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Only one applicant with your LSAT score was admitted to Northwestern, per LSN. There was also one from UC. UC is possible, but not likely. NU is less likely because they tend to favor applicants with significant WE (especially for ED, which comes with a full ride.)

You have a phenomenal undergrad GPA, and you should be proud of it. Spend the rest of the summer studying, and retake in October. A 170 will get you into both of these schools.

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nu ed is a full ride, prob not happening
not enough data, but it looks like they use it to firm up lsat median
though some w/ marginal numbers get in off wl, sometimes w/ money

3.84/172 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.84/171 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.83/171 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.69/172 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.67/172 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.66/171 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.65/172 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.60/173 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.55/174 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.49/170 - Deferred to RD -> WL
3.48/174 - Admit w/ full-ride
3.30/171 - Deferred to RD -> WL -> Admit
3.09/175 - Deferred to RD -> WL -> Admit
2.90/174 - Deferred to RD -> Admit
2.54/173 - Deferred to RD -> WL -> Admit

not much data on chi ed either
so again can't draw any conclusions
but looks fairly splitter friendly, not reverse-splitter friendly
no one in w/ below a 166
but again - not enough info to tell for sure

remember:

brut wrote:plz do not ED
you will lose the ability to negotiate aid (say hello to sticker)
you will lose the ability to consider other schools (what if harvard comes knocking and you get dat need aid)

when i applied ED i was immediately filled with regret and anxiety
every single day until i was admitted i debated withdrawing my app
then i spent the next five months tossing and turning in bed thinking about 300k of debt
this could be your future

should i ED?
plz answer the following qs
-are you a rich trust fund kid
-do you have tuition covered by the military
-are you applying to nu or gw
-are you zealously committed to pi and going to a school w excellent lrap (maaaaaybe)
-do you plan on fleeing the country immediately upon the lapse of your deferment period
if you answered yes to any of these questions, OK APPLY ED!
if not, NO DO NOT APPLY ED

SFSpartan wrote:Only one applicant with your LSAT score was admitted to Northwestern, per LSN. There was also one from UC. UC is possible, but not likely. NU is less likely because they tend to favor applicants with significant WE (especially for ED, which comes with a full ride.)

You have a phenomenal undergrad GPA, and you should be proud of it. Spend the rest of the summer studying, and retake in October. A 170 will get you into both of these schools.

If you are referring to NU regular decision, this is inaccurate. Per LSN, I counted 6 ppl with 165 or lower but high GPAs that got in. All of them off the waitlist though, without much money. I think OP is out of retakes, so NU with 45-60k or UC at sticker vs. UIUC full ride may be the best Chicago options.

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imKMart wrote:I would retake it if I could. I will probably go west to UCLA or USC rather than UIUC, but it's not something that I would relish doing. NW or uChi would be the ideal scenario

k
but surely you aren't considering ucla/usc to target chi right
cuz that would b silly
just makin sure

also, mg is correct of course, the real answer is retake
i only omitted that bc i thought it went without saying

your 165 options for chi
$$ at strong midwest regional >>>> outside chance of nu at sticker > seppuku > ucla/usc near-sticker

your 170 options for chi
$$$$ at nu >> good chance at uchi $$

imKMart wrote:I would retake it if I could. I will probably go west to UCLA or USC rather than UIUC, but it's not something that I would relish doing. NW or uChi would be the ideal scenario

UCLA and USC will not place any better than UIUC in Chicago, and if you have no prior SoCal ties, you may find it difficult to get a job there as well. These schools are also not worth anything even remotely close to what you'd have to pay for them (not worth attending for more than 100K total COA), whereas you'd be in the running for a full ride at UIUC. Don't assume that USNWR rank necessarily means anything to employers.

This isn't even a close call.

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imKMart wrote:If I am hearing you guys correctly, you are saying a stronger IL regional is better than a school higher on the rankings? (ie UIUC, Kent, etc > UCLA)?

90% of law schools are regional
unswr tries to do a national ranking of these regional schools, which is silly
of course UIUC is better than UCLA for chi, it's a couple of hours drive away
also it's a good school, they've plummeted bc of the dean pless thing, but i don't really think recruiters are looking at it any differently - employment is up, biglaw placement is up, fedclerk is up, underemployment is down

imKMart wrote:

Brut wrote:

imKMart wrote:of course UIUC is better than UCLA for chi, it's a couple of hours drive away

Where is the threshold? Obviously California is too far for a Chicago market. Is Wisconsin-Madison? Washington-St. Louis? Vanderbilt? Minnesota? Thanks for all the advice.

Vanderbilt's getting on the farther end, but still a good number of grads in Chicago. UW Madison is really only for the Wisco market, same goes for MN. Your options for Chicago outside of the T14 (which really aren't great options, but they exist) pretty much land around UIUC, WUSTL, and ND - all of which have been giving massive scholarships lately (probably very close to a full ride at all three with those numbers), so remember to negotiate if you decide to go that route.

If you're only 21 I suggest working for another year and waiting until you are eligible to retake again. You're still very much on the young side for law school and it would be a tragedy to waste your GPA on sticker at UChi or NU or on any lower ranked schools.

ETA: you can take the LSAT more than 3 times, just not in a two-year period.