Top Law Schools

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Why not apply in 1-2 years so you can get your grades up these two semesters to over 3.4, get some WE and have a great shot at schools like CLS, Chicago, and Penn?

jbagelboy wrote:Why not apply in 1-2 years so you can get your grades up these two semesters to over 3.4, get some WE and have a great shot at schools like CLS, Chicago, and Penn?

I've thought about it, but I really want to go straight into law school for a number of reasons.

awoodard wrote: Not looking too closely at t-14, but really hoping for a top 20s-30s school, particularly GWU, Alabama, William & Mary, UNC.

Will my lack of volunteer work/good softs keep me from getting in some of these places?

Lack of volunteer work won't matter. What are your career goals? Don't go to those schools without a full ride or very close to it, and apply throughout the T-14.

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awoodard wrote:Right now I am looking into IP and constitutional law. I want to stay on the east coast and/or south and work in or around DC.

The best schools for working in DC are the T14, not non-GULC schools in DC like GWU. Also, an incredibly small number of graduates nationwide end up being constitutional lawyers. I think you will certainly get multiple lower T14, and I would apply to CCN and the lower T14 almost exclusively.

ImNoScar wrote:

awoodard wrote:Right now I am looking into IP and constitutional law. I want to stay on the east coast and/or south and work in or around DC.

The best schools for working in DC are the T14, not non-GULC schools in DC like GWU. Also, an incredibly small number of graduates nationwide end up being constitutional lawyers. I think you will certainly get multiple lower T14, and I would apply to CCN and the lower T14 almost exclusively.

Thanks for the advice. That's what I've been told before, just never imagined I'd have a chance at a t-14..haha.

Would it benefit me to wait until January to apply, when my GPA will be boosted above a 3.4, or should I bite the bullet and apply in the next couple of weeks? I'm afraid that any advantage I gain from applying with an improved GPA will be cancelled out by applying so late in the cycle.

Thanks for your feedback.

Pulling Columbia as an example: http://admissionsbythenumbers.blogspot. ... ofile.html

Each month earlier you apply gives you a 14.8% advantage in your application per month. Every .10 rise in GPA gives you a 44.8% advantage (presumably these boosts aren't linear, but let's pretend they are).

A .04 rise in GPA would give you a 17.2% advantage in your application, which would be dramatically underweighed by simply applying earlier this cycle and providing your updated GPA to schools later in a LOCI.

On the other hand, working for a year and banking your 3.4 to apply earlier next cycle with stronger softs would probably provide considerable advantage in both respects (and if current trends continue, next cycle may be even more lax than this one). Softs will also help you come interview time--something not accounted for by these parameters.

If it's between applying earlier and later, definitely apply early. If it's between applying this cycle and next, definitely next cycle.