Advice Please! Forum

[lawandlilly]

Hi everyone! Sorry in advance for the long post. I'm a rising senior at a Big 10 school, applying to law school for fall 2018. I'm positive I want to go to law school and I probably want to practice in PA (was born and raised there but moved for college). I have a 3.59 GPA and a 162 on the December LSAT, and am planning on a September retake. I have pretty average softs, and I'm a white female. For a number of reasons, Penn State seems like a great option for me (close to home, grant $$$ for being a PA resident, well-known in the area I want to practice, etc.), but after reading some other posts on TLS (I'm new to the forum scene), I'm a little concerned that my job prospects may be bleaker than I had originally thought. I want to work in government/public interest or family law. I have zero undergrad debt, so money isn't a huge issue, but I'd rather not pay sticker (who would?). So I guess my question is, should I try to get as much money as I can from Penn State and hope that I can get a job in PA, or try to get accepted (and pay more) elsewhere (Michigan is the dream, but I'm not optimistic about my chances there. I like George Mason, BU, Loyola, and Villanova as well)? Thanks in advance!

[cavalier1138]

What kind of government/PI are you interested in? Family law is something you can practice locally anywhere, and a full scholarship to a decent regional school is fine for that. But there are some government/PI goals that require better credentials.

[lawandlilly]

I know this isn't a popular goal from just reading other posts on here, but I want to be a public defender. Hence my concern with accruing too much debt. I'm not sure specifically what other options in government/PI I'd like to pursue if that doesn't pan out, though.

[AJordan]

Public defender is actually a fairly highly-sought after job apparently. I was surprised researching that too.

[cavalier1138]

I know this isn't a popular goal from just reading other posts on here, but I want to be a public defender. Hence my concern with accruing too much debt. I'm not sure specifically what other options in government/PI I'd like to pursue if that doesn't pan out, though.

If those are your goals, then Penn State (the good one... I forget which campus is which) or Villanova at full scholarship would be a fine outcome for you. According to the numbers, it looks like you're above the 75th percentile with your LSAT and around median with your GPA, so a retake wouldn't be a bad idea to help make a full ride more of a guarantee. Job numbers seem pretty average for a regional schools, but you have realistic goals for your JD (e.g. you aren't shooting for biglaw/fedgov). That said, public defender jobs in major metropolitan areas (like Philly) can be very competitive, so make sure you're aware of the market before going in.

If you retake and end up having a reasonable shot at the T13, I wouldn't go too far from home, and I wouldn't pay for it. You absolutely should not apply to somewhere like BU/Loyola/etc., because those are out of your region. If you want to work in PA, stick with PA schools.