Top Law Schools

I am not geographically limited in my selection of where to attend law school, but i am more partial to the east coast (Mid-atlantic, Northeast) unless its California (we can all dream, right?). I want to hear what range of schools i should consider and maybe any stand out or unique options from anyone. Thanks

I have solid letters of recommendation
Political Science Major/ Criminal Justice Minor

A nice resume and job experience but i don't know if that plays any type of factor.

3.1 Gpa, 170 LSAT

Some options i've looked at if maybe that would be an easier start...

Any top 20's?

Maryland (instate, i still have a residence from my parents there)
William and Mary
George Mason
Emory
Fordham
UNC
George Washington
Boston
Wake
American
UC Davis/Pepperdine/San Diego, just for knowledge if anyone knows (i happen to like those parts of the country)

Northwestern seems friendly to splitters who ED.

NW is an interesting option, its an area of the country i've never really been to but i'm open to anything. I heard GW has an ED program that may favor split students.. any knowledge about that?

pahearn wrote:NW is an interesting option, its an area of the country i've never really been to but i'm open to anything. I heard GW has an ED program that may favor split students.. any knowledge about that?

Well if I'm right that you're in the running for an NU ED spot, you certainly don't want to throw binding applications at a school ranked so much lower. Maybe some other people can weigh in. I know several people at NU with UGPA below 3.0 and LSAT in the mid 170s.

GW ED provides for a full scholly plus stipend, so you need excellent numbers to get it. Georgetown would also be an Ed possibility in addition to northwestern.

I know someone who got into NU with a 170 LSAT and also a very low 3.0 ish GPA. But, I think it was also the only t-14 she got into. I think you have a shot there with ED!

I don't believe this is the norm, but a friend of mine at UCLA had your stats (3.15, 170). I think for class of 2013 admissions was aggressively pursuing 170s to bump up the numbers - might work similarly for your class.

You need WE to ED at NU and ideally a point or two higher on the LSAT. The most favorable schools RD at your numbers are WUSTL, UIUC, UofM, IUB. ED you should try for UVA or NU if you have WE. As far as GW goes, the ED program is a full ride so it goes to those with excellent numbers. You can get into GW RD with sticker, which is probably not worth it.

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-co ... ograms.htm

Have you considered retaking? As a splitter, your LSAT is going to be the primary factor in your admissions. Every single point above 170 matters. A 173 gives you a decent shot at T14 schools in the east like Virginia, Penn (although low), Duke, Cornell, Georgetown. UVA has been known to be friendly to splitters, with just a few more points you would have a good chance if you applied binding-ED.

170 is a great score, but a retake would do wonders for you. In this economy, those six figure lawyer jobs are, for the most part, limited to those who attend T14 schools (many would argue T10 or even T6). Unfortunately, the $200k+ debt is not. Although you would have a shot at these jobs at some of the schools on your list, you'd have to graduate in the top 10-20% of your class, something much more difficult than improving your LSAT by a few points.

mickeyD wrote: UVA has been known to be friendly to splitters, with just a few more points you would have a good chance if you applied binding-ED.

Are you suggesting a Sept 1st ED or an ED immediately after Oct scores are released?

this really helps

Alright as far as Northwestern goes, I have never been particularly thrilled with that as an option because of geography, despite its high ranking.

I want to hear more about George Washington, I am from that area so naturally its always been my first inclination, but i may want something new. Would a 170, 3.1 get me into ED? Is that possible? And if anyone knows about this full ride business i'd love to hear more about that. I am retaking in October, what score would i need to move GW a possible ED or RD?

What about Boston? My cousin went there and loved it, met his wife and now works successfully in NYC.

Someone mentioned UCLA, i have this little dream of going to cali for school, i don't necessarily have anything holding me back. Other than UCLA, i do love San Diego as a city but i heard the school isn't the best, but i loved the pepperdine campus on a visit one time, what does anyone know about that part of the country as far as my numbers go?

Also, someone mentioned if i were to get a 173 or so i could be considered by the high ranked schools? Is that even realistic? I don't feel my gpa would warrant me even a possible t-10 but Duke and Georgetown were mentioned. What would i need for schools like those to be even a possibility.

And finally someone mentioned UCLA, i have this little dream of going to cali for school, i don't necessarily have anything holding me back. Other than UCLA, i do love San Diego as a city but i heard the school isn't the best, but i loved the pepperdine campus on a visit one time, what does anyone know about that part of the country as far as my numbers go?

as you guys can tell i have no idea what i'm doing with my life, this forum really helps me out.

You can't get ED GW with that GPA, no matter what your LSAT is. You can get GW RD, but you will pay sticker and in order to service your debt you'll need to be top 40%. You have an outside shot at BU or BC. They typically take one or two people in your range a year, sometimes off the WL. You may get some $ from them but not much and you'll need to be top 30% to service your debt. Your numbers are not good for California, they like high GPAs. You can still try it, UCLA takes about one person a year in your range.

The midwest is the best bang for your buck. UVA is the best school you have a chance of getting into. You can't get NU without WE.

pahearn wrote: Also, someone mentioned if i were to get a 173 or so i could be considered by the high ranked schools? Is that even realistic? I don't feel my gpa would warrant me even a possible t-10 but Duke and Georgetown were mentioned. What would i need for schools like those to be even a possibility.

The schools I mentioned (UVA, Penn, Duke, Cornell, Georgetown) are all T14. Three are T10 (Penn #7, UVA #9, Duke #10). Use this website and enter in your stats, you'll see that the difference between a 170 and 173, with your stats, is a big one.

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-co ... ograms.htm

The "predictor" uses several years of data from lawschoolnumbers.com, which is a website where applicants enter their stats and report the outcomes of their cycles. It is a large database and is generally considered a reliable source of raw applicant data. While the predictor may not be perfect, it is valuable in giving you an idea of where your numbers can get you.

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/?page_id=173

In 2008, LSP used data from over 33,000 applicants to determine the accuracy of it's predictor.

Law School Predictor wrote: When LSP said Admit, 8402 instances: 87.0%, +0.0%
When LSP said Strong Consider, 4842 instances: 78.0%, +9.0%
When LSP said Consider, 10066 instances: 50.6%, +0.6%
When LSP said Weak Consider, 3646 instances: 22.8%, -8.2%
When LSP said Deny, 6754 instances: 10.0%, -3.0%

A 173 gives you these chances:

Deny: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Berkeley
Weak Consider: Penn
Consider: Michigan, UVA, Duke, Northwestern, Georgetown
Strong Consider: Cornell, USC, GW
Admit: Boston, Boston College

So, based on past data, by improving your LSAT 3 points you have, give or take, around a 50/50 chance or better at several schools in the lower half of the T14, and even better prospects in the T25.