same thing for borrowing. They shouldn't both have to take out 250k in loans.

[JamMasterJ]

The 3.79/169 is not getting into UVA. He is below both medians and thus worthless to them. I don't mean this to be snarky or rude but it is the truth.

Just apply broadly and hope for the best. Going to different schools in the same city like NU/Chi, NYU/CLS/Fordham, GW/GULC, and USC/UCLA could be options as well, though obviously some of those are better than others.

I'd normally agree, but next year is gonna be weird for apps.

As far as her applying ED to Chi and both RDing to NU, I think he should consider ED NU. He won't get it with the new scholarship situation, but it seems to have been a HUGE boost when people were ultimately rolled to RD.