3.75/153 Forum

[bulldoglaw]

3.75 (after this semester, should be 3.8 ) poli sci

153 LSAT (can't retake before next cycle for several reasons)

2 years overseas volunteer experience (lived in Europe)
Full time WE during all four years of UG; worked graveyard shifts (one reason it was hard to study long term for the LSAT)
3 legal internships
Merit scholarship
Honors student from mid major public university
Strong LORs, very strong personal statement.
Competitive moot court in college

Target schools: Mcgeorge, univ of Utah, Ohio state, Denver, Santa Clara, UC irvine, BYU, possibly Hastings or Davis.

I appreciate your help!

[Mal Reynolds]

A retake would be much better than going to any of those schools besides Davis IMO. But I don't think you would get any scholarship money there and paying sticker there would be tough.

[bulldoglaw]

A retake would be much better than going to any of those schools IMO.

Fair enough. I understand this is top law schools' website, but I am not concerned about getting in to a top 25 school, nor do i really think it's a requirement to be successful as an attorney. I just was hoping for some input on maybe some places I'm not thinking of that may be possible reaches or if some of these schools are unrealistic. Another thing to keep in mind is I'm somewhat of a no traditional candidate, married with a kid. Family, debt, etc plays a factor.

Thank you for your input.

[Grizz]

With a 153/3.75 you're not gonna be able to get into a school that's worth how much it's gonna cost you. Hate to say this, but retake or don't go.

[joeshmo39]

If you already have debt, then the school you go to will add to it. If you get a scholarship, you'll still have to pay your existing debt with what you make when you graduate law school. (The likely salary you'll receive graduating from one of those schools) - your debt service - rent - utilities, buying your kid clothes - taking your wife to dinner once in a while ? - groceries - family vacation ?. . . you see where I'm going.

You have a decent GPA, just try to wait. 200,000 dollars of debt will always be waiting for you. Try to do something for the next year while you get your LSAT up. Also, this site's "obsession" with prestige and T-25/10/3 is not irrational. You've probably read some posters who portray us as shallow, and there's some truth to that. However, there's a lot of truth to the fact that the school you go to makes a big difference.

P.S. If you absolutely must go, I don't think BYU is the worst choice. I saw you also listed U-Utah. Are you LDS? I've gotten the feeling that network is fairly strong, and BYU would at least give you access to that.

[bulldoglaw]

We currently have no debt. And I understand that the school one attends makes a big difference in the kind of job one gets. However, you can't tell me debt from these schools makes going to them 'not worth the while' when the cost of attendance and the high cost of living at top schools is significantly higher. And when you look at the starting median salaries from the schools I listed, the difference is not THAT significant.

No one would tell Justice Anthony Kennedy that attending McGeorge was 'not worth his while.'

So assuming the schools I listed actually ate worth attending, do you think I have good chances?

[joeshmo39]

We currently have no debt. And I understand that the school one attends makes a big difference in the kind of job one gets. However, you can't tell me debt from these schools makes going to them 'not worth the while' when the cost of attendance and the high cost of living at top schools is significantly higher. And when you look at the starting median salaries from the schools I listed, the difference is not THAT significant.

No one would tell Justice Anthony Kennedy that attending McGeorge was 'not worth his while.'

So assuming the schools I listed actually ate worth attending, do you think I have good chances?

I was typing a reply and my computer got wonky so I'm giving you the bullet points:

I am telling you they're not worthwhile. Here's my analogy. UVA is 48k a year. We'll call that a 32,000 dollar brand new BMW 3 series. Utah is 40k a year, that's a 25,000 Ford Focus with 45,000 miles on it. Which one is a better deal? If anyone said the Focus because it's cheaper, they missed the point of the exercise.

The salary numbers are a lie, virtually all of them. They're based on a small sample and manipulated, don't believe them.

Kennedy did not go to McGeorge, he went to Harvard, Stanford, and LSE. He just taught there. Also, knowing someone's uncle who went to Montanan and now makes bills is not good enough right now. Hiring has changed in the last 10 or 15 or 3 years. Firms are cutting recruiting even at schools in the 20s, I've had several recruiters tell me so.

[Grizz]

We currently have no debt. And I understand that the school one attends makes a big difference in the kind of job one gets. However, you can't tell me debt from these schools makes going to them 'not worth the while' when the cost of attendance and the high cost of living at top schools is significantly higher. And when you look at the starting median salaries from the schools I listed, the difference is not THAT significant.

45,000 grads, 25,000 or so entry level jobs, dude.

It's pretty common knowledge that the salary data at best does not tell the complete story or is at worst fraudulent. See, e.g., --LinkRemoved--

Also keep in mind that the people who are most likely to respond to the surveys (and that MANY schools make the most effort to collect survey data from) are more likely to be employed.

See also, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/busin ... wanted=all

No one would tell Justice Anthony Kennedy that attending McGeorge was 'not worth his while.'

Considering he went to HLS, I guess that, no, it wasn't worth his while.