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You will probably not get in RD; you will probably get in ED. So the question is whether your preference of UVA over Michigan (or Cornell) is stronger than the money you would forgo at those schools. If so, apply ED; if not, apply early, write a good "why Virginia" essay, and hope for the best. Good luck!

acadec wrote:You will probably not get in RD; you will probably get in ED. So the question is whether your preference of UVA over Michigan (or Cornell) is stronger than the money you would forgo at those schools. If so, apply ED; if not, apply early, write a good "why Virginia" essay, and hope for the best. Good luck!

Thanks, anyone else?

Are you a VA resident?

vespertiliovir wrote:Are you a VA resident?

No, that would have made the decision easier though...

I recommend ED-ing. Applying RD is a gamble, I think UVA WLs a lot of people with your numbers.

dabbadon8 wrote:No, that would have made the decision easier though...

Then I would say ED if you're sure you want UVA. If you're not entirely sold on it though, just apply RD at UVA, as well as the rest of the lower t14, and see who comes calling and with how much money.

You got a small shot at Chicago and NYU. I wouldn't waste it on UVA.

If UVA is your dream school, then ED. (Or better yet, find sometime to visit at the end of the month to make sure; Then ED if it still is). They still do offer money to people who ED, but you're reducing your chance of money.

If not, you should have competitive #'s for MVP and a shot at $$ as well, somewhat of a shot at NYU and Chicago, and a good shot for money at Vandy. Keep in mind though that regular decision at MVP is a risk. You could end up being waitlisted at all three and shut out of CCN. I think you're in decent shape for getting some money from Vanderbilt, but scholarships can be hard to predict.

If getting money is a priority, if I were you I would apply to all of the T14 minus HYS and Berkeley and then apply to UCLA, USC, Texas, WUSTL, Illinois, and Emory (and any other T30 schools you have fee waivers for). Your best case scenario will most likely be choosing between MVP with around half scholarship and NYU/Chicago. Worst case scenario will be shut out of CCN, WL'd at MVP, and accepted with no scholarship at Vandy. Here's where the other schools come into play though. You get use scholly offers from other schools to try to leverage some money out of vanderbilt.

Here is how my cycle went last year with similar stats (3.55/174-my 3rd score though).
S-OUT
C-WL
C-WL
N-WL
M-WL
V-IN, 20K/yr
P-Held, no additional material submitted and no Why Penn ever written--->Rejected
Duke-WL
NU-IN
Vanderbilt-WL (I choose not to be accepted off their WL the previous year with a lower LSAT score and reapplied)
Texas- IN, no initial scholarship (I choose not to be accepted off their WL the previous year with a lower LSAT score and reapplied), they ended up matching most of UVA's scholarship, which made them significantly cheap since I am instate.

I ended up being really happy with how things turned out, but I cut it really close. If I had not received any money from UVA I would probably have still chosen UT at full cost (well full instate cost), but I would have been really unhappy with how below average my cycle turned out. I would recommend giving yourself more of a safety net with more schools who are known to hand out a lot of money.

With all that said though, my cycle was probably more unpredictable because I had multiple takes. Unless you would be crushed if not accepted to UVA, I would apply RD and you should probably be fine with landing in the T14 with money.

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:If UVA is your dream school, then ED. (Or better yet, find sometime to visit at the end of the month to make sure; Then ED if it still is). They still do offer money to people who ED, but you're reducing your chance of money.

If not, you should have competitive #'s for MVP and a shot at $$ as well, somewhat of a shot at NYU and Chicago, and a good shot for money at Vandy. Keep in mind though that regular decision at MVP is a risk. You could end up being waitlisted at all three and shut out of CCN. I think you're in decent shape for getting some money from Vanderbilt, but scholarships can be hard to predict.

If getting money is a priority, if I were you I would apply to all of the T14 minus HYS and Berkeley and then apply to UCLA, USC, Texas, WUSTL, Illinois, and Emory (and any other T30 schools you have fee waivers for). Your best case scenario will most likely be choosing between MVP with around half scholarship and NYU/Chicago. Worst case scenario will be shut out of CCN, WL'd at MVP, and accepted with no scholarship at Vandy. Here's where the other schools come into play though. You get use scholly offers from other schools to try to leverage some money out of vanderbilt.

Here is how my cycle went last year with similar stats (3.55/174-my 3rd score though).
S-OUT
C-WL
C-WL
N-WL
M-WL
V-IN, 20K/yr
P-Held, no additional material submitted and no Why Penn ever written--->Rejected
Duke-WL
NU-IN
Vanderbilt-WL (I choose not to be accepted off their WL the previous year with a lower LSAT score and reapplied)
Texas- IN, no initial scholarship (I choose not to be accepted off their WL the previous year with a lower LSAT score and reapplied), they ended up matching most of UVA's scholarship, which made them significantly cheap since I am instate.

I ended up being really happy with how things turned out, but I cut it really close. If I had not received any money from UVA I would probably have still chosen UT at full cost (well full instate cost), but I would have been really unhappy with how below average my cycle turned out. I would recommend giving yourself more of a safety net with more schools who are known to hand out a lot of money.

With all that said though, my cycle was probably more unpredictable because I had multiple takes. Unless you would be crushed if not accepted to UVA, I would apply RD and you should probably be fine with landing in the T14 with money.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. This was very helpful. If you don't mind me asking, when did you send out your apps? Did your write why? essays for all the others besides penn?

I wouldn't do ED for 3 reasons:
1) possible money at Michigan, Cornell, and other T14's - you can compare your financial options and leverage schools against each other
2) possible shot at CCN
3) applying early in September gives you an edge for RD

ED would make sense only if you're willing to forgo all other law schools to pay sticker at UVA.

im_blue wrote:I wouldn't do ED for 3 reasons:
1) possible money at Michigan, Cornell, and other T14's - you can compare your financial options and leverage schools against each other
2) possible shot at CCN
3) applying early in September gives you an edge for RD

ED would make sense only if you're willing to forgo all other law schools to pay sticker at UVA.

Even if he would, it's objectively still a stupid move.

Desert Fox wrote:

im_blue wrote:I wouldn't do ED for 3 reasons:
1) possible money at Michigan, Cornell, and other T14's - you can compare your financial options and leverage schools against each other
2) possible shot at CCN
3) applying early in September gives you an edge for RD

ED would make sense only if you're willing to forgo all other law schools to pay sticker at UVA.

Even if he would, it's objectively still a stupid move.

Agreed

OP - Identical numbers twin (exactly 3.49/173), 1 year of work experience, arguably a pretty compelling PS and a legit Why Michigan.

I didn't get my score until late December (1st test), and didn't know where I'd be applying to these schools until I had my score. Finally got apps out around January 24th, so they were super late, but here were my results:

Columbia - WL
Chicago - Rejected
NYU - In
Penn - WL
UVA - WL
Michigan - In, $54k
Northwestern - In (no interview)
Cornell - WL
Georgetown - WL, Priority Reserve
UCLA - WL
USC - WL

I honestly think I would have had a much better chance at many of these schools had I not applied at the tail end of the cycle. I certainly wasn't a lock anywhere, but I think I had a fairly strong application package (I'm sure everyone does, but to get NU with no interview and only 1 year of WE, plus NYU in late January with borderline numbers, I think it suggests a pretty decent application) and maybe would have been looking at more options with September apps. That said, I couldn't be happier about my experience at UM.

Others are going to be experts on whether UVA ED is necessary, but I think you stand a decent shot to get money at some places. Whether the security of UVA sticker is worth it to you is ultimately going to come down to you, but you should be a lock there with ED. Good luck!