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3.21 GPA, 173, LSAT, major upward GPA trend after a 2.0 freshmen year, to whatever extent that matters. White male.

I graduated in 2013, last year I applied late in the cycle (mid January) to the t14 minus, HYS, Chicago, and Berkeley. Was waitlisted at all the t14 schools I applied to, plus UCLA, got into Minnesota, Washington, and Colorado. Towards the end of April I withdrew from the waitlists because I knew I was going to want to spend another year at my current job and reapply for Fall of 2015.

I'm seriously considering early decision somewhere in the t14, currently thinking Michigan or UVA is the most likely. I'm wondering if anyone is willing to tell me how likely I'd be to get in ED at either of those schools, if there's a better ED target, or if there's any other feedback I should have with this plan.

Thanks in advance for the help.

A lot of people say that anything above a 3.0 and a 170 gets you UVA. I think you should check out the ED timelines b/c there's a way to do a few of them. I think you have a real shot at Penn and potentially NYU, and it would probably be better to go for one of those than UVA. M can be weird but I've seen worse numbers get in there ED

I'd go with NYU or Penn. Don't ED if you're not 1) rich or 2) GI bill eligible.

250k in debt

Tiago Splitter wrote:I'd go with NYU or Penn. Don't ED if you're not 1) rich or 2) GI bill eligible.

What are your career goals? A solid regional with a ton of money seems like a much better outcome than a T-14 unless one of these applies to you. Apply broadly and early, spiff up your PS, and don't throw away your opportunity to negotiate.

Yeah dude don't ED anywhere -- play out the cycle.

I would advise against EDing with your numbers. You might be able to snag a reach school, but it will be at, or nearly at, sticker price. Just because you got WL'd last year at a certain school, doesn't mean that you will this year, so the ED bump may not be necessary. Every cycle is a little different, and circumstances can change so that your 173 might be appealing enough for a school to stomach your GPA. Work on making your app even better than last year's, and don't discount the advantage that an extra year of WE could give you.

Really appreciate the feedback. It's given me a lot to think about, and I'm potentially backing off of ED. The ED decision was driven chiefly by two issues. I felt like I wanted the option to go for more high paying, high powered tracks like big law or a federal clerkship, even though I'm not sure exactly what career options I'm looking at. I also am pretty unhappy with the number of bad outcomes students from even good regional schools tend to face, and I really don't want to make a school choice that doesn't open many/any doors. Anyway I've been concentrating on getting a better picture of my long term goals/priorities, which should smooth out the process. Thanks all.