3.37/172, ORM, Engineering + Econ grad from top uni. Forum

[ampm]

So I didn't think I'd eventually have some stats to post here.
Basically as the title says. I have work experience and a bunch of extracurricular activities as an undergrad. Upward trend because i was a dumbass and didn't pay attention to crap my first and second years. No grade inflation as its a pretty ruthless school in CA.
I had to study for the lsat while i worked and that was not fun at all but a very character building experience.
I'd be interested in patent law work and I know that if I did pursue the legal route, I would be getting a masters in CS before I did law school.

Could some of the more experienced folk tell me what my chances are for the T14? I feel like my gpa will put me out of the running for many of the schools . But it is what it is.

Appreciate it!

[gnomgnomuch]

You'd be in at some of the lower T-14 (7-14 range) mainly because of your 172, but you'd have to pay sticker, or very nearly close to sticker at every school you get into. The Engineering major might give you a slight boost.

Also what constitutes a top school for you? if its HYP than that would give you another small boost (though you'd have no shot at HYS and almost no shot at CC(N) regardless).

If you're just looking to get into a T-14 without care for sticker your best bet might be ED to UVA (you might even get some money from them). If you're trying to avoid debt id recommend applying to the state flagship where you want to practice, you would still come out of it with debt, because your 3.37 is just too low for top schools, but it would be significantly less than what you would have at a t-14.

Id recommend though getting a job for a couple years to try distancing yourself from a pretty sub-par GPA (as far as law school admission's go) and than doing NU as they are pretty forgiving of sub 3.5 GPA's and they LOVE W.E.

[nebula666]

I wouldn't be surprised if you got one of CLS, NYU and Penn. Should be a lock at Michigan and below.

[twenty]

You should be able to ED to NYU, and if you drop NYU, UPenn's round two. Frankly, you'll probably get NYU even without the ED.

Not a huge fan of sticker, even at top schools. If I were you, I'd seriously consider taking the ED at GWU which comes with a full ride. But only if you're sure you want to do patent law.

[ampm]

I wouldn't be surprised if you got one of CLS, NYU and Penn. Should be a lock at Michigan and below.

I see. Appreciate the feedback.

You'd be in at some of the lower T-14 (7-14 range) mainly because of your 172, but you'd have to pay sticker, or very nearly close to sticker at every school you get into. The Engineering major might give you a slight boost.

Also what constitutes a top school for you? if its HYP than that would give you another small boost (though you'd have no shot at HYS and almost no shot at CC(N) regardless).

If you're just looking to get into a T-14 without care for sticker your best bet might be ED to UVA (you might even get some money from them). If you're trying to avoid debt id recommend applying to the state flagship where you want to practice, you would still come out of it with debt, because your 3.37 is just too low for top schools, but it would be significantly less than what you would have at a t-14.

Id recommend though getting a job for a couple years to try distancing yourself from a pretty sub-par GPA (as far as law school admission's go) and than doing NU as they are pretty forgiving of sub 3.5 GPA's and they LOVE W.E.

Top school that I attended? I attended Berk. Appreciate the feedback. Yea even for patent law, more work experience is always a plus. Also, I'll most likely have my masters in CS by the time I went to law school.

Is it really a big deal to pay sticker to go to a T14? I would think that in the hyper-prestige world of law, your school name means everything. Don't get me wrong, I think its bull but that's what I've heard.

[sinfiery]

Sticker at a t14 is also $300,000 in debt when you graduate. With a 7%+ interest rate. It can literally ruin your life.

[ampm]

Sticker at a t14 is also $300,000 in debt when you graduate. With a 7%+ interest rate. It can literally ruin your life.

Good call. I currently work in consulting, live with my parents and all the money is going straight to the bank. I plan on working a few more years, possibly putting money down for CS grad school and the rest will be devoted to law.

If things go according to plan, I will most likely be able to pay off a handsome chunk of that price but you're right. I need to minimize as much debt as possible.

Maybe with a graduate CS degree, I can work part time or something. idk. I'll have to look into that further.

Truly appreciate the feedback.

[sinfiery]

You are doing it right. Debt is unavoidable but doing your best to minimize it should always be a priority. Goodluck!

[gnomgnomuch]

I wouldn't be surprised if you got one of CLS, NYU and Penn. Should be a lock at Michigan and below.

I see. Appreciate the feedback.

You'd be in at some of the lower T-14 (7-14 range) mainly because of your 172, but you'd have to pay sticker, or very nearly close to sticker at every school you get into. The Engineering major might give you a slight boost.

Also what constitutes a top school for you? if its HYP than that would give you another small boost (though you'd have no shot at HYS and almost no shot at CC(N) regardless).

If you're just looking to get into a T-14 without care for sticker your best bet might be ED to UVA (you might even get some money from them). If you're trying to avoid debt id recommend applying to the state flagship where you want to practice, you would still come out of it with debt, because your 3.37 is just too low for top schools, but it would be significantly less than what you would have at a t-14.

Id recommend though getting a job for a couple years to try distancing yourself from a pretty sub-par GPA (as far as law school admission's go) and than doing NU as they are pretty forgiving of sub 3.5 GPA's and they LOVE W.E.

Top school that I attended? I attended Berk. Appreciate the feedback. Yea even for patent law, more work experience is always a plus. Also, I'll most likely have my masters in CS by the time I went to law school.

Is it really a big deal to pay sticker to go to a T14? I would think that in the hyper-prestige world of law, your school name means everything. Don't get me wrong, I think its bull but that's what I've heard.

While Berk is a great school it wont give you any type of boost in admissions, the only types of boost from schools that adcoms give are students from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and MIT.
If you aren't 120% (THAT CERTAIN) that you want to do law I would focus on doing something with your current degree, law school will always be there.

Regarding paying sticker for a t-14.
It is pretty risky since even attending a t-14 doesn't give a guarantee of a big law job, and that's the kind of job you'd need to service that ~270k of debt. Prestige matters to a degree, but keep in mind that getting Median pwned in a school like Michigan can potentially lock you out of the big law you'd desperately need. (Not likely, but possible, and if you were too land far enough below media, you would be pretty screwed)

If you get into CLS NYU or Penn it would be a little less risky of taking on Sticker, but that would again, LOCK YOU INTO biglaw for 4-6 years, depending on how frugally you can live. Also keep in mind things like COL and QOL, would you even be happy attending law school in NY, and even if you were happy, NY is crazyyy expensive, I used to work in real estate in NY and the type of money people were shelling out for AVERAGE 1BR aprts was insane (think 2000+ monthly)

[ampm]

I wouldn't be surprised if you got one of CLS, NYU and Penn. Should be a lock at Michigan and below.

I see. Appreciate the feedback.

You'd be in at some of the lower T-14 (7-14 range) mainly because of your 172, but you'd have to pay sticker, or very nearly close to sticker at every school you get into. The Engineering major might give you a slight boost.

Also what constitutes a top school for you? if its HYP than that would give you another small boost (though you'd have no shot at HYS and almost no shot at CC(N) regardless).

If you're just looking to get into a T-14 without care for sticker your best bet might be ED to UVA (you might even get some money from them). If you're trying to avoid debt id recommend applying to the state flagship where you want to practice, you would still come out of it with debt, because your 3.37 is just too low for top schools, but it would be significantly less than what you would have at a t-14.

Id recommend though getting a job for a couple years to try distancing yourself from a pretty sub-par GPA (as far as law school admission's go) and than doing NU as they are pretty forgiving of sub 3.5 GPA's and they LOVE W.E.

Top school that I attended? I attended Berk. Appreciate the feedback. Yea even for patent law, more work experience is always a plus. Also, I'll most likely have my masters in CS by the time I went to law school.

Is it really a big deal to pay sticker to go to a T14? I would think that in the hyper-prestige world of law, your school name means everything. Don't get me wrong, I think its bull but that's what I've heard.

While Berk is a great school it wont give you any type of boost in admissions, the only types of boost from schools that adcoms give are students from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and MIT.
If you aren't 120% (THAT CERTAIN) that you want to do law I would focus on doing something with your current degree, law school will always be there.

Regarding paying sticker for a t-14.
It is pretty risky since even attending a t-14 doesn't give a guarantee of a big law job, and that's the kind of job you'd need to service that ~270k of debt. Prestige matters to a degree, but keep in mind that getting Median pwned in a school like Michigan can potentially lock you out of the big law you'd desperately need. (Not likely, but possible, and if you were too land far enough below media, you would be pretty screwed)

If you get into CLS NYU or Penn it would be a little less risky of taking on Sticker, but that would again, LOCK YOU INTO biglaw for 4-6 years, depending on how frugally you can live. Also keep in mind things like COL and QOL, would you even be happy attending law school in NY, and even if you were happy, NY is crazyyy expensive, I used to work in real estate in NY and the type of money people were shelling out for AVERAGE 1BR aprts was insane (think 2000+ monthly)

Interesting. My plan would be to understand whether patent work is my thing. I would only be interested in law if I'm interested in patent work. So I'd most likely not work in corporate but take the patent bar after that and hopefully with a graduate CS degree, I'll be able to work in the Bay.

Is that a doable plan?