Top Law Schools

I have heard back from nearly every school that I am interested in attending, and am just trying to get some insight/opinions on which offer(s) I should look at taking/not taking. I am planning on attempting to negotiate a few of these scholarships, but as it stands, these are my offers:

Arizona State: full tuition

IU Bloomington: full tuition

Iowa: full tuition

Ohio State: full tuition

William and Mary: $35,000 per year (tuition is $42,000)

George Washington: $45,000 per year (tuition is $58,500)

Boston University: $30,000 per year (tuition is $52,000)

WUSTL: $35,000 per year (tuition is $55,000)

Unless by some miracle I get a substantial scholarship to one of my reach schools (highly unlikely), these are the schools that I have narrowed down my decision to. I am from the Midwest and also did my undergraduate work in the Midwest, but location is not a deciding factor for where I attend law school. I am not BL or bust, and do not yet know what area of law I want to study; I plan on going into my 1L year with an open mind. I guess my question is best summed up as this: If you had these offers, and only these offers, to choose from, which would you choose and why?

Please provide your goal(s) post law school, which will dramatically affect the advice given.

Lchi wrote:I have heard back from nearly every school that I am interested in attending, and am just trying to get some insight/opinions on which offer(s) I should look at taking/not taking. I am planning on attempting to negotiate a few of these scholarships, but as it stands, these are my offers:

Arizona State: full tuition

IU Bloomington: full tuition

Iowa: full tuition

Ohio State: full tuition

William and Mary: $35,000 per year (tuition is $42,000)

George Washington: $45,000 per year (tuition is $58,500)

Boston University: $30,000 per year (tuition is $52,000)

WUSTL: $35,000 per year (tuition is $55,000)

Unless by some miracle I get a substantial scholarship to one of my reach schools (highly unlikely), these are the schools that I have narrowed down my decision to. I am from the Midwest and also did my undergraduate work in the Midwest, but location is not a deciding factor for where I attend law school. I am not BL or bust, and do not yet know what area of law I want to study; I plan on going into my 1L year with an open mind. I guess my question is best summed up as this: If you had these offers, and only these offers, to choose from, which would you choose and why?

Since it seems like you don't know what area of law you want to specialize in post-law school, I would probably choose WUSTL. You may not be BL or bust now, but who knows; down the line that may chance and WUSTL places 40% of their grads into what LST lists as large firms. Generally speaking, a school's BL placement is a good sign of its overall employment. So I'd choose WUSTL just so I'd have more options.

That's just me though... I'm also not incredibly debt adverse so the extra loans I'd need to cover tuition and COL don't bother me as much.

mcmand wrote:Please provide your goal(s) post law school, which will dramatically affect the advice given.

I do not have any specific goals in mind at the time. A clerkship sounds like a fun experience, and if biglaw was an option I would not be opposed to it, but I would also not be opposed to any legal career that opened up. After a few years of work experience I would consider applying to be an FBI special agent, which would be my dream job, but that is a very competitive selection process and I am not banking on that in any way. Eventually working my way up to being a DA or judge would also be something that would interest me.

Out of these choices, I'd choose the full ride from the state you are from or WUSTL. WUSTL is not ideal to me at that cost though considering they hand out scholarships like candy.

Do you like Arizona, Indiana, or Ohio better? I would choose the school that aligns with your answer there.

Yeah, this is a tough question to answer, because you don't seem to know what you want to do with your degree. Do you even want to practice law?

I guess just pick where you want to live and go with that, but I don't think anyone can get more specific without you getting more specific.

I don't think any of the schools you listed that aren't giving you full rides are worth their cost since you're unsure about what you want from a JD. Go back to Wash U and ask for more money. Otherwise, take one of the full rides.

Are you K-JD? If so, consider deferring for a year to give you time to further develop your interests and get some full time work experience on your resume.

mcmand wrote:I don't think any of the schools you listed that aren't giving you full rides are worth their cost since you're unsure about what you want from a JD. Go back to Wash U and ask for more money. Otherwise, take one of the full rides.

Are you K-JD? If so, consider deferring for a year to give you time to further develop your interests and get some full time work experience on your resume.

I second this. I also saw OP's stats. If OP were to raise his LSAT by 2 or even 1 point, that's pretty much a full ride at WUSTL.

Work BU and GWU against each other then go back to WUSTL for more money.
I'd do WUSTL here probably, and if not, your state flagship for free (but be very clear of what the realistic outcomes are and be fine with them).

GW or WUSTL.

take GW

ManoftheHour wrote:

mcmand wrote:I don't think any of the schools you listed that aren't giving you full rides are worth their cost since you're unsure about what you want from a JD. Go back to Wash U and ask for more money. Otherwise, take one of the full rides.

Are you K-JD? If so, consider deferring for a year to give you time to further develop your interests and get some full time work experience on your resume.

I second this. I also saw OP's stats. If OP were to raise his LSAT by 2 or even 1 point, that's pretty much a full ride at WUSTL.

Just saw the OP's stats, definitely a retake candidate. If their goals align with the likely career outcomes from the state school in the state they want to live in, then they should just go now on the full ride. Otherwise, retake for sure. Just a few points would be serious money at someplace like UMich or Northwestern, and I'm guessing OP is from the Chicago area.