Top Law Schools

I have a 3.91 GPA and 162 LSAT (can't retake because I don't think I would do much better).

I am a 31 year old white male living in PA. I served four years active duty Army directly after high school from 97-01 and then worked another 8 years as an I.T. professional. Been a stay at home father of two for the last year and a half. I am also a first generation college student. Started undergraduate BA in Business Administration in 2006 and will graduate May 2011. Two decent LORs and a strong personal statement.

The LSP says these places are at least "consider", LSN not quite as optimistic. What do you think? Thanks for your opinions.

U of Texas
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
George Washington
U of Illinois
U of Indiana
Wake Forest
George Mason
Maryland
Richmond

Add William and Mary and Washington and Lee to the list as reaches. Both are military friendly.

I actually applied to Washington and Lee today, and was looking at William and Mary. Thanks for the suggestion.

I do not know how you feel about this, but BYU has a great law school and gives preference to veterans because of the appreciation they hold for your service. The school boast the best bargain for law school as the tuition rates are really low. About your other choices, in the past University of Texas-Austin loves military applicant.

In at Maryland. Your GPA is higher than their median and your LSAT is right at the median for 2009....I don't know if the LSAT median has increased since because their website hasn't been updated.

Also, I think you would have a fair chance of getting accepted at Richmond.

br79 wrote:I actually applied to Washington and Lee today, and was looking at William and Mary. Thanks for the suggestion.

Sure, good luck. Thanks for your service.

I'd say out at all but GMU, Maryland, Wake, and Indiana. Also, I would take Richmond off the list altogether. Temple might be worth adding to your list too. If you can stand raising children in Philly.

One thing to consider is applying to PT programs. GW in particular is incredibly military friendly, and as long as you do well your first year, you'd likely have little problem transitioning to the day program for your 2 and 3L years. I think with your stats you'd get into our PT program...that GPA is amazing, particularly coupled with work experience. Also, it's not relevant to THIS discussion, but your life experience is really going to be an asset as a law student -- I was 6 years post college coming back, and I had a different perspective than a lot of my peers that I think made the transition easier. I treat law school like a job (like a military job) and that really cuts down on the amount of BS-ing around I let myself get away with when I'm supposed to be studying.

(I know you said you didn't think you could retake, but if there is ANY WAY you could, even a couple more points would really broaden your list of schools, and maybe put you in the running for money. Like, did you do the Powerscore system?)

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate the feedback.

Deadhipster, why do you think I should take Richmond off the list? I have heard the school has a good reputation locally, a beautiful campus, nice facilities, and an alright location. Doesn't sound too bad to me.

ED at UVA.

br79 wrote:Thanks everyone for your replies. I appreciate the feedback.

Deadhipster, why do you think I should take Richmond off the list? I have heard the school has a good reputation locally, a beautiful campus, nice facilities, and an alright location. Doesn't sound too bad to me.

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You are right about the aesthetics, location, etc. But from what I understand the career prospects are awful coming out of this school. Plus it is expensive. I assume that you are using the GI Bill/ Yellow Ribbon Bill which wont cover the full cost of Richmond. Mix that debt in with your family situation and poor career prospects and you might find yourself in hot water. Check out that website I listed above. Its pretty interesting. You can see what regional schools faired well in the current economic climate and which ones didn’t. I would imagine Richmond students are competing with GMU, UVA, William and Mary, Washington and Lee, and others for jobs, which is probably contributing to their poor showing.

Now look at a school like University of Connecticut. Which is in an unsaturated market, apart from Yale they are the only decent school in the state. And you can see they did much better. Just a thought anyway. Plus this school gives instate tuition after your first year ( a number of state schools do this), so the Yellow Ribbon Program should cover the cost in its entirety after your first year.

Edit: I just read your post again, looks like you missed the YRB by a few years. Even more of a reason to keep cost down.