Do I take a year off? Forum

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streiman

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Do I take a year off?

Post by streiman » Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:13 pm

i applied late in the cycle this year (february) if i only get into schools below the top 40-50 should i wait and apply next year or just go anyways?

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:23 pm

streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:13 pm
i applied late in the cycle this year (february) if i only get into schools below the top 40-50 should i wait and apply next year or just go anyways?
What’s your LSAT score and GPA? If you have the numbers for a T14 and only get offers from 40-50, then yes, reapply. But if you have the numbers for a school around 40-50, then maybe don’t unless you think you can really improve your LSAT score.

streiman

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by streiman » Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:48 pm

Prudent_Jurist wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:23 pm
streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:13 pm
i applied late in the cycle this year (february) if i only get into schools below the top 40-50 should i wait and apply next year or just go anyways?
What’s your LSAT score and GPA? If you have the numbers for a T14 and only get offers from 40-50, then yes, reapply. But if you have the numbers for a school around 40-50, then maybe don’t unless you think you can really improve your LSAT score.


i have a 162 and 3.7 gpa! I’m not sure if i’m t14 with those scores but hopefully not too much farther down the ranking list

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:02 pm

streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:48 pm
i have a 162 and 3.7 gpa! I’m not sure if i’m t14 with those scores but hopefully not too much farther down the ranking list
I don't know the current state of law school admissions, but I'd imagine you'd get into schools well about the 40-50s even if you applied late in the cycle. Do you know what your long-term goals are? For example, if your goal is biglaw, then you'll have much better odds at a higher-ranked school, which may warrant a retake + reapply approach. Whatever your options are, you need to be sure the schools you get into are going to serve your goals.

streiman

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by streiman » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:12 pm

Prudent_Jurist wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:02 pm
streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:48 pm
i have a 162 and 3.7 gpa! I’m not sure if i’m t14 with those scores but hopefully not too much farther down the ranking list
I don't know the current state of law school admissions, but I'd imagine you'd get into schools well about the 40-50s even if you applied late in the cycle. Do you know what your long-term goals are? For example, if your goal is biglaw, then you'll have much better odds at a higher-ranked school, which may warrant a retake + reapply approach. Whatever your options are, you need to be sure the schools you get into are going to serve your goals.

Can you explain what exactly biglaw is? I want to hopefully go into civil rights law or something along those lines

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:28 pm

streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:12 pm
Can you explain what exactly biglaw is? I want to hopefully go into civil rights law or something along those lines
I'm not sure exactly how to explain biglaw. Generally you're talking firms with Vault rankings that are very large (maybe 250+ attorneys). Civil rights law can mean a lot of things. If you want to work for the ACLU, for example, I know that's really competitive, so the prestige of your school is going to matter. Beyond that, I don't really know.

I'd search around the law school admissions and choosing a law school forums on this site as well as various Reddit pages (I'm not on there but I've heard there's good resources). There's plenty of resources out there to help you figure out what pursuing your interests entails.

streiman

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by streiman » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:40 pm

Prudent_Jurist wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:28 pm
streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:12 pm
Can you explain what exactly biglaw is? I want to hopefully go into civil rights law or something along those lines
I'm not sure exactly how to explain biglaw. Generally you're talking firms with Vault rankings that are very large (maybe 250+ attorneys). Civil rights law can mean a lot of things. If you want to work for the ACLU, for example, I know that's really competitive, so the prestige of your school is going to matter. Beyond that, I don't really know.

I'd search around the law school admissions and choosing a law school forums on this site as well as various Reddit pages (I'm not on there but I've heard there's good resources). There's plenty of resources out there to help you figure out what pursuing your interests entails.
thank you so much for all of your help!!!

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Prudent_Jurist

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by Prudent_Jurist » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:49 pm

streiman wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:40 pm
thank you so much for all of your help!!!
Of course! Sorry I can't offer more help.

ALCA1920

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by ALCA1920 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:39 am

It depends. My understanding is that if you want to work for a firm with 100 or more attorneys in a big city, or work in a high-end federal government position, an LSAT retake is warranted (your goal would be 168+). If you'd like to do anything else, go with what you have right now. There are many good schools that will give you full-tuition scholarships for your gpa/lsat.

Suffice it to say that sitting out for a year has innumerable benefits outside of getting a higher LSAT. You can get extra work experience and have the time to think about what you want from your legal career.

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crazywafflez

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by crazywafflez » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:51 am

I think taking a year off doesn't really hurt. Your scores are competitive for most T1 schools (i.e. schools ranked between 20-50ish or so), but not anything in the T20s or higher ranked.
It really depends on your goals. As PrudentJ said, if by civil rights law, you mean ACLU, you'll really need to go to a Top 15 school, perhaps top 6 or so. If you mean working for a public interest group in your OKC that does tenant eviction help or doing public defense, you can go to your local state U regardless of rank (so, if you want to work in Mississippi, going to Ole Miss for free to do that stuff is a great option and better than paying fullboat at William & Mary).
I generally refer to biglaw as law firms that have 100+ attorneys that work with numerous clients on "business deals" and a bunch of other random stuff/litigation/transaction work (note- I do not work in biglaw, hah, so I'll let someone else take the reins).
Additionally, school ranked 32 and 45 aren't really any different- lets say that you're trying to get a job in Arizona, and U of A is ranked 45 and Ohio State is ranked 32- the employers in AZ are going to choose those U of A folks regardless. Rankings really don't matter after 20 or so, and schools are really regional. Go to the cheapest option where a school aligns with your goals. For you, depending on what you mean by civil rights law, your school/options will vary. If you want Protect Democracy or ACLU or innocence's project, you'll most likely need to go to a top 15 school (or there about); Public Defender or Legal Aid in Maryland? U of MD is a great option if priced accordingly.

streiman

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by streiman » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:13 pm

crazywafflez wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:51 am
I think taking a year off doesn't really hurt. Your scores are competitive for most T1 schools (i.e. schools ranked between 20-50ish or so), but not anything in the T20s or higher ranked.
It really depends on your goals. As PrudentJ said, if by civil rights law, you mean ACLU, you'll really need to go to a Top 15 school, perhaps top 6 or so. If you mean working for a public interest group in your OKC that does tenant eviction help or doing public defense, you can go to your local state U regardless of rank (so, if you want to work in Mississippi, going to Ole Miss for free to do that stuff is a great option and better than paying fullboat at William & Mary).
I generally refer to biglaw as law firms that have 100+ attorneys that work with numerous clients on "business deals" and a bunch of other random stuff/litigation/transaction work (note- I do not work in biglaw, hah, so I'll let someone else take the reins).
Additionally, school ranked 32 and 45 aren't really any different- lets say that you're trying to get a job in Arizona, and U of A is ranked 45 and Ohio State is ranked 32- the employers in AZ are going to choose those U of A folks regardless. Rankings really don't matter after 20 or so, and schools are really regional. Go to the cheapest option where a school aligns with your goals. For you, depending on what you mean by civil rights law, your school/options will vary. If you want Protect Democracy or ACLU or innocence's project, you'll most likely need to go to a top 15 school (or there about); Public Defender or Legal Aid in Maryland? U of MD is a great option if priced accordingly.

thank you!! i definitely want to do aclu or something along those lines. i have already taken the lsat 3 times (yikes i know) so if i took a year off so you think taking the lsat a fourth time looks bad??

crazywafflez

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by crazywafflez » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:23 pm

So, if ACLU type organizations are your goal, you should definitely retake and reapply. You are going to need to go to a T14 type school and you'll most likely need a 169+ on the LSAT to achieve your goals. Not that it is impossible from a school like Vanderbilt or UT or UCLA, it'll just be difficult. Going to Emory, Minnesota, or Illinois won't be a good match for you and you'll need to aim for the higher ranked schools (and you should be aiming for the top 10 or so).
Additionally, no administration really cares how many times you take the LSAT anymore. Feel free to take it again and not worry at all- they won't count it against you.
Best of luck.

JamezPhoenix

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Re: Do I take a year off?

Post by JamezPhoenix » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:37 am

Not only will you need to go to a t14 for a unicorny civil rights job but you will have to be tippy top of your class. I am one of the least "give up on your dreams" people on TLS, but I really think you need to be realistic. Everyone wants one of those jobs that will make a difference in the world and there aren't very many of them year to year. Take my advice or not, I'm by no means an authority here, but I think really you should think more about where you would like to work and look into what are the scores necessary for the best school in that location/state/region. The job you want, probably doesn't exist, at least not in the way you imagine it, like a previous poster alluded to there are jobs that help with public defense or interest but those typically are low paying jobs (compared to BigLaw) with very high workloads. So if you go to a T60 school with dreams of being the lead lawyer for the ACLU, thats fine, just be sure to have a backup plan and career path for what you will do afterwards. Graduating with 150K debt from William and Mary and having difficulty getting a job that pays more than 60K a year, that you're not passionate about is not a great position to be in.

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