Top Law Schools

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You have a shot at the upper half, but likely no money. I think you can get into NYU.

Legacy is near-irrelevant to Law School.

Legacy barely matters. Legacy from outside the law school, especially at a place like Michigan, won't matter at all.

Ah ok, good to know. Thanks for you guys' input!

avth wrote: I know that with my numbers, the upper half of T-14 isn't possible for me, but I was wondering what my chances are at Northwestern (top choice), Michigan, Penn, Cornell, and UCLA. My dad did his PhD at Michigan - does legacy factor in at all for law school, or no? Also, would E.D.-ing boost my chances much at any of these schools?

Don't ED anywhere unless they give a full scholarship upon ED admission i.e. Northwestern. I would apply to all of the T14 from NYU down + UCLA + a few regional safeties (within T1) where you wish to practice. Some will probably disagree with the safeties idea but maybe you want to entertain the idea of practicing in Boston and would like to attend BC or BU for free. *shrug*

Become familiar with LSN. You can look at which schools give $$$ to applicants with your numbers. Last cycle, Northwestern awarded people with your stats about $60k-$90k.

Edit:
Actually, if you know you won't attend NYU, don't apply. Your chances of getting in are 40% and even then, you'll probably be facing sticker.

IpleadtheFiF wrote:

avth wrote: I know that with my numbers, the upper half of T-14 isn't possible for me, but I was wondering what my chances are at Northwestern (top choice), Michigan, Penn, Cornell, and UCLA. My dad did his PhD at Michigan - does legacy factor in at all for law school, or no? Also, would E.D.-ing boost my chances much at any of these schools?

Don't ED anywhere unless they give a full scholarship upon ED admission i.e. Northwestern. I would apply to all of the T14 from NYU down + UCLA + a few regional safeties (within T1) where you wish to practice. Some will probably disagree with the safeties idea but maybe you want to entertain the idea of practicing in Boston and would like to attend BC or BU for free. *shrug*

Become familiar with LSN. You can look at which schools give $$$ to applicants with your numbers. Last cycle, Northwestern awarded people with your stats about $60k-$90k.

Edit:
Actually, if you know you won't attend NYU, don't apply. Your chances of getting in are 40% and even then, you'll probably be facing sticker.

Why the UCLA suggestion? Their LST numbers don't suggest they're a national school.

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I don't think its so much legacy as having a connection to a school that matters. I know a number of people who feel like they over achieved during a cycle because of family connections to a school. also a few years back people with your stats were getting in the top 6 schools.

Don't sell yourself short. The 171 is solid, and the 3.6 is decent. You won't get HYS, but I would apply to CCN... the chance of acceptance is worth the application fee.

FlanAl wrote:I don't think its so much legacy as having a connection to a school that matters. I know a number of people who feel like they over achieved during a cycle because of family connections to a school. also a few years back people with your stats were getting in the top 6 schools.

What kind of connections did they have - parents teaching/working at the school, or? My father taught at NYU for quite a few years, but I don't see that helping my application very much...

wtrc wrote:Don't sell yourself short. The 171 is solid, and the 3.6 is decent. You won't get HYS, but I would apply to CCN... the chance of acceptance is worth the application fee.

Thanks to both of you for the votes of confidence! But even given the slim chance of being accepted to CCN, I'd still most likely face paying sticker, and I am fairly debt averse - I wouldn't be willing to pay sticker unless it was HYS (lol). I'll be retaking the LSAT in December, so I may throw NYU an application if my score increases a little.

Your chances aren't slim at CCN. You're essentially a lock at NYU, and people with your numbers were rarely rejected outright at Columbia over the last two cycles:



The above chart likely understates your chances for CC, because the applicant pool will only continue to contract. These schools are scrambling to maintain medians, and your 171 will be at or above all of their medians next year. I wouldn't even be surprised to see you pick up some money from one of them. Even if you don't want to face the debt, you could use a CCN acceptance/scholarship offer to negotiate more money from the other schools. Cost-benefit analysis counsels strongly in favor of applying.

Ti Malice wrote:Your chances aren't slim at CCN. You're essentially a lock at NYU, and people with your numbers were rarely rejected outright at Columbia over the last two cycles:

The above chart likely understates your chances for CC, because the applicant pool will only continue to contract. These schools are scrambling to maintain medians, and your 171 will be at or above all of their medians next year. I wouldn't even be surprised to see you pick up some money from one of them. Even if you don't want to face the debt, you could use a CCN acceptance/scholarship offer to negotiate more money from the other schools. Cost-benefit analysis counsels strongly in favor of applying.

I really appreciate the input - using a higher-ranked acceptance to negotiate scholarship money wasn't something I'd considered... you make a great point.

Same GPA as you, one point lower on the LSAT last year... you have a great shot at NYU on down, and certainly could get an acceptance at CC if you show them what they're looking for (I was waitlisted at both, but I think the common knowledge is that apps are down and chances are up). Also, you're going to get money thrown at you from all the schools you listed. NU, Michigan, and Penn likely aren't going to budge from what they initially offer you, but in my case Cornell and UCLA were two schools that were very willing to talk schalarship when approached about increases. In short, I think you're in great position to go to one of these schools and have them spot you around half of your tuition.

My LSN profile is in my profile as well if you were curious how a similar cycle went!