Northeastern or WAIT PLEASE HELP! Forum

[elm84dr]

I have quite a conundrum. My cycle did not go so well this year. I was waitlisted at Vanderbilt, Columbia, Cornell, Emory and Fordham and accepted to Wake Forest, Northeastern and UMiami Law. I chose Northeastern since I live in Boston, close to home and a decent amount of money (not much though). I never got off any wait lists, and I did EVERYTHING to show my continued interest.

I am not excited about Northeastern, it does not feel right.

My questions is, given that I was waitlisted at these schools, show I take the LSAT for the 3rd time in October, pay for a class and focus solely on the LSAT for the next month and a half (I resigned from work to go to law school)? Here is pertinent information:

-Applied in January to schools, some in February
-154 highest LSAT
-Live in Boston----would like a change of scene so that I can focus better
-great personal statement/story
-I am 26 years old (just turned)----I am worried that this will make me too old for an incoming class next year at 27
-Northeastern is notoriously difficult to transfer from, so going there I would have very little chance of transferring out due to no grades system.
-I think with 6 weeks prep and a class, with doing no fulltime job I can crack the 160 threshold which puts me in the running for money and great schools.

-I interviewed at Cornell and the woman told me they were over enrolled but she wanted me to apply next cycle and early.

PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT---ORIENTATION IN 2 WEEKS

[elm84dr]

Oh sorry:
Black/Latino male URM
3.3 GPA from a top 35 undergrad.

[goldeneagle]

If it doens't feel right then don't do it! You need all the motivation possible to keep good grades. Backing out now would be better than wishing you would have in three months.

Apply to more schools within reach next cycle... 154 for Columbia is out of the question. Apply more broadly and see where you get in, especially being URM.

[elm84dr]

I know the schools that waitlisted me like me, but they just can't take me with a 154. Thanks.

[lawschool2014]

its really impressive you got wait listed at Columbia, Cornell with a 154. I think Northeastern is really bad if you want to go into bigalw. Its coop program is pretty good, but it churns out only adequate laqwyers (ones that will cap at 100k a year income). I would try and retake. I think you will probably be waitilisted again at schools that IMO are worth going to, but if they like other parts of your application, you may get off the waitlist.

I would run away from Northeastern. One more year is not worth the debt from a school you do not want to go to and a school that you will never be proud of. Northeastern, like all bottom t2, will never be respected in the legal community (except for public interest which IMO is bullshit anyway since they do not have a good LRAP)

Edit: Did not realize you were a URM. Thats why you were waitlisted. Yea, def wait and go somewhere better. a 163+ will get you into some decent schools.

[Azmatt]

154 Highest LSAT..... Can you retake? How may tests did you take?

If you have 3 under your belt and 154 is your highest then I don't know what to tell you.. I'd be straight t3/t4 material with those numbers as a non-URM.

Sounds like you actually had a great cycle with your numbers, TBH. Did you apply to BC/BU?

[elm84dr]

Rejected at BC/BU both. I have never taken an LSAT class and am considering taking my book money I had saved and taking a class.

[bk1]

Definitely retake/reapply, even as a URM it's unbelievable that CLS wl'ed you with 3.3/154.

Don't worry too much about your age, the difference in one year is minimal compared to job prospects.

[elm84dr]

What gets me is the caliber of schools that did waitlist me. I know my personal story is unique. I write well, have great recs, and softs. But my GPA and LSAT need work and I can only help the LSAT.

[Azmatt]

Sounds like an anomaly. I wouldn't bank on your softs/story having the same impact on every single admin rep. Nothing is a lock, but the LSAT is huge.

I don't plan on wasting $$$ on a class. Just get the LR/LG bible and study... A big LSAT jump can take you far.

[bk1]

What gets me is the caliber of schools that did waitlist me. I know my personal story is unique. I write well, have great recs, and softs. But my GPA and LSAT need work and I can only help the LSAT.

Must be some amazing story. Do you think you can prepare in time for the October LSAT? The December LSAT is so late in my opinion.

I hate to say it but the best plan for you might be another year break if you cannot raise your score by this October's LSAT. Prep hard and take either the February or June LSAT of next year, apply a year from now and start in 2012. That would seem like the best all around prospects if, as I said, you do not have enough time for the October LSAT. Depending on your LSAT I would say you might even want to shoot CLS an ED.

I know that you feel like you are going to be "old" at graduation, but I would posit it like this: would you rather be a 2013 graduate of Northeastern or 2015 graduate of Columbia?

[elm84dr]

Any other feedback/especially when it comes to my age starting school (27) and any stigma attached to it. Also, what prep class is intense and I can enroll ASAP. I will not be working so please let me know.

[yuzu]

I'm not sure an LSAT class is much more useful than self-study. There's a tremendous amount of information around here about LSAT prep. The most important thing is doing lots of PrepTests. The Powerscore Bibles also seem to help many.

Don't worry about your age. The only caveat is that the more time that passes since undergrad, the more of an expectation there is that you do something useful/impressive with that time. (In other words, your application will begin to focus more on your real-world experience than on your academic record. That could be good given your GPA.) It doesn't look good, though, that you're not working.

I'd imagine you could do better if you retake/reapply (early in the cycle!). Whether it's worth it to try is a personal choice we can't really answer. What will you do for the next year? What are your career goals? To what extent will your goals be hindered without the better-ranked school? What is the financial impact of waiting? How confident are you that you can improve your LSAT?

[elm84dr]

I never took a class, got the same score twice on the LSAT. I am taking Powerscore which is pretty good right now. I will be working as a teacher. I will have my applications out by mid -October---learned my lesson! I can wait (I live at home and can save some money). Thanks for the insight!

I'm not sure an LSAT class is much more useful than self-study. There's a tremendous amount of information around here about LSAT prep. The most important thing is doing lots of PrepTests. The Powerscore Bibles also seem to help many.

Don't worry about your age. The only caveat is that the more time that passes since undergrad, the more of an expectation there is that you do something useful/impressive with that time. (In other words, your application will begin to focus more on your real-world experience than on your academic record. That could be good given your GPA.) It doesn't look good, though, that you're not working.

I'd imagine you could do better if you retake/reapply (early in the cycle!). Whether it's worth it to try is a personal choice we can't really answer. What will you do for the next year? What are your career goals? To what extent will your goals be hindered without the better-ranked school? What is the financial impact of waiting? How confident are you that you can improve your LSAT?

[elm84dr]

Thanks to all that replied. I ended up taking the advice to retake. Usually people see TLS as a place to see dreams shattered, but it has given me great advice that I went forward with. My LSAT from October was a 160...Thank God. Apps will be out next week.

[paratactical]

Thanks to all that replied. I ended up taking the advice to retake. Usually people see TLS as a place to see dreams shattered, but it has given me great advice that I went forward with. My LSAT from October was a 160...Thank God. Apps will be out next week.

Congrats! Good luck with your cycle!