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schocolate wrote:

MistakenGenius wrote:First of all OP, nice work on the LSAT and pretty good GPA. That's good because the schools we're looking at for you are 99% numbers based. I would like to clarify one thing for you. Do you have other major extracurriculars that you're not telling us about? Because if not, those are not "great" softs. Great softs are along the lines of Rhodes/Marshall Scholarships, decorated veteran, child of wealthy donor/celebrity, founder of major non-profit, etc. Working for two years is at best an average soft and no admissions officer is going to care in the slightest about you being the president of a frat (many don't even care about president of the student body). I'd say without extra information, you have below average softs. I say that not to be mean, but to clarify for later.

You have really good numbers that make you extremely competitive/close to a sure thing at Columbia and NYU. Penn and UVA tend to waitlist a lot of people with your numbers, but they're worth the App (along with good why statements, making a unique one that addresses Penn's mission statement). Berkeley's a bit of a toss up since they do favor GPA's, but you've got a good shot there, and should get the majority of the rest of the T14, with nice scholarships at many. Harvard and Chicago are both unlikely admits (although Chicago will almost certainly perma WL you), but you have good enough chances that I'd apply there as well. I wouldn't waste the application costs at Stanford or Yale. If you're not URM, you have to have one of those great softs to even have a small chance there. Case in point, on LSN, only one admit close to your numbers was admitted to the two of them, and he had a 3.59/180 and was an active-duty vet graduate from a service academy (if it's who I think it is, he's from West Point), with some other fantastic softs not mentioned there. I just don't see any scenario where you get into those two with those numbers, so I would save the ~$150.

Which brings me to my best advice. If you get into HLS, probably go to HLS. But failing that, you're in the realm where you should get a small scholarship to Columbia or NYU, but not enough to justify the high tuition and living costs of NYC. It's going to largely come down to where you want to work. If you do want NYC biglaw, Cornell's likely to be your best option this cycle. If you want Chicago, Northwestern. If you swing UVA, then that's an ideal choice for DC depending on scholarship. Because you don't have the GPA to ensure a big scholly to a national school (I'll say T6), you also need to apply to the best regionals in your chosen area as well. If you want to come back to Texas, then in addition to those 12 of the T14 I mentioned, apply to UT, Vandy, WUSTL, and maybe Emory. If I wanted to work in Texas and had your numbers, I'd take UT at a large discount over the vast majority of the T14, exception being HYS and Duke. PM me if you're curious about regional schools worth applying to in other areas.

Would your advice differ any for someone with a 3.7/176 and average softs?

norkanite wrote:

Or you could do what I do and ED Northwestern. It could be a credited move if you want Chicago (I did). I had similar numbers (174, 3.6) and the a lot of the best offers similar to me tended to be big $$$ at NU/Cornell. You have at least an outside shot at Harvard too.

Agreed - IMO if someone has less than a 3.7 or so, NU's ED ride is generally the best available option, assuming you're not rich. There's no difference worth $150k (or $50k) between any non-HYS T14s. Of course this changes if you really really don't want to live in NYC or Chicago.

equang wrote:

norkanite wrote:

Or you could do what I do and ED Northwestern. It could be a credited move if you want Chicago (I did). I had similar numbers (174, 3.6) and the a lot of the best offers similar to me tended to be big $$$ at NU/Cornell. You have at least an outside shot at Harvard too.

Agreed - IMO if someone has less than a 3.7 or so, NU's ED ride is generally the best available option, assuming you're not rich. There's no difference worth $150k (or $50k) between any non-HYS T14s. Of course this changes if you really really don't want to live in NYC or Chicago.

Conflicted... I have similar numbers and REALLY would like to go to school in NYC vs. Virgina/Cornell/Michigan, due to having friends there, the social scene, clerkship chances.

Went to Michigan undergrad and I really would like to attend a school in or near a large metropolitan area (Boston, NY, SF).

I would be attending Columbia for pretty much sticker, assuming I got in...

But thinking about the debt vs. my short-term happiness. Somehow short-term happiness seems to weigh more heavily for me, but that's how people usually end up making bad long-term decisions...

norkanite wrote:

Or you could do what I do and ED Northwestern. It could be a credited move if you want Chicago (I did). I had similar numbers (174, 3.6) and the a lot of the best offers similar to me tended to be big $$$ at NU/Cornell. You have at least an outside shot at Harvard too.

Agreed - IMO if someone has less than a 3.7 or so, NU's ED ride is generally the best available option, assuming you're not rich. There's no difference worth $150k (or $50k) between any non-HYS T14s. Of course this changes if you really really don't want to live in NYC or Chicago.