170, 3.1 Forum

[colbarfran]

Sorry if this is a redundant thread.

I've done my own research and have decided to ED to UVA. Do I have a shot at this?

And if not, what are my other top choices?

[colbarfran]

I would be particularly intrested to hear about how this coming admissions cycle is expected to play out and to hear from anyone with similiar numbers and how they personally made out. Law school numbers and school medians can only go so far I would like see another angle if anyone could contribute. Thanks..

[makthadon7]

I am interested in responses to this thread as well....ANY TAKERS?

[soj]

WUSTL will most likely accept you with money. It should make a good safety.

[NYCbound35]

Consensus is 171+ for UVA ED splitters. You'll probably get a waitlist, but with applications expected to be down this coming cycle, that may not be the kiss of death that it usually is. ED to UVA and send early apps to Michigan, Cornell and Georgetown. Switch your GT app to ED if you don't get UVA if you want to maximize your T14 chances and are willing to pay sticker. Send apps to the T18-T30 and you should get several bites...if it comes down to it, pick the one that works best for you.

[Corwin]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

[colbarfran]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

I believe UVA would probably be worht the sticker loans. I am on the fence about Georgetown. Does anybody have input on that? Would I have a decent shot at UNC or BC? They are lower ranked but I am not so sure I would get in?

[Horsefeathers]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

I believe UVA would probably be worht the sticker loans. I am on the fence about Georgetown. Does anybody have input on that? Would I have a decent shot at UNC or BC? They are lower ranked but I am not so sure I would get in?

BC tends to have a fairly non-negotiable GPA floor that is somewheres above 3.1
Just FYI - I applied last year with a 173/3.2 and was waitlisted.
UVA ED early in the cycle should be a fair (though not great) bet.

[Corwin]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

I believe UVA would probably be worht the sticker loans. I am on the fence about Georgetown. Does anybody have input on that? Would I have a decent shot at UNC or BC? They are lower ranked but I am not so sure I would get in?

BC and BU are difficult at your numbers There's a soft 3.3 floor no matter how high your LSAT. Even if you got in to those schools, being able to service the debt would depend on the grant you got. UIUC and UofM are much better choices than BU and BC for splitters because you will get good money (as long as you are ok with working in the midwest). You can service sticker debt at Georgetown if you are top 40%, so if you attend you need to work hard and be ready to drop out after L1 if you can't make the cut.

[colbarfran]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

I believe UVA would probably be worht the sticker loans. I am on the fence about Georgetown. Does anybody have input on that? Would I have a decent shot at UNC or BC? They are lower ranked but I am not so sure I would get in?

BC and BU are difficult at your numbers There's a soft 3.3 floor no matter how high your LSAT. Even if you got in to those schools, being able to service the debt would depend on the grant you got. UIUC and UofM are much better choices than BU and BC for splitters because you will get good money (as long as you are ok with working in the midwest). You can service sticker debt at Georgetown if you are top 40%, so if you attend you need to work hard and be ready to drop out after L1 if you can't make the cut.

How are the midwestern schools ranked with job prospects? assuming I get the chop or waitlist at UVA, I will go on to apply to Minnesota, Bloomington, WUSTL, UC Boulder, Wake Forest and the likes. I would probably be willing to move the midwest if the job prospects and scholarships were good enough. I am still trying to grasp how these schools fair in the real world against each other though. Fordham would also be on that list as i'm from New York but again the money would need to be right.

I probably would not apply ED to Georgetown if I was already preparing a bailout plan if I didn't break into the top 40%. I would prefer to test the scholarships instead. I will probably retake the LSAT in October. The June LSAT was my first try and I got a 170. If I can get it up a few points maybe that will improve my position. I am afraid of the unknown that is the more financially sound midwest as well as the idea of getting lucky? and getting into a better school at full boat.

[Corwin]

ED UVA -> ED GT if ok with sticker. RD WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB if you want $$.

I believe UVA would probably be worht the sticker loans. I am on the fence about Georgetown. Does anybody have input on that? Would I have a decent shot at UNC or BC? They are lower ranked but I am not so sure I would get in?

BC and BU are difficult at your numbers There's a soft 3.3 floor no matter how high your LSAT. Even if you got in to those schools, being able to service the debt would depend on the grant you got. UIUC and UofM are much better choices than BU and BC for splitters because you will get good money (as long as you are ok with working in the midwest). You can service sticker debt at Georgetown if you are top 40%, so if you attend you need to work hard and be ready to drop out after L1 if you can't make the cut.

How are the midwestern schools ranked with job prospects? assuming I get the chop or waitlist at UVA, I will go on to apply to Minnesota, Bloomington, WUSTL, UC Boulder, Wake Forest and the likes. I would probably be willing to move the midwest if the job prospects and scholarships were good enough. I am still trying to grasp how these schools fair in the real world against each other though. Fordham would also be on that list as i'm from New York but again the money would need to be right.

I probably would not apply ED to Georgetown if I was already preparing a bailout plan if I didn't break into the top 40%. I would prefer to test the scholarships instead. I will probably retake the LSAT in October. The June LSAT was my first try and I got a 170. If I can get it up a few points maybe that will improve my position. I am afraid of the unknown that is the more financially sound midwest as well as the idea of getting lucky? and getting into a better school at full boat.

Job prospects at NU are great, average at WUSTL, and meh at UIUC and the others. But you probably need to be top 50% at all of them to service your debt. The reason why WUSTL, UIUC and the like are favorable for your numbers is that you are in with $$. For example from UIUC you'll probably graduate with around $75K is debt, which you can service if you are top 50%. You can't service your debt from GW for example if you are top 50%, even though you could gain admission at GW. That's why GW is a bad deal for your numbers.

In general what you want to do is go to Law School Numbers and figure out your likely grant from each school. Then you go to the schools website and figure out total cost of attendance. Then you go to Law School Transparency and figure out how high in the class you need to be to service the debt. Then you made a decision based on your results. Your list might look like this:

• Georgetown: #14 / 200K debt / top 40% to make it / good for DC, best mobility out of all
• WUSTL #18 / 125K debt / top 50% to make it / good for midwest, meh mobility
• UIUC #23 / 75K debt / top 50% to make it / good for midwest, bad mobility

So notice that for splitters it isn't a choice of a school where you can be top 75% versus top 50%. You really do need to get in the top half of the class for all schools that are worth going to. The choice is in the amount of debt you will have if things go poorly versus the prestige of the job you will get if things go well. If you make top 50% you'll make it at all schools, with a biglaw job from Georgetown, a big/midlaw job from WUSTL, and a mid/mehlaw job from UIUC. If you don't make it, you'll have 200K, 125K, or 75K debt respectively. Hope that helps!

[colbarfran]

YEah that helps. Thanks man. At those odds I believe I will try to ED UVA and failing that, try to ED Michigan. Not sure how this years admissions will play out or if I will have a real shot at those but seems a decent outside bet that I should gun for.