Top Law Schools

I'll be applying with 163/4.0, rly good LoRs, and what I hope to be a decent PS, though it's in progress. At the moment, I'm looking at:

Reach (maybe 30%, tops): Cornell, Georgetown
Target (something like 50-70%): BU, GWU, Minnesota, BC, Fordham, UWashington
"Safety": UC-Boulder, maybe George Mason, maybe U Denver. I note "safety" like that because UC-Boulder seems like a great option, though my numbers could probably place a bit higher. On a side note, any chance of $ there?

Anyway, I know I can go to LSN and LSP to pull up data and such, but what I'd also like to know is, are there any schools the forum thinks I should add? I'm not terribly picky, aside from wanting to up north (in TX at the moment and I don't do heat) and preferably urban. $ would be nice, but isn't a huge deal if landing a job somewhere (non-BigLaw is fine with me) seems likely.

So, thanks for any input! Just wanting to cover my bases as far as researching all my possible opportunities.

Are you URM?

If not, I think you might be aiming high. Move your targets to reaches, and dont apply to the reaches you have listed.

I might be being pessimistic, but i dont think so.

bport hopeful wrote:Are you URM?

If not, I think you might be aiming high. Move your targets to reaches, and dont apply to the reaches you have listed.

I might be being pessimistic, but i dont think so.

I think you've got a decent shot at most of your targets.

A 4.0 GPA is....well...a 4.0. Your LSAT score is at the lower end, but it isn't absurd.

With a good PS and strong softs I think you'll have a good shot at BU, Ford, and Wash.

No sir, not URM. Actually, I pretty much agree with you that most of those are probably something of a reach, but I figured I'd apply to most of them (may cut one or two) anyway, b/c I feel pretty confident in my Colorado apps. No way to lose there.

Out of curiosity, anyone care to estimate my odds at Fordham? I'm thinking somewhere around 50-70 percent based on the Predictor, but it's rankings are a bit outdated so IDK how accurate it is..

Edit: Thx, Music! For what it's worth, my UG's averages are 2.87/147, so who knows if those dismal numbers will be a boost lol.

I would still apply to all those target schools tho. I dont mean to be discouraging, but LSAT is king, and yours is on the low side for those, but a 4.0 is tops.

No one's said retake yet? haha

Get a 167+ to go with that 4.0 and you're in great shape for the schools you mentioned, and a 170+ puts you at most, if not all of the T14 (depending on how high into the 170s you get). Don't settle if you think you have the ability to score a few points higher in the Fall.

With the schools you mentioned though, I do agree that you may be aiming a bit high with your reaches and targets. Apply to some schools in the 30s as well to flesh out your cycle a little bit.

Oh, I see. The Cornell one was really more for the hell of it haha. I've considered retaking (my PTs were about 168), but just decided against it. Obvious upsides aside, I spent over a year studying LSAT materials, another couple months probably won't help and IMHO isn't worth it lol. There's some definite logic to retaking, so I suppose I've got a another couple of weeks to reconsider?

As for the 30s, haven't really made up my mind on whether to apply to Wake Forest yet, but the locations of all the others are very much not appealing, and I'd like to work where I go to school.

Edit: Welllll okay, UWisconsin wouldn't be too bad. Lol

Klinklang wrote:Oh, I see. The Cornell one was really more for the hell of it haha. I've considered retaking (my PTs were about 168), but just decided against it. Obvious upsides aside, I spent over a year studying LSAT materials, another couple months probably won't help and IMHO isn't worth it lol. There's some definite logic to retaking, so I suppose I've got a another couple of weeks to reconsider?

As for the 30s, haven't really made up my mind on whether to apply to Wake Forest yet, but the locations of all the others are very much not appealing, and I'd like to work where I go to school.

Edit: Welllll okay, UWisconsin wouldn't be too bad. Lol

Yeah - but the thing is, retaking and scoring even a few point higher could mean a difference of 10,000's of dollars in scholarship money at your target schools. ITE the extra effort could really be worth it.

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here, but don't forget ITE

Horsefeathers wrote:

Klinklang wrote:Oh, I see. The Cornell one was really more for the hell of it haha. I've considered retaking (my PTs were about 168), but just decided against it. Obvious upsides aside, I spent over a year studying LSAT materials, another couple months probably won't help and IMHO isn't worth it lol. There's some definite logic to retaking, so I suppose I've got a another couple of weeks to reconsider?

As for the 30s, haven't really made up my mind on whether to apply to Wake Forest yet, but the locations of all the others are very much not appealing, and I'd like to work where I go to school.

Edit: Welllll okay, UWisconsin wouldn't be too bad. Lol

Yeah - but the thing is, retaking and scoring even a few point higher could mean a difference of 10,000's of dollars in scholarship money at your target schools. ITE the extra effort could really be worth it.

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here, but don't forget ITE

+1

look at it this way, most college students dont make 60,000 dollars in three months.

...I'm sorry, I haven't the foggiest idea what ITE is!

Wild guess - in this economy?

Klinklang wrote:...I'm sorry, I haven't the foggiest idea what ITE is!

Wild guess - in this economy?

You got it!

...and it's real bad.

law4vus wrote:No one's said retake yet? haha

Get a 167+ to go with that 4.0 and you're in great shape for the schools you mentioned, and a 170+ puts you at most, if not all of the T14 (depending on how high into the 170s you get). Don't settle if you think you have the ability to score a few points higher in the Fall.

With the schools you mentioned though, I do agree that you may be aiming a bit high with your reaches and targets. Apply to some schools in the 30s as well to flesh out your cycle a little bit.

TITCR

Hmmm . . . I suppose I should at least consider retaking . . . I don't know, though. I felt really good on test day, no worries coming out of the center. Thought I'd scored a 170+! So I'm not confident I'd score higher. Any harm if I didn't, or even lower in the 160s? My diagnostic was a 162..

Klinklang wrote:Hmmm . . . I suppose I should at least consider retaking . . . I don't know, though. I felt really good on test day, no worries coming out of the center. Thought I'd scored a 170+! So I'm not confident I'd score higher. Any harm if I didn't, or even lower in the 160s? My diagnostic was a 162..

I'd study my ass off and give it a shot.

Take out a loan and get a private tutor if you haven't done it already.

With a 167, you'd be a definite for almost every school you listed.

With a 172, I'd bet full acceptances in every school with a decent bit of $$ from the non-T14

UVA ED ftw

Klinklang wrote:Hmmm . . . I suppose I should at least consider retaking . . . I don't know, though. I felt really good on test day, no worries coming out of the center. Thought I'd scored a 170+! So I'm not confident I'd score higher. Any harm if I didn't, or even lower in the 160s? My diagnostic was a 162..

Why did you think you scored 170? Did you have PT scores in that range? 162 diag? This is sounding like an auto-retake.

Otherwise...

barry wrote:UVA ED ftw

[quote="Tiago Splitter
Why did you think you scored 170? Did you have PT scores in that range? 162 diag? This is sounding like an auto-retake.[/quote]

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, leaning that way for sure... my PTs were all between 167-169, and coming out of the test I felt it was a bit easier than the practice tests I'd taken (didn't have much of a problem with Kate Chopin lol . . . it was the comparative that got me for -3). Hmmm the deadline is the 30th.

Minnesota, Indiana & Iowa may offer scholarship money.

can you please retake?

As someone who applied a few cycles ago with very similar numbers, I will also urge you to retake. I did not take the LSAT seriously and had no idea how important the choice of law school is. While things are working out well for me, if I could go back in time and retake to open up the T10, I absolutely would.

Having applied to most of your targeted schools, I remember seeing applicants with numbers similar to yours getting wait listed last cycle. I would encourage you to check it out on LSN. You're not definitely out, but likely to be wait listed and then left hanging for some part of the summer.

As for any you should add, any school with a median LSAT of 163. With your GPA, you'd be likely to get a fair amount of scholarship.

Yeah, I feel pretty good about my chances at 30-down. Thanks for all the input.

Dear TLS,

I'm going to retake, and it's going to be higher. At least a 166.

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