Top Law Schools

I have looked at all calculator sites and LSN and have probably wasted far too much time of my life in doing so. I originally took the LSAT in June 2009 and did pretty mediocre (155) and really did myself a disservice by taking it without prepping properly. I have decided to give it a go again and have been PTing (although erratically) in the 170 range. I am pretty confident I can stabilize my score and get in the 170 - 173 range depending on the leniency of the curve. With this being said, I would like to throw a hypothetical out to help narrow my list of schools. Assuming I do score in my PT range (and I am really crossing my fingers here), and taking my 3.3 GPA into account, here are my softs:

M.S. from NU
>8 years great work experience with a Fortune 300 firm (better than 95% of applicants -- NU Law's interviewer was blown away)
Average LRs
Average PS
First generation college student
Ridiculous upward trend in GPA
Diverse background
Interesting story
Not an URM

I am really shooting for T14 or close to it. I want to end up practicing in California and UCLA/USC would be difficult to ever turn down. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

P.S. Don't be a dick, I want constructive advice, not the negative bullshit I see from a lot of posters.

*Edit: Added GPA info

Get an LSAT score first.

armedwithamind wrote:Get an LSAT score first.

Because I will not be taking the LSAT until December, it's actually quite important I have a list completed now so I can have my applications in queue to send on the day I receive my score.

Thanks for completely disregarding the hypothetical part of my post though!

Apply to Northwestern's law school since they love work experience & are very forgiving of low GPAs if one has above a 170 LSAT.

I would prepare all apps for the T14 minus HYS, Boalt and Duke. CLS and Chi are probably out TBH, but have those ready just in case you score in the high 170s. Have UCLA and USC ready too since you want to be in CA. You have strong work experience but I wouldn't expect the rest of the stuff you mentioned to have much impact at all.

With a score in the low 170s heres what I'd predict:

HYS - Out
CLS - Out
Chi - Out
NYU - Will need to ED or get lucky off waitlist.
Penn - Waitlist, possibly in if ED
Mich - WL/In
UVA - WL, ED and youre in
Boalt - Out
Duke - Out
NW - In RD, might get some $$
Cornell - In
GULC - In

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=170051

http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

http://www.mylsn.info

I wouldn't get too invested in UCLA/USC, even if you get a 180. They prefer GPA to LSAT (like all Cali schools, it seems) and even those splitters who get accepted rarely get offered enough money to make them turn down schools that place better nationally.

From here until December study your ass off. With your GPA and background law school likely isn't worth it unless you break 170.

I would also have a contingency in the event that you do worse than you've been PT'ing (as is the case with a lot of people, myself included)