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I am a white male, 23 years old, 3.65 cumulative GPA between community college and a poorly regarded state school for undergraduate (although I made a point of taking heavy loads and the hardest classes in my major), political science major, economics minor, studied Arabic, I often worked two and three jobs and looked after my father's ailing health while in school, haven't had a job that is less than menial, graduated May 2009, three time LSAT taker (cancelled in June - bubbling error and nerves due to family problems, 163 in September, 174 in December - I applied to all schools after the December LSAT), tons of volunteer work, tons of campus leadership positions held including the presidency of an honor society, few meaningful job opportunities in the next year as I live in Arizona and have a poorly applied to the real world major. That all considered, should I reapply next year or accept my offer?

I have been offered acceptance into Vanderbilt Law School with a scholarship offering of 20k/yr. I am also presently on the waitlists for Northwestern and Cornell (also NYU, Columbia, and Virginia, but they are already over enrolled). Assuming I am not accepted off of the waitlists for Cornell and Northwestern, should I reapply or accept the offer from Vandy?

I'd hold off til next cycle. you can definitely crack t14.

Bobushka22 wrote:I am a white male, ... I live in Arizona

In that case wait a year, if you were mexican i would say GTFO before they deported you.

When did you apply? You should have got into more prestigious schools.

edit: never mind, misread OP

rad law wrote:When did you apply? You should have got into more prestigious schools.

I'm guessing January at the earliest, since he said he applied after the December LSAT scores were released.

I'd definitely wait and reapply next year as soon as the applications are up, Bobushka22.

Reroll those dice. 20 at Vandy sucks with 3.65/174.

Is this OP? If not, $20k from Vandy seems about normal.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Foozle/jd

Maybe it's only $60 because GPA is below median? Who knows.

Reapply/wait to see what the wait list says. But don't forget about the opportunity cost. Each year that you are not a working lawyer costs you $$.

What do you feel is going to change next cycle? That seems like a very good offer. Is 10k more a year worth delaying a year? What type of offer were you looking for - a full ride?

Vandy is very high ranked and a great school. I would base it on this question: Could I live in Tennesse?


Best of luck and congrats

Thanks everybody for the input. I would not be thrilled about living in Tennessee, but I have heard wonderful things about Nashville and I am sure that it would be entertaining. Also, despite Vanderbilt not being a T14, a degree from Vandy tends to be portable. So that would remain:
Difference in pay between Vandy and a T14 or top ten or top five - This would actually be fairly minimal, but compounded over the years it may be a factor.
Fields that I would be able to work in - This is probably the decision maker... I would have a better opportunity for pursuing work with the state department (I tentatively want to do international law), pursuing federal clerkships, and pursuing some sort of public office down the line. If I go to Vandy, I would assume that along with the prestige that would allow me to be a snob at a dinner party, I would lose some of that flexibility (I wouldn't be a snob at a dinner party unless it was just to one up another person being a snob... for the record).