Top Law Schools

Hi everyone, long-time lurker but need some serious advice at the moment.

Problem: Taken LSAT three times. 165/164/162 in that order. The 164 I just didn't study enough. This most recent 162 in September 2014 I studied a good deal and was PTing 168-171 range, but I botched my normally -0/-1 games section on gameday and the result was pretty horrifying.

Anyway, with my 165 I was gonna shoot for lower T-14 hoping to get one but would settle lower outside of the 14 hopefully with some scholarship somewhere. Now I am scared because although everyone seems to believe that schools generally just look at you higher score, I feel like the case is different when you regress in score TWICE. I feel like looking at my 3 scores not only hurts my chances of getting in at any reach schools but also hurts scholarship money opportunities where I expected to have them (e.g. UND with my GPA I was near the 75th% for both LSAT and GPA - now idk how they would look at me).

More about me: GPA 3.71, Non-URM, Top 15 UG, 1 Year WE, would obviously want T-14. However, I'm from the midwest and do really want to do law, so would consider trying to go to UND, Minnesota, WUSTL, UIUC, OSU, etc. to crack into a midwest market to still be able to pay off debt.

Just looking for suggestions of what I should do. Also in case retake is a suggestion, my first LSAT was June 2013 so I couldn't retake until next June (right?). Let me know what you guys think and thanks.

I would probably give it a 4th shot given that the 3rd take sounds like an aberration. T14 is out.

Outside of the T14 you pretty much need to choose schools based on where they place, your desired market/ties, and cost.

Where, specifically, would you like to end up? "The midwest" is not a monolithic legal market and it would be foolish to consider it as such. If you want to be in, say, Indiana, it would likely be a mistake to attend, say, the University of Wisconsin (and especially a school like Emory)

I don't think these schools will care about anything but the highest score. 3 declining scores is kind of odd but schools aren't in a position to be picky about lsat scores that help their median.

Yeah my fault. As far as midwest goes I would like rank markets I'd like to be in 1) Chicago (would shoot for UND likely) 2) Cleveland (perhaps go to OSU but only with $$$) 3) Minneapolis (shoot for UMinn with $$).

UND= Notre Dame?

What about the University of Illinois? I haven't checked out mylsn in a while but I was under the impression that they gave pretty sizable scholarships to people in your range? It seems like a fine school if you can keep debt down and are ok with more modest career goals when and if big law doesn't happen.

BigZuck wrote:UND= Notre Dame?

What about the University of Illinois? I haven't checked out mylsn in a while but I was under the impression that they gave pretty sizable scholarships to people in your range? It seems like a fine school if you can keep debt down and are ok with more modest career goals when and if big law doesn't happen.

They were giving out full rides to people with OPs numbers.

OP if you don't give it a fourth try, UIUC is likely the best option for you.

Yeah UND=Notre Dame. I mean ideally I would like biglaw, but would obviously have my work cut out for me going to Notre Dame or UIUC.

Yeah, just gotta figure out what you want IMO. If you're really aiming for big law then find your way into a T14. If you're cool with modest outcomes and can go for free then a school like UIUC is justifiable.

lurkerneedshelp wrote:would consider trying to go to UND, Minnesota, WUSTL, UIUC, OSU, etc. to crack into a midwest market to still be able to pay off debt.

I'm sure you've been on Law School Transparency - the Biglaw outcomes Notre Dame, Wash U and U of I are similar - but between them, I'm not sure that Notre Dame would be a stronger candidate for Chicago Biglaw than UIUC, and UIUC would probably leave you with a smaller debt load.

Just something to consider. If you do decide to retake, best of luck.

Yeah I think out of those schools, I would just have to choose best scholarship opps since they all have relatively similar placement. Do you think my score regression would hurt scholarship offerings?

Also, I am going to think about retaking since I have the option to continue working at my job that is pretty decent for another year if I'd like, but after PTing so well and then bombing September I am not sure if I can muster up the confidence and motivation to go for try #4.

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