Top Law Schools

I'll expand a lot below, but the short and sweet version is: "What the hey?"

I'm an older applicant (6 years removed from undergrad) with a horrendous GPA (2.7ish) and a somewhat decent LSAT (165). I didn't cure cancer, but I have a decent track record in my industry (human resources) and a history of fast promotion within the ranks.

Based on the 2008-9 LSN graphs, here were my predictions for the schools I applied to:

IN: American, Tulane, Villanova, Rutgers, Northeastern, UGA, George Mason
OUT: GWU, UMN, WUSTL, BC, BU
WL/TOSSUP: IU-B, W&L, W&M, U of IA, OSU, ND, UNC

Here's what actually happened:

IN: IU-B, Rutgers ($5k/yr)
WL: W&L, W&M, Northeastern, UNC, George Mason, UGA, Villanova
OUT: GWU, WUSTL, BC, BU, Tulane, American, OSU, ND
PENDING: UMN

Thoughts: I was ready to throw in the towel on law school altogether until the IU accept came in. Given the increase in applications (some schools are reporting upwards of 50%), I knew it was going to be bumpy. But still, for seriously American, Northeastern, UGA, Nova, Tulane, and even Rutgers? Well okay, UGA shot up a lot in the rankings last year, so I get that, but the others were like gutshots.

If I didn't get the acceptance from IU, I was getting ready to re-take the LSAT and try again next year. This is a brutal year, and if there's anybody out there who's still looking for a home, I'd urge you to not get too down. If I weren't as old as I am now, I would be considering postponing until next year to see what the effects of the economic recovery have on the job market.

I've lurked on these boards since early 2009 and they were a wealth of information for me, and I'm sure they will continue to be. I hope this information provides at least some help to somebody, and I'm more than happy to take questions.

ChewbaccaDefense wrote:I'll expand a lot below, but the short and sweet version is: "What the hey?"

I'm an older applicant (6 years removed from undergrad) with a horrendous GPA (2.7ish) and a somewhat decent LSAT (165). I didn't cure cancer, but I have a decent track record in my industry (human resources) and a history of fast promotion within the ranks.

Based on the 2008-9 LSN graphs, here were my predictions for the schools I applied to:

IN: American, Tulane, Villanova, Rutgers, Northeastern, UGA, George Mason
OUT: GWU, UMN, WUSTL, BC, BU
WL/TOSSUP: IU-B, W&L, W&M, U of IA, OSU, ND, UNC

Here's what actually happened:

IN: IU-B, Rutgers ($5k/yr)
WL: W&L, W&M, Northeastern, UNC, George Mason, UGA, Villanova
OUT: GWU, WUSTL, BC, BU, Tulane, American, OSU, ND
PENDING: UMN

Thoughts: I was ready to throw in the towel on law school altogether until the IU accept came in. Given the increase in applications (some schools are reporting upwards of 50%), I knew it was going to be bumpy. But still, for seriously American, Northeastern, UGA, Nova, Tulane, and even Rutgers? Well okay, UGA shot up a lot in the rankings last year, so I get that, but the others were like gutshots.

If I didn't get the acceptance from IU, I was getting ready to re-take the LSAT and try again next year. This is a brutal year, and if there's anybody out there who's still looking for a home, I'd urge you to not get too down. If I weren't as old as I am now, I would be considering postponing until next year to see what the effects of the economic recovery have on the job market.

I've lurked on these boards since early 2009 and they were a wealth of information for me, and I'm sure they will continue to be. I hope this information provides at least some help to somebody, and I'm more than happy to take questions.

Congrats on IU! That is definitely one of the better schools on your list!

Second the congrats; all it takes is one good acceptance.

I agree that this year is going to be tougher than next; grad/professional admissions tend to be lagging economic indicators, so the economic troubles of 08/09 were mostly going to show this cycle.

februaryftw wrote:Second the congrats; all it takes is one good acceptance.

I agree that this year is going to be tougher than next; grad/professional admissions tend to be lagging economic indicators, so the economic troubles of 08/09 were mostly going to show this cycle.

+1, you only go to one school. You got into a good one, so if you are cool with going there, then head there and kick ass!