Boston University c/o 2018 (2014-2015) Forum

[dontdoitkid]

Figured I'd get this started. Definitely my first choice, as long as I can get away with some decent aid.


LSAT
25th 50th 75th
Fall 2013 161 165 166
Fall 2012 162 166 167
Fall 2011 163 167 167
Fall 2010 164 166 167

GPA
25th 50th 75th
Fall 2013 3.44 3.67 3.77
Fall 2012 3.52 3.75 3.83
Fall 2011 3.5 3.72 3.78
Fall 2010 3.52 3.72 3.83

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/bu/


How's everyone's applications going?

[pwmoney]

Here!

[WichitaShocker]

Checking in!

[PeanutsNJam]

checking in

[chimera]

checkin' in! bu seriously needs to publish them new medians

[Dream_weaver32]

I've got a waiver, but waiting to see this years stats before making a decision. I really like Boston and would see myself there long-term even after graduation but hesitant because of my lack of ties.

[dontdoitkid]

checkin' in! bu seriously needs to publish them new medians

Agreed, considering they've already dropped in the past few years I think it's important to consider those. Any idea when they'll be available?

[Dr. Nefario]

Checking in! hopefully my september score allows this to be a possibility and not a pipe dream

[dontdoitkid]

Just got back from a Law School fair - the BU representative said the numbers weren't published yet, but she did know the medians for this year's incoming class, which is:

LSAT: 163
GPA: 3.6

This makes the Median LSAT trend since 2010: 166 - 167 - 166 - 165 - 163
The Median GPA trend since 2010: 3.72 - 3.72 - 3.75 - 3.67 - 3.6

There's some more recent info here http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/bu/2013/ but the most recent employment score is 66.9, with a school funded rate of 6.1.

The trend seems pretty similar. The other T1 school in the area, Boston College, has similar numbers:
LSAT 2010-2013: 166 - 165 - 164 - 164
GPA 2010-2013: 3.7 - 3.77 - 3.71 - 3.69

The BC employment score is 63.6, with a school funded score of 4.7.


All in all, I'm not thrilled to see the numbers continuing to decline (good for admission, but can hurt overall), but their rankings have remained the same and I'm not sure about employment score as of yet. The bright side is that aside from Harvard, these are the next best regional schools, and there is a lot of distance between those schools and the Boston schools next down on the list.

I'll definitely still be applying, but there's some information for those of you that are interested.

[Dr. Nefario]

Just got back from a Law School fair - the BU representative said the numbers weren't published yet, but she did know the medians for this year's incoming class, which is:

LSAT: 163
GPA: 3.6

This makes the Median LSAT trend since 2010: 166 - 167 - 166 - 165 - 163
The Median GPA trend since 2010: 3.72 - 3.72 - 3.75 - 3.67 - 3.6

There's some more recent info here http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/bu/2013/ but the most recent employment score is 66.9, with a school funded rate of 6.1.

The trend seems pretty similar. The other T1 school in the area, Boston College, has similar numbers:
LSAT 2010-2013: 166 - 165 - 164 - 164
GPA 2010-2013: 3.7 - 3.77 - 3.71 - 3.69

The BC employment score is 63.6, with a school funded score of 4.7.


All in all, I'm not thrilled to see the numbers continuing to decline (good for admission, but can hurt overall), but their rankings have remained the same and I'm not sure about employment score as of yet. The bright side is that aside from Harvard, these are the next best regional schools, and there is a lot of distance between those schools and the Boston schools next down on the list.

I'll definitely still be applying, but there's some information for those of you that are interested.

That seems to be a significant drop. It's good for my applications, but is is boding of something bad?

[dontdoitkid]

Just got back from a Law School fair - the BU representative said the numbers weren't published yet, but she did know the medians for this year's incoming class, which is:

LSAT: 163
GPA: 3.6

This makes the Median LSAT trend since 2010: 166 - 167 - 166 - 165 - 163
The Median GPA trend since 2010: 3.72 - 3.72 - 3.75 - 3.67 - 3.6

There's some more recent info here http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/bu/2013/ but the most recent employment score is 66.9, with a school funded rate of 6.1.

The trend seems pretty similar. The other T1 school in the area, Boston College, has similar numbers:
LSAT 2010-2013: 166 - 165 - 164 - 164
GPA 2010-2013: 3.7 - 3.77 - 3.71 - 3.69

The BC employment score is 63.6, with a school funded score of 4.7.


All in all, I'm not thrilled to see the numbers continuing to decline (good for admission, but can hurt overall), but their rankings have remained the same and I'm not sure about employment score as of yet. The bright side is that aside from Harvard, these are the next best regional schools, and there is a lot of distance between those schools and the Boston schools next down on the list.

I'll definitely still be applying, but there's some information for those of you that are interested.

That seems to be a significant drop. It's good for my applications, but is is boding of something bad?

Honestly, I can't say without having a lot more data. I asked why the drop was, and it was chalked up to "the overall applicant pool has lower numbers" which I don't buy at all. My only hypothesis is that since the market is seeing a pretty decently sized reduction of LSAT takers, applicants, and eventually enrollments, there is less 170+ scorers, which means a larger percentage of those that score 170+ go into HYS, CCN, the T14, and so on and so forth. I would imagine the entire applicant pool would follow the trend. Everything is feeding upwards, which means those that may have gotten a 166 and gone to BU in the past are now going to Cornell, for example.

This is all completely separate from employment scores, but that's my guess for what it's happening. I would need to see trends of all schools over the past several years (including this year) to know for sure though.

[Wingtip88]

Honestly, I can't say without having a lot more data. I asked why the drop was, and it was chalked up to "the overall applicant pool has lower numbers" which I don't buy at all. My only hypothesis is that since the market is seeing a pretty decently sized reduction of LSAT takers, applicants, and eventually enrollments, there is less 170+ scorers, which means a larger percentage of those that score 170+ go into HYS, CCN, the T14, and so on and so forth. I would imagine the entire applicant pool would follow the trend. Everything is feeding upwards, which means those that may have gotten a 166 and gone to BU in the past are now going to Cornell, for example.

This is all completely separate from employment scores, but that's my guess for what it's happening. I would need to see trends of all schools over the past several years (including this year) to know for sure though.

I'm willing to bet that your analysis is perfectly accurate. It surely seems that way. Now hopefully the regional schools start reducing class sizes to levels that are justified by the job market. Only a few of them seem to be doing so.

[psychmusic]

.

[dontdoitkid]

Just got back from a Law School fair - the BU representative said the numbers weren't published yet, but she did know the medians for this year's incoming class, which is:

LSAT: 163
GPA: 3.6

This makes the Median LSAT trend since 2010: 166 - 167 - 166 - 165 - 163
The Median GPA trend since 2010: 3.72 - 3.72 - 3.75 - 3.67 - 3.6

There's some more recent info here http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/bu/2013/ but the most recent employment score is 66.9, with a school funded rate of 6.1.

The trend seems pretty similar. The other T1 school in the area, Boston College, has similar numbers:
LSAT 2010-2013: 166 - 165 - 164 - 164
GPA 2010-2013: 3.7 - 3.77 - 3.71 - 3.69

The BC employment score is 63.6, with a school funded score of 4.7.


All in all, I'm not thrilled to see the numbers continuing to decline (good for admission, but can hurt overall), but their rankings have remained the same and I'm not sure about employment score as of yet. The bright side is that aside from Harvard, these are the next best regional schools, and there is a lot of distance between those schools and the Boston schools next down on the list.

I'll definitely still be applying, but there's some information for those of you that are interested.

That seems to be a significant drop. It's good for my applications, but is is boding of something bad?

Honestly, I can't say without having a lot more data. I asked why the drop was, and it was chalked up to "the overall applicant pool has lower numbers" which I don't buy at all. My only hypothesis is that since the market is seeing a pretty decently sized reduction of LSAT takers, applicants, and eventually enrollments, there is less 170+ scorers, which means a larger percentage of those that score 170+ go into HYS, CCN, the T14, and so on and so forth. I would imagine the entire applicant pool would follow the trend. Everything is feeding upwards, which means those that may have gotten a 166 and gone to BU in the past are now going to Cornell, for example.

This is all completely separate from employment scores, but that's my guess for what it's happening. I would need to see trends of all schools over the past several years (including this year) to know for sure though.

I think you're in some ways correct that applicants are decreasing disproportionately at mid-level T1 schools like BU, but I don't think your reasoning is correct. If you check the distribution of LSATs (http://spiveyconsulting.com/blog/high-l ... last-year/) higher scores are actually increasing.

I think, then, a big reason for drop in median at BU would be that students who would ordinarily be satisfied with a 166 have, in the wake of the recession, come to recognize that higher ranked schools often much much more in terms of jobs prospects (hence the increase in higher scores- applicants realize the value in studying for longer, taking time off, etc.) Schools like BU are left to duke it out for the ever shrinking pool of applicants who are left willing to attend schools outside the T14-20.

All wild speculation, and it's perfectly possible I'm misreading all of this and you're more correct than I am.

That's a good point, I definitely agree that the pool of applicants who are left willing to attend schools outside of the T14-20 is shrinking. I wish I knew more about the trends on the other side - those people who take the LSAT once, take the score they get and enroll where they can without too much thought. It's a giant headache haha

[tortsandtiaras]

Checking in! Sent in my application early last month When do you think we start hearing back?

[HavingFun]

I think you're in some ways correct that applicants are decreasing disproportionately at mid-level T1 schools like BU, but I don't think your reasoning is correct. If you check the distribution of LSATs (http://spiveyconsulting.com/blog/high-l ... last-year/) higher scores are actually increasing.

I think, then, a big reason for drop in median at BU would be that students who would ordinarily be satisfied with a 166 have, in the wake of the recession, come to recognize that higher ranked schools often much much more in terms of jobs prospects (hence the increase in higher scores- applicants realize the value in studying for longer, taking time off, etc.) Schools like BU are left to duke it out for the ever shrinking pool of applicants who are left willing to attend schools outside the T14-20.

All wild speculation, and it's perfectly possible I'm misreading all of this and you're more correct than I am.[/quote]

That's a good point, I definitely agree that the pool of applicants who are left willing to attend schools outside of the T14-20 is shrinking. I wish I knew more about the trends on the other side - those people who take the LSAT once, take the score they get and enroll where they can without too much thought. It's a giant headache haha[/quote]


On top of all that, the amount of people willing to attend the T14-T20 is shrinking even more, not only becuase schools ranked above them are taking them (as mentioned above), but also the fact that a growing awareness of debt and diminishing job prospects leads people with lower LSAT scores to settle with lower tiered schools that give them full or close to full rides so that worst comes to worst, when they graduate, they arent 200k in the hole. This would seemingly cause a black hole from schools ranked 15-25ish, and attendance would pick back up schools ranked lower. I could be wrong though because this seems more of a short term event (where the T14-20/25ish would obviously need to adjust) as well as the fact that the majority of law students simply aren't aware of the resources around them like TLS or LST for them to become aware of this

[chimera]

I don't think BU or BC's latest medians will harm either school's regional reputation or placement short term or long-term. Boston big law will always hire from the closest t14, BC/BU then a small handful of NEU and suffolk grads. IMHO If bc or bu has a change in employment score it will probably be because of the market rather than a change in either school's medians or ranking.

[cuboxing25]

Checking in. Really liking BC/BU, kind of torn as Im sure many of us are.

[psychmusic]

.

[Dr. Nefario]

Has anyone looked into ED for BU? I know they give out full scholarships for those accepted. Would this be something advisable?

[dontdoitkid]

Has anyone looked into ED for BU? I know they give out full scholarships for those accepted. Would this be something advisable?

I'm applying ED, as it's the region I want to work in and it's a no brainer for me if I get the full scholarship. Whether it's advisable.. it depends, what are your career goals/areas you want to practice in/etc?

[dontdoitkid]

Checking in! Sent in my application early last month When do you think we start hearing back?

They said ED comes back by December 19th, after that they start doing regular admissions immediately so it shouldn't be too long after I hope

[cuboxing25]

Has anyone looked into ED for BU? I know they give out full scholarships for those accepted. Would this be something advisable?

I'm applying ED, as it's the region I want to work in and it's a no brainer for me if I get the full scholarship. Whether it's advisable.. it depends, what are your career goals/areas you want to practice in/etc?

From what I've heard their ED functions like GW's in that its meant to siphon candidates away from higher ranked schools with the scholarship. I think its a good route to go if youve got the numbers and know you want to be in Boston.

[Dr. Nefario]

Has anyone looked into ED for BU? I know they give out full scholarships for those accepted. Would this be something advisable?

I'm applying ED, as it's the region I want to work in and it's a no brainer for me if I get the full scholarship. Whether it's advisable.. it depends, what are your career goals/areas you want to practice in/etc?

Well I sent in my app last night with the ED option marked and contract signed. I don't think my chances are extremely strong for it, but I'm hoping my socio-economic addenda helps in the decision.

[dontdoitkid]

Has anyone looked into ED for BU? I know they give out full scholarships for those accepted. Would this be something advisable?

I'm applying ED, as it's the region I want to work in and it's a no brainer for me if I get the full scholarship. Whether it's advisable.. it depends, what are your career goals/areas you want to practice in/etc?

Well I sent in my app last night with the ED option marked and contract signed. I don't think my chances are extremely strong for it, but I'm hoping my socio-economic addenda helps in the decision.

Good luck! Deadline is November 17th but I'm hoping to have mine in by the end of week as well. They said we should find out by December 19th for sure.