Top Law Schools

Hi yall,

I have low numbers 152 but high gpa 3.8. Pepperdine waives this cycle's application. Their 25th percentile is 153 (sad, still higher than my lsat score) but I am above their GPA 75th %. I have okay stats (paralegal cert, graduated in 3 years with double major at a UC, and worked for a year). I have great LORs.

Do you think I can still apply and even if I get rejected, I can still apply for next year's cycle (obviously, will be working again for work experience and study harder to increase my score)? Does it affect that I applied earlier and got rejected?

I wasn't going to apply this year and just work for two years and study in between. But, I can't get over it and really want to go to law school by next year. It sounds cliche and stupid for you guys who expect more but I am just really wanting to go back to school.

I know, ya'll are going to recommend me to retake and don't apply (but realistically, is that all I can do at this point with those numbers?). Frankly, my goal is to get into a school in CA and start my way from the bottom. NO HIGH GOALS/BIG LAWS.

Thank you guys so much!

yunjh1066 wrote:I know, ya'll are going to recommend me to retake and don't apply (but realistically, is that all I can do at this point with those numbers?).

Yeah, sorry man. I'm not always 100% on the retake train, but in this case you really need to. You won't be able to get into a decent regional school at a reasonable price with a 152. I know you really want to go now, but you'd be drowning in debt three years from now.

Good luck!

why do you want to be an attorney/go to law school? what do you want to practice, aside from NO BIG LAWS?

yunjh1066 wrote: 152 but high gpa 3.8. Pepperdine

Holy shit, don't go to Pepp with a 3.8.

Retake.

Here are the employment stats for CA schools specifically:
http://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmiss ... or/clxis11

Here are the employment stats for the top 100 generally:
http://www.reddit.com/r/lawschoolstats/ ... sults_all/

Just don't waste your great GPA on that shit school.

Yeah. I mean, aside from big laws, just anything in local law firms that do family law, personal injury, or even public service works.

I just wanted to know if I can even get into Pepperdine with my stats with a reasonable amount of scholarship. (Any knowledge of this?)

I will definitely retake eventually and hopefully but as you guys know, when you start working, it become really difficult to go make time to study for the lsat.

You know what's funny though, my motherland's newspaper (obviously not the US) recently had an article and said that after Harvard Law, Emory, Fordham, PEPPERDINE, UCLA and etc. follow in the employment salary amount. Isn't this absurd?

yunjh1066 wrote:Yeah. I mean, aside from big laws, just anything in local law firms that do family law, personal injury, or even public service works.

I just wanted to know if I can even get into Pepperdine with my stats with a reasonable amount of scholarship. (Any knowledge of this?)

I will definitely retake eventually and hopefully but as you guys know, when you start working, it become really difficult to go make time to study for the lsat.

You know what's funny though, my motherland's newspaper (obviously not the US) recently had an article and said that after Harvard Law, Emory, Fordham, PEPPERDINE, UCLA and etc. follow in the employment salary amount. Isn't this absurd?

I think I saw this article somewhere recently. http://online.wsj.com/articles/harvard- ... 1413957603
I would take the "ranking" with a grain of salt. This is a SURVEY so it is a self-selecting sample size aka people who have the big jobs are more likely to respond favorably.

That being said, I think you can get Pepperdine $$ if you just raise it up to a 160. Of course, many on TLS will say aim higher than a 165. With a 3.8, you have a great chance at UCLA/USC/UCI given the right LSAT score.

You're likely to make more and work on more interesting cases as a as a paralegal than as a lawyer out of Pepperdine. You're spending 400k to go if you get I. (Sticker plus 3 yrs cost of living plus 3 yrs lost wages). Statistically, you're doing this for a demotion. Who cares if you don't have an Esq. under your name? Only do it of you increase your LSAT by at least 15-20 points.

California is so saturated as a market and Pepperdine is low on the totem pole. You'd be a fool not to retake. If you're set on pepp, raise your score and get a full-ride. Or shoot for better schools. With a 3.8, you obviously have it in you to put more effort into studying for the LSAT.