Top Law Schools

Hey, I'm new to the forums and still pretty new to this law school prep thing. It's a little late for me to be such a rookie since I graduate in May '11 and would like to have applications in for schools by November, if at all possible.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight. I've read through several other threads and looked at other resources, but I thought I'd try and get some insight from people who have already done this/are going through the same thing. Y'all probably have more knowledge than I do, so anything will help.

I'm graduating from a public liberal arts university, small school (D2) in Texas. I am a Texas resident as well.

Schools I plan to apply to (in order of preference)
SMU
Baylor
Texas Tech
University of Texas (low on the list and obviously not really an option with my credentials)
University of Oklahoma

My LSAT (June) is a 161, my GPA is a 3.75. Since my school does not do A+/A-, I assume that's also my LSAC GPA. English major/Mass Communication minor. 4.0 in both major and minor.

Some of my softs:
Editor in Chief of campus newspaper: All 4 years I've been a student
Honors College (4 years) graduate
Outstanding Junior Woman at university (highest honor chosen by faculty/administration for junior woman, campuswide)
Several creative writing awards
Dozens of collegiate journalism awards
Most of university tuition/fees paid by merit-only scholarships
Secretary of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society (2 years)
1 summer work as a page designer at a local newspaper
1 year (and counting) freelance writer/photographer for local newspaper
Helped with local judicial campaigns last election cycle
I tutored (volunteer-only) several international students at the university through Rhet and Comp and sophomore Lit.
Other volunteer work (Habitat for Humanity, Food Bank, nursing home volunteer time) has been sporadic but constant throughout college career.

I am considering retaking the LSAT in October, and I think with a little more studying (to be honest, I didn't do a lot of prep work before I took it in June) I could potentially get at least 5 more points. Two weeks of on-and-off practice tests before the first LSAT brought me from a cold-practice test 155 to a 161.

If anyone could give me a little bit of insight, I'd appreciate it greatly. I'm planning to apply early-decision to SMU because if I got in there, all the other schools would be out the window immediately.

Thanks!
Brittany

My guesses -- definitely out at Texas, WL at SMU, and in everywhere else.

If you really want SMU, I would recommend a retake. Scoring like 3 points higher would make you pretty much a sure thing.

britjannor wrote:Hey, I'm new to the forums and still pretty new to this law school prep thing. It's a little late for me to be such a rookie since I graduate in May '11 and would like to have applications in for schools by November, if at all possible.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight. I've read through several other threads and looked at other resources, but I thought I'd try and get some insight from people who have already done this/are going through the same thing. Y'all probably have more knowledge than I do, so anything will help.

I'm graduating from a public liberal arts university, small school (D2) in Texas. I am a Texas resident as well.

Schools I plan to apply to (in order of preference)
SMU
Baylor
Texas Tech
University of Texas (low on the list and obviously not really an option with my credentials)
University of Oklahoma

My LSAT (June) is a 161, my GPA is a 3.75. Since my school does not do A+/A-, I assume that's also my LSAC GPA. English major/Mass Communication minor. 4.0 in both major and minor.

Some of my softs:
Editor in Chief of campus newspaper: All 4 years I've been a student
Honors College (4 years) graduate
Outstanding Junior Woman at university (highest honor chosen by faculty/administration for junior woman, campuswide)
Several creative writing awards
Dozens of collegiate journalism awards
Most of university tuition/fees paid by merit-only scholarships
Secretary of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society (2 years)
1 summer work as a page designer at a local newspaper
1 year (and counting) freelance writer/photographer for local newspaper
Helped with local judicial campaigns last election cycle
I tutored (volunteer-only) several international students at the university through Rhet and Comp and sophomore Lit.
Other volunteer work (Habitat for Humanity, Food Bank, nursing home volunteer time) has been sporadic but constant throughout college career.

I am considering retaking the LSAT in October, and I think with a little more studying (to be honest, I didn't do a lot of prep work before I took it in June) I could potentially get at least 5 more points. Two weeks of on-and-off practice tests before the first LSAT brought me from a cold-practice test 155 to a 161.

If anyone could give me a little bit of insight, I'd appreciate it greatly. I'm planning to apply early-decision to SMU because if I got in there, all the other schools would be out the window immediately.

Thanks!
Brittany

How can you possibly be editor-in-chief of your campus newspaper the entire time you've been in college. You just walked in there on day 1 as a freshman and got made editor-in-chief?

If you only studied for 2 weeks, you need to retake and study A LOT more. A few points could mean all the difference.

How can you possibly be editor-in-chief of your campus newspaper the entire time you've been in college. You just walked in there on day 1 as a freshman and got made editor-in-chief?

I walked in as managing editor because the staff had been mostly seniors and the newspaper adviser was a judge of high school newspaper contests. I was offered a scholarship to come work for the paper, and told I could have a paying high-editorial position from the start. The editor-in-chief at the time quit six weeks into the semester because her internship was too stressful, and I took over.

Edit: The newspaper offer was the only reason I attended the school I did, to be honest. It's a small staff, weekly paper at a smallish (7k student) university. The Mass Comm program is mostly broadcast/new media, so there are only a dozen or so students at any given time working toward a print journalism career. When I got the offer to start out as an editor, I actually forfeited a deposit at another university I had already decided to go to. It was the difference between paying pretty much full-price for my undergrad and paying next to nothing.

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:If you only studied for 2 weeks, you need to retake and study A LOT more. A few points could mean all the difference.

That's pretty much what I've been thinking. I've got a couple months to really settle down with some practice tests, and I kind of feel like I might be cheating myself if I don't put forth that extra effort. The logic games section is the only part bringing me down, and I've read that's also the easiest one to improve your scores on.

Definitely out at UT. SMU doubtful but possible, baylor yes, possibly with cash. Tech definitely yes most likely with a free ride.

Assuming your numbers stay the way they are even after a retake, you would have to decide between tech baylor and sticker at smu assuming you get in. At the point, it would come down to how cash adverse you are. In your position, if i got SMU i would take it hands down, despite the tremendous cost differences. I've been to both Waco and Lubbock. Neither places are all that exciting but it's my opinion that Waco is much worse. They score much lower than even Lubbock when it comes to diversity and Baylor is notorious for its competitiveness and difficult curriculum. Baylor does have slightly better job prospects than tech and consistently beats the pants out of everyone including UT when it comes to bar passage rates.

If you can get SMU, take it all the way. After that, i would take a full ride at tech over whatever baylor gives you. The hypothetical best answer would be get a few extra points on your lsat and aim for SMU. They are rather generous on scholies if you have the numbers for it.

Definitely retake and enjoy a nice scholarship at SMU. 3 more points should get you a solid amount of $$. With your current stats, you might be in but probably at sticker or close.

Drop Oklahoma and Tech off the list, your numbers are good enough that you shouldn't consider them. Baylor will try and tempt you with money, but SMU is a better bet even if it costs more.

Unless you want to work in Houston, then consider UofH.