Top Law Schools

Former Army officer with a tour in Afghanistan and time abroad in Germany.
3.1 GPA from University of Maryland while on Active Duty.
Will have my MBA from Virginia Tech before starting law school in fall 2014.
Manager of 100+ employees at Amazon.com for over a year.
Taking the LSATs in October.
Letters of recommendation from partner at Hunton&Williams and law professor at University of Richmond.

Thoughts on chances at UVA? What kind of LSAT score would I need?

At least a 170

Nova wrote:At least a 170

Also
http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

With that GPA, you have no guarantee of admission but if you push your LSAT over their median (171+) you'll have a chance, esp. with that service background. Your chances will be marginally better than the law school prediction sites, since MBA & active tours have been known to provide a small bump, but not significantly better.

However, if you went to b-school and you're employed in a managing position, why do you want to go to law school? If you do get into UVA (great school), you'll have a good chance at a strong outcome, but no guarantee, and it might prove difficult to crack that T14 without a 3.1 either way. Study hard for the LSAT but don't quit your job or do anything reckless. best of luck

An ED app will be necessary if you want anything more than a puncher's chance. 170 minimum with your GPA or don't bother. That's assuming you're content with paying sticker.

NU and GULC are usually the only T14s that stomach that GPA, but MVP all have been known to take it.

Assuming VA resident? The could potentially provide another small bump.

Also, URM? If so, that changes the game completely.

173/3.0 enlisted air force vet here. MBA from a similarly ranked program as yours, and also deployed to oef. Got waitlisted. Being an officer and a va resident has a good shot of nudging you in if you can get a comparable lsat though.

ETA: my app was RD

Assuming non URM non Va resident you are looking at a 170 minimum with ED to give you a good shot at it. But for real the answer is http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

Thanks for the responses. I am a VA resident, non URM though. I will ED UVA because they have a good business law program that I'm looking into. If not UVA then shooting for UR or Washington and Lee. Any thoughts on chances at those two? I live in VA and my wife is deadset on staying put so I'm kind of limited on my options.

Dixie1983 wrote:Thanks for the responses. I am a VA resident, non URM though. I will ED UVA because they have a good business law program that I'm looking into. If not UVA then shooting for UR or Washington and Lee. Any thoughts on chances at those two? I live in VA and my wife is deadset on staying put so I'm kind of limited on my options.

This is not an insult:
This comment above shows that you don't seem to have researched law schools as thoroughly as you need to. You say you would want to ED UVA, IMO this seems like a good choice, especially assuming your getting some type of Post 9/11 GI bill. Your reason for wanting UVA though is a little telling. Don't go to a school (even a great top school like UVA) because they have a good "law and BLANK" program. Program rankings don't matter.

The next thing that is telling is that you go from wanting UVA to the other two schools you mentioned when there are several schools I would suggest you target instead.

Read around these boards, ask questions, learn, kill the LSAT, and ask for advice when it comes time to apply. Good luck!

Ok, so what other schools should I target, other than maybe William and Mary?

Dixie1983 wrote:Ok, so what other schools should I target, other than maybe William and Mary?

What do you want to do after law school?

If the answer is Biglaw, and you can't leave va, and your getting some tuition paid, ED UVA seems like a good fit for you IMO.

Looking at other options outside of UVA, do you absolutely have to stay in Va? Even if it meant a life long difference in terms of salary/job opportunities?