Top Law Schools

Ok, so my GPA sucks, and I know this- I slacked off to the max and coasted through undergrad while having as much fun as possible. I don't regret it, but I realize that it isn't going to help me now. I graduated in 08 and have been working since as a paralegal in a federal government agency. Didn't want to get myself worked up about schools until I got my score so I haven't been researching. Score wasn't best ever, but I am not disappointed, and I doubt I will retake although I know I am capable of a 2-6 point increase if the stars aligned. Anyways, basically I don't know at what level I should start/stop applying. My dream school is Georgetown (part-time), I would be completely content and excited with admission to the University of Washington (In State tuition), and I am hoping that Denver University is a safety school. I will apply to more obviously, but am wondering if I am over-estimating where my numbers and experience might get me. As with most of us, I would like to go to the best school possible...

You can go to a T2 school like American, Seattle or Denver. Washington is probably a reach at this point.

You would definitely need to retake to have a palpable chance at Georgetown, even PT. Washington... you have an outside chance, but it isn't great. You are at the 75 for LSAT but significantly below the 25 for GPA. I'm not really familiar with the area, though; I don't know how much a boost to give for in-state. Denver is probably a pretty safe bet.

Edited to remove comma splice.

Either to another administration of the LSAT or into another field.

Veyron wrote:Either to another administration of the LSAT or into another field.

????

IMO 166 is kind of no-man's land, even with a fairly strong GPA. That's what I got, and if I wasn't set on not wasting another year of my life struggling to maintain work that I generally find unchallenging, I would definitely like to retake it. It's not until 170s that doors start to really open, especially for someone who has a relatively low GPA (in terms of TLS acceptance profiles). Depending on where you are in your cycle and what your ambitions are, it sounds to me like serious study and retake may be TCR (unless you have already taken it several times perhaps). My hope in terms of fulfilling my ambition for the best schools is in the possibility of transferring, though if that doesn't end up being possible (or maybe even desirable for various reasons) I would be happy staying where I am at (lower T1 school with more than half scholarship). My GPA was a bit higher than yours, though I imagine with your numbers you will at the very least get some T1 (top 50) acceptances.

Retaking would be a good call. But if you can't/won't go that route, shoot for a lower T1 that has a solid position in its home market. Wisconsin, OSU, Arizona/Arizona State, Florida, San Diego, etc. You should have a decent pick of good (but not great) regional schools.

Added in response to original post:

In terms of what level to start applying, I doubt if you will get acceptances above the top-35 law schools. In term of where to stop, I imagine you could get some scholarship offers (probably not more than half at any of them though) at T2 schools (50-100). If you are concerned about taking on a ton of debt and are willing to commit to a fairly localized region I think you could get full (or at least 80%) scholarships at a number of T3 and T4 schools. If money is not an issue in terms of what debt load you are comfortable taking, I suspect your target zone is lower T1 (40-50). With a 171 LSAT, I imagine that target zone would shift to T1 20-30 (given your GPA), with a possible shot at higher schools and considerable scholarship at lower T1. As someone mentioned, I think with your current status G-town part-time won't happen, but with a 5 point LSAT increase I suspect you would be a very strong candidate for their part-time with your 3.1. Of course raising the score is easier said than done.

Back to the testing center to get a 170.

A 166 is a good score, but IMO it isn't worth paying sticker at a mid-lower T1 and that GPA isn't going to get you a full ride anywhere.

Lawquacious wrote:IMO 166 is kind of no-man's land, even with a fairly strong GPA. That's what I got, and if I wasn't set on not wasting another year of my life struggling to maintain work that I generally find unchallenging, I would definitely like to retake it. It's not until 170s that doors start to really open, especially for someone who has a relatively low GPA (in terms of TLS acceptance profiles). Depending on where you are in your cycle and what your ambitions are, it sounds to me like serious study and retake may be TCR (unless you have already taken it several times perhaps). My hope in terms of fulfilling my ambition for the best schools is in the possibility of transferring, though if that doesn't end up being possible (or maybe even desirable for various reasons) I would be happy staying where I am at (lower T1 school with more than half scholarship). My GPA was a bit higher than yours, though I imagine with your numbers you will at the very least get some T1 (top 50) acceptances.

I agree - w/ a 166, you make a good splitter for low T1 schools. Probably any LS just out of T30 will take a look at you. However, w/ even a 1 pt. increase to 167, you become a splitter for many in T30.

Also, as someone w/ a 166 I agree that it is no-man's land. But what's more agonizing - being shut out of T14 w/ a 166 or being shut out of CCN/MVP w/ a 169?

Washington is a GPA school. I think out there if not in-state.

You might have a shot at Illinois, since they took as low as 3.2/166 this year.

Thank you all for your responses.