Top Law Schools

Hello all!

What are some good schools (safety & reach) for someone with a 2.5 GPA and a 164 LSAT score? GPA was lower due to personal problems during undergrad (which can hopefully be explained well and accepted in a supplemental essay...). Also, is it not worth pursuing law school if you can't get into the top schools?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Those questions are explored in amazing detail across the forums here, but there's not a simple answer. Just look around.

Some good resources to start with are http://www.mylsn.info and http://www.lawschooltransparency.com

Welcome to TLS.

Might need to get a higher lsat score to make it worthwhile but all depends on career goals/cost of attendance. As the good doctor said, there is no one-size fits all answer

Thank you for your replies! I know there isn't any "fits all" answer, but mostly wanted to get some general opinions or advice.

On another note, I have heard from different people that you shouldn't take the LSAT more than 3 times. How true is this?

1L here. I had virtually identical numbers to yours. Last cycle I was admitted into a few T25s and a bunch of T50s. I was not a URM and had two years work experience. Hope that helps, but as DrSpaceman mentioned, there is plenty of information on TLS and other sites that will help you.

what are you goals, specifically? where do you want to work, specifically? how will you be paying for law school?

if you answer those three questions we can probably provide some guidance

@Brut, sorry for the late response, I didn't see the notification!

Anyway, to answer your questions, my overall goal is just to attend a good law school since T14 is out of the picture. I'm interested in business law, but I've heard that that isn't something you really decide right away. I'm currently working as a legal assistant at a small law firm to gain experience. Right now I'm looking at California, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, but I'm open to other places as well. These are just the main states that I'm considering. As for paying for law school, likely it will be mostly financial aid with some assistance from my parents on the side.

To be honest, I ended up scoring much lower on the LSAT than I had expected as my PTs were consistently coming back in the 170s Since my GPA is so low, I was trying to apply as a splitter, but I'm not sure if my LSAT score is high enough for me to still do that. I guess I'm a bit lost right now trying to decide how I should move forward from this, hence the post.

If you were PTing in the 170's you shouldn't settle for the 164. December is still in play and above all else, don't fall for the pressure to get in this cycle just for the sake of it. You can still get splitter status.

Also, as far as "where do you want to work" - it's more accurately asked "where do you have ties?" - as in where did you grow up/work now. This is true for anywhere not NYC/DC and axiomatically true if you're not T14 (even T14 it's damn near impossible to make your degree portable).

Finally, the "what do you want to do" doesn't really extend to "corporate law" or "biglaw" since obviously a majority of JD candidates want that 160k/year job. It's basically asking if you're ok with hanging your own shingle or working at a small local firm handling personal injury, divorces, etc. So IF you're ok with ambulance chasing, IF you're ok with working out in the burbs and not downtown, IF you're ok with the 5-figure paycheck, IF you're not going to take out a bunch of debt (should probably give us a ballpark figure on how much your parents are helping out and if you're going to be paying rent etc)... then people can give you more solid suggestions.

The reason I'm settling for the 164 is because this was my third time testing. Admittedly, I should have held off on taking the test the first two times. Unlike with my recent test where I took a couple months off of work to devote to studying, previously I was doing self-study while also working full-time so I really didn't give it my all, as I should have. The second time I re-tested, still without sufficient preparation, because I felt pressured to apply. Both were bad decisions on my part; hindsight is always 20/20 huh :/ I've been told that you shouldn't test more than 3 times? Are there splitter friendly schools that would still consider my scores acceptable as a splitter?

This may sound a bit funny, but I don't have really strong ties to a particular place, the closest would be California (as that's where I've been living since college). My family moved around a lot while I was growing up which I guess is why I'm open to new places. An adviser a few months back had told me that where you go to school doesn't set in stone where you'll work (as in you can still relocate after graduating, but would need to take the bar for whatever state). Is this not true in most cases?

Right now I wouldn't be able to give an estimate for how much my parents would be helping out; as for paying rent, I would guess I would be living in on-campus housing, if it were an option?

ddaizy wrote:I've been told that you shouldn't test more than 3 times? Are there splitter friendly schools that would still consider my scores acceptable as a splitter?

You just can't take more than 3 tests in the same 2 year window. You just have to wait for the 2 years from when you first took it lapses and you can retake. Northwestern is THE T14 splitter school. Just give mylsn a spin. You're at NW at sticker, or UCLA with scholly with a 171. Right now with a 164 you're... nowhere.

http://mylsn.info/qupxaj/
http://mylsn.info/8onz38/

This may sound a bit funny, but I don't have really strong ties to a particular place, the closest would be California (as that's where I've been living since college). My family moved around a lot while I was growing up which I guess is why I'm open to new places. An adviser a few months back had told me that where you go to school doesn't set in stone where you'll work (as in you can still relocate after graduating, but would need to take the bar for whatever state). Is this not true in most cases?

Well yes, technically with a JD you can sit for any bar but that's not really how it works. If you're T14, you get to relocate to NYC/DC, your hometown if your grades are good enough, and a TINY chance to a different market if your grades are just THAT good (STEM degree for IP, URM, etc. gives it a baby bump). Even then I've only seen it done for Texas but that's anecdotal.

If you're not T14 but only at a strong regional, (UCLA), it's ~30% chance at biglaw so you get to bid NYC (maybe 5% of the class goes there) or stay in LA. I don't think you even get to move within your state and go to SF out of UCLA. I don't know enough about the legal markets (much less a specific legal market) to offer any more adivce but this is the gist of it.

For anything other than biglaw? They just won't hire you.

Right now I wouldn't be able to give an estimate for how much my parents would be helping out; as for paying rent, I would guess I would be living in on-campus housing, if it were an option?

Rent is rent and there's no guarantee that dorms are cheaper than apartments.

So personally, I think UCLA with scholly as a splitter is clearly better than NW at sticker but neither are in play with a 164. I would just keep working and bank some money while you prep for whenever you're eligible for the LSAT again. It sucks, big time but it's nowhere near as sucky as wherever you get stuck by applying with a 164.

Ah I see. Sounds like retesting is my best option...are T14 really the only law schools that are worthwhile?