Top Law Schools

I'm currently sitting on 9 waitlists. Of these schools, I'm leaning towards UWashington, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Boston College. Odds are if any of these schools accept me this late in the game, I'm gonna be paying sticker. Given this, and the general TLS sentiment on the ills of paying full price, which school should i put all my push behind (eg "if accepted i will immediately withdraw all other applications)

Other information of note:

I applied pretty much at the deadline for all schools.

I'm a URM with 168 LSAT and sub 3.0 GPA.

Of the regions I would prefer ultimately prefer to end up in Seattle, but am no means completely attached to that area. Also, UW appears to have the lowest median earnings, which seems like a valid consideration given the presumption that no $ will be offered to waitlist admits....

Thanks!

The earnings numbers are all fixed, that isn't something I'd worry about too much. I don't recommend you put all your push behind ANY of these schools. Reapply on time next year.

I second that. That is a decent LSAT score and with URM status you are a fine splitter. Reapply as early as possible. Apply to a lot of T - 10 through 20 schools and make an effort to contact the deans. If you are on the waitlist now then call them. Ask to make an appointment to speak to the adcoms otherwise you might just end up speaking to a receptionist. (I called Penn and spoke to someone for about 10 minutes. She was very nice and helpful...too nice in fact. Turns out she was an undergrad doing a work study position. That is not too helpful.) Tell them you are very interested in their school and if you don't get in this cycle you are interested in reapplying. Ask them what you can do to improve your chances.
Just calling might help you for this cycle. I got an offer from WUSTL with a small scholarship after this type of call. Even if it doesn't help this cycle it can only help for next. Start with the 9th best school and work your way up to the top one. Even if you have the same conversation with each one. Try to make the adcom feel like this is the one that you really want.

I am pretty much doing that now. I was waitlisted at 8 schools and now I am down to 6. I am seriously considering reapplying on September 1st to all of these schools.

I guess my question is can I really expect that much higher placement next year with a sub 3.0 GPA, even if being URM is that much of more of a boost? These were pretty much the highest ranked schools I got into, with flat rejections from UCLA, Cornell, and Duke.

Also, can someone further elaborate on the sticker-shock beyond "I wouldn't pay sticker." Presuming paying full at one of these schools, lets say $200k total, what's the worst case repayment scenario? Less that $1000 a month, no? Presuming a median pay of 120k+, assuming, 30% goes to taxes, that's 7k a month... is the perception that 6k is really that difficult to live on, or is there some other part of the equation that i'm missing that makes it that much more worthwhile to reapply next year?

Flustercluck wrote:I guess my question is can I really expect that much higher placement next year with a sub 3.0 GPA, even if being URM is that much of more of a boost? These were pretty much the highest ranked schools I got into, with flat rejections from UCLA, Cornell, and Duke.

Also, can someone further elaborate on the sticker-shock beyond "I wouldn't pay sticker." Presuming paying full at one of these schools, lets say $200k total, what's the worst case repayment scenario? Less that $1000 a month, no? Presuming a median pay of 120k+, assuming, 30% goes to taxes, that's 7k a month... is the perception that 6k is really that difficult to live on, or is there some other part of the equation that i'm missing that makes it that much more worthwhile to reapply next year?

No, no, no, no.

$200k debt equals at least $2,300 in monthly loan payments. Fiddle with this calculator to see for self. And note that your interest rate will be a little higher than 6.8% when you factor in the 7.9% rates your Grad PLUS loans carry.

Good lord... I was assuming a 20 year payment period, but even that's over 1500... message received, in technicolor...

But even reapplying early I have a tough time believing I would be able to get that much in terms of $ with such a low GPA...

eandy wrote:The earnings numbers are all fixed, that isn't something I'd worry about too much. I don't recommend you put all your push behind ANY of these schools. Reapply on time next year.

not UW for Seattle?!

I have similar stats to you (166, sub 3.0, applied at deadline) and am going to be reapplying. I retook in June and am hoping for a 172+.

Have you considered retaking in addition to reapplying (on top of shooting an ED)?

bk187 wrote:I have similar stats to you (166, sub 3.0, applied at deadline) and am going to be reapplying. I retook in June and am hoping for a 172+.

Have you considered retaking in addition to reapplying (on top of shooting an ED)?

I work for a campaign consulting firm, so given the primary election, June was not a reasonable possibility. Depending on how things play out I would be able to retake on the Sept/Oct LSAT. This would be my third take though. I got 164 in Dec, 168 in Feb. I think I could probably still bring my score up a few points, probably the 170-172 range, but i am worried about the possibility of dropping lower than the 168 on ther retake...

As far as ED, Northwestern seems like the best bet, but still a bit of a stretch. Kinda depends on my LSAT thought... If I retake and break 170 I would think NW, if not I might try Georgetown...

Youre assuming way too much. Youre already assuming how much youre going to get paid, how much youre going to pay in taxes, what youre going to be eating for dinner in 4 years. Come on. Relax. Focus on school first. You cant be thinking about how much youre going to make before youre even in school. Dont worry about any median earning numbers youve seen. Those numbers are not accurate whatsoever. Dont trust USNWR with those numbers.

To answer your question you should go to UW if you are set on the Seattle area. All the other schools you listed are regional and even though they are ranked higher, they wont help you that much more. If you're on the fence about paying sticker at UW, then just reapply in a few months and try your hand at some other schools. See if you can get in Early Action at some top schools. You have good numbers and if you apply early this upcoming cycle, you should see some more acceptances.

Good luck!

IAFG wrote:

eandy wrote:The earnings numbers are all fixed, that isn't something I'd worry about too much. I don't recommend you put all your push behind ANY of these schools. Reapply on time next year.

not UW for Seattle?!

UW is a double edged sword. Even out-of-state they have the lowest tution such that debtload would be more likely 150-160k, however they also have the lowest median earnings (110k median). I love the area, but not so much to outweigh the more objective measures in a cost-benefit analysis of the options...

Flustercluck wrote:

IAFG wrote:

eandy wrote:The earnings numbers are all fixed, that isn't something I'd worry about too much. I don't recommend you put all your push behind ANY of these schools. Reapply on time next year.

not UW for Seattle?!

UW is a double edged sword. Even out-of-state they have the lowest tution such that debtload would be more likely 150-160k, however they also have the lowest median earnings (110k median). I love the area, but not so much to outweigh the more objective measures in a cost-benefit analysis of the options...

UW's median earnings reflect seattle as a market, not the quality of the school. also, as others have mentioned, they're all but fictional at all the schools you are considering.

IAFG wrote:UW's median earnings reflect seattle as a market, not the quality of the school. also, as others have mentioned, they're all but fictional at all the schools you are considering.

So I am unclear, are you saying UW is or is not worth attending at sticker?

Flustercluck wrote:So I am unclear, are you saying UW is or is not worth attending at sticker?

IAFG is saying that you should never trust the self-reported median salary and that Seattle jobs pay less than other markets.

If you really want Seattle and don't mind the debtload then UW is fine at sticker. It's not like you're attending a low ranked school dominated by others in its market.

Flustercluck wrote:

IAFG wrote:UW's median earnings reflect seattle as a market, not the quality of the school. also, as others have mentioned, they're all but fictional at all the schools you are considering.

So I am unclear, are you saying UW is or is not worth attending at sticker?

if i were 100% settled on seattle as a market then yes, i would attend UW at sticker.

How ironic, this would have made my ex-girlfriend very happy...

We are also saying ignore that median earnings numbers, it is totally useless. UW is a good school for Seattle and do not base your decision on that number, those statistics are very easily gamed by schools and are unreliable.