Super Splitter: Should I wait a year? for that $$$ Forum

[grillcheeseplz]

This is my first post and there's clearly advice for really similar situations but looking for advice on this forum since it has been an instrumental place for me to look through the application process. So first my stats:

LSDAS GPA: 2.8 (No Addendum I was just a lazy student but I have upward trend but not by much)
LSAT: 165
Good PS,LOR (2 Prof's and a supervisor)

Those are really only the stats that matter I guess:
I'm a double major in Finance/English from Florida Public School (not UF FSU) but I'm not too opposed to debt I have been blessed with some loving siblings who are down to pay but I want to put myself in a reasonable position. I want to work in a Metropolitan area (NY,DC,Chicago,Miami) but I would not mind working in South Florida either, still waiting on about 8 schools but so far in at GW sticker, some $$ to BLS, waiting on Florida schools and some other reach schools and would love to be in the DC/NY area. On the other hand I think it's reasonable for me to see a 3-5 point improvement in my LSAT score since I definitely could have studied harder for it. I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook but I would think that having better prestige will go a long way in a few years experience.

I applied to schools in february as what is basically a super splitter and was wondering what my chances are to apply at the beginning of next cycle assuming I do no better on my LSAT because I don't want to bank on that fact because maybe I'm just being cocky about that.

Is the one year wait on hopes of Scholarship or a better school worth the opportunity cost of a year lost, I would just work and pay of UG loan debt in the year off but I feel like softs are not a big deal in Law school apps.

Any advice on this would be appreciated thanks and a big fan of the TLS community.

[saf18hornet]

Retake in June and apply next year.

[goldenbear2020]

Retake for a 170+ and you'll actually be a super splitter.

[ookoshi]

If you look at my stats, you'll see I was in a similar position as you. It's hard to give advice without knowing how your cycle went as a whole. Obviously if you improve your LSAT score a huge amount, like to 172+, you're going to have some more options like , but a 3-5 point bump isn't likely to get you anything significantly better than schools like GWU or Emory. I mean, maybe you'll break the T-20 with WUSTL, but unless you have exceptional softs you haven't mentioned it's not going to get you into Georgetown.

I applied with over a decade in work experience so my undergrad grades were hella old and I was able to leverage my LSAT score more, but your GPA is higher so I think we're probably on the same level.

So yeah, the credited response is get your LSAT score to over 170 if you can. But if you're really only expecting to get it to the high 160's, I think GW is likely your best bet. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it more.

Ironically, I went to the lowest ranked school I was accepted to (to save money), but then went top 10%/LR -> biglaw, so I took a big gamble and got lucky.

[HYPSM]

.

[guynourmin]

I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook

If you think you have the connections to get you a biglaw job from the schools you would be able to get into with your current stats, then you should be able to use those connections to get a paralegals assistant job at those same firms, work for the next couple years making good money, distance yourself a little from that gpa, and reapply with a 170+ and a better head on your shoulders.

[bitter_melon]

I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook

If you think you have the connections to get you a biglaw job from the schools you would be able to get into with your current stats, then you should be able to use those connections to get a paralegals assistant job at those same firms, work for the next couple years making good money, distance yourself a little from that gpa, and reapply with a 170+ and a better head on your shoulders.

This is by far the best advice that anyone is going to give you, OP.

[grillcheeseplz]

I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook

If you think you have the connections to get you a biglaw job from the schools you would be able to get into with your current stats, then you should be able to use those connections to get a paralegals assistant job at those same firms, work for the next couple years making good money, distance yourself a little from that gpa, and reapply with a 170+ and a better head on your shoulders.

This is by far the best advice that anyone is going to give you, OP.

Sure but taking a few years off to go to school seems like a hugely expensive opportunity cost in the prospect of having experience as an attorney over having experience as a paralegal. Time to me is always a huge opportunity cost and sometimes might be worth a risk of debt. Money isnt necessarily my biggest concern.

[grades??]

You aren't a super splitter, and you aren't really a splitter. Your lsat isn't high enough.

[bitter_melon]

I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook

If you think you have the connections to get you a biglaw job from the schools you would be able to get into with your current stats, then you should be able to use those connections to get a paralegals assistant job at those same firms, work for the next couple years making good money, distance yourself a little from that gpa, and reapply with a 170+ and a better head on your shoulders.

This is by far the best advice that anyone is going to give you, OP.

Sure but taking a few years off to go to school seems like a hugely expensive opportunity cost in the prospect of having experience as an attorney over having experience as a paralegal. Time to me is always a huge opportunity cost and sometimes might be worth a risk of debt. Money isnt necessarily my biggest concern.

I mean, I don't really know what to tell you. Your GPA sucks, and you can probably earn a few extra points on your LSAT. Just having a year of paralegal experience (which is a little bit more than what you'd get if you start now) could go a long way towards putting your GPA behind you while helping to develop the skills that will push your LSAT up.

[cavalier1138]

I have the connections in a few firms to have somewhat of a reasonable biglaw job outlook

If you think you have the connections to get you a biglaw job from the schools you would be able to get into with your current stats, then you should be able to use those connections to get a paralegals assistant job at those same firms, work for the next couple years making good money, distance yourself a little from that gpa, and reapply with a 170+ and a better head on your shoulders.

This is by far the best advice that anyone is going to give you, OP.

Sure but taking a few years off to go to school seems like a hugely expensive opportunity cost in the prospect of having experience as an attorney over having experience as a paralegal. Time to me is always a huge opportunity cost and sometimes might be worth a risk of debt. Money isnt necessarily my biggest concern.

Taking a few years off school isn't an opportunity cost when those few years off give you the chance to actually get a biglaw job.

Do you know what your biglaw attorney connections are good for when you're median at a lower-tier school? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.