Top Law Schools

so im a midwest boy and id like to wind up practicing in chicago. my scores are good (outside shot at t14, lock in the 20s) but im not holding my breath about uc or northwestern. what are the thoughts of TSLers about the other chicago law schools, depaul, john marshall etc...

worthwhile in securing a meaningful job or uc/nw or bust?

169 right? Ouch, so fucking close to NU. I'd retake in October and attempt to get that 170.

169... what's your gpa?

My thoughts are that someone with a 169 probably shouldn't even be looking at DePaul, John Marshall, etc.

What about UIUC?

yea 169 w/ 3.42 (i believe 3.44 when calculated big diff i know lol)

and i am thinking/aiming for uiuc and wustl back am pretty drawn to the city. ive heard nice things about kent and marshall for their specialized programs (no i dont know precisely what area of law i want to do) but i would like to end up in chicago and im assuming id could expect full rides at those schools.

so is the prevailing opinion not to even think about those schools and be happy @ uiuc/wustl?

as for retaking, im pretty sure i maxed out so i dont want to risk it and anyways im right out of undergrad to i dont think i have a shot at nu at all.

adammac17 wrote:yea 169 w/ 3.42 (i believe 3.44 when calculated big diff i know lol)

and i am thinking/aiming for uiuc and wustl back am pretty drawn to the city. ive heard nice things about kent and marshall for their specialized programs (no i dont know precisely what area of law i want to do) but i would like to end up in chicago and im assuming id could expect full rides at those schools.

Full disclosure: UIUC troll.

I would think that you would be competitive for possibly significant $$$ from Illinois, as well as WUSTL. I believe that UIUC is still placing roughly 60% of graduates in-state, and the lion's share of those positions are in Chicago.

Not sure about WUSTL, but I am sure romothesavior could oblige with info about them...

Edit: I would agree that you might want to take the lower two schools off of your list, considering your numbers.

It's a long shot, but I might ED to Michigan if I were you. Michigan's average LSAT is 169 and they have taken people around a 3.5. Like I said, it's definitely a reach, but I think it's your best shot for Chicago.

Should OP perhaps look at Notre Dame as well? I would say your targets should be UIUC,WUSTL, ND, perhaps Wiscy (last resort before retake). Or (full disclosure, Loyola troll,) Loyola

holydonkey wrote:It's a long shot, but I might ED to Michigan if I were you. Michigan's average LSAT is 169 and they have taken people around a 3.5. Like I said, it's definitely a reach, but I think it's your best shot for Chicago.

I'd agree with this, but retaking should be looked at.

Desert Fox wrote:

holydonkey wrote:It's a long shot, but I might ED to Michigan if I were you. Michigan's average LSAT is 169 and they have taken people around a 3.5. Like I said, it's definitely a reach, but I think it's your best shot for Chicago.

I'd agree with this, but retaking should be looked at.

Sure, I agree with that.

UIUC seems like the school for you. It attracts good people and places amazingly in Chicago. Other than NU and Michigan I recall that UIUC has the most grads in biglaw in Chicago (UChicago kids do not stick around as much, apparently).

Also, I'd take UIUC over ND if I were you, but I recognize ND is still a reasonable choice.

I'm also a UIUC troll.

I have a lower gpa and a lower lsat than you and I'm getting a 75% scholarship (30k/year) from Illinois. Given your career goals, I think Illinois should definitely be one of your top choices.