Top Law Schools

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Yes, retake in February. You have numbers right now to get into lower t14, but they'll be sticker or close to it. A couple more points and you'll get decent money. You can send your updated LSAT scores to the schools you applied to.

Probably no chance at getting ED at NU. But you have a good chance at getting in there just with little or no scholarship.

You'd need to hit the 168 median to have a shot at NU ED, and probably a 170+ (75th) to have a decent shot.

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chargers21 wrote:I don't want to derail any future posts about my initial questions, but what would your thoughts be on taking a full ride to a t25 school even if I get accepted to t14 schools? And there aren't any drawbacks to the NU ED so I will probably apply for it anyways. I am not in a great financial situation, and although I am primarily interested in Big Law, I am open to doing other types of law work if I end up going to a lesser school, as the lack of debt would financially allow me to do so.

Secondly, if I do retake the LSAT in February, if I see a large point increase, what course of action should I take to give myself the best the chances of a higher ranked school with money?

Well taking a full ride to a t25 would be fine outcome if it is in your desired region. After t14 and maybe Vandy and Texas, the rankings in the top 50 don't matter. It is all about the market you want to be in. If you want to be in Chicago for example, you are much better off going to Illinois than Minnesota even if Minnesota is ranked a little higher.

But if you are primarily interested in big law you really should shoot for t14. Let the schools that would be reaches now know that you are retaking esp if you're PTing better

Don't give up, you can have both, the biglaw and the scholly. It's a multiple choice test and you have the GPA for it. Letting "Which order do the clowns get out of the car ABCD or E" cost you 300k in tax free savings is stupid.

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You should definitely retake if you didn't study that much. A few more points and you can get a really good scholarship to NU and some other lower t14s.

If you are applying to IU you should also apply to UIUC. They have better big law numbers than IU. Still only 25-30% but more likely than IU.

chargers21 wrote: I'm from indiana, so my preference is to work someplace nearby like Chicago or Indianapolis. I can probably get a full ride with money from IU, so all hope isn't lost if I don't get a financially doable option from a t14 schools, but I know that going to IU would virtually force me to consider a completely different future payscale. But without debt.

Why IU? You'll most likely get a ton of scholarship money from WUSTL and ND, each of which gives you about twice the biglaw chances as IU.

goldenbear2020 wrote:

chargers21 wrote: I'm from indiana, so my preference is to work someplace nearby like Chicago or Indianapolis. I can probably get a full ride with money from IU, so all hope isn't lost if I don't get a financially doable option from a t14 schools, but I know that going to IU would virtually force me to consider a completely different future payscale. But without debt.

Why IU? You'll most likely get a ton of scholarship money from WUSTL and ND.

OP will definitely get into both and should apply. But WUSTL's median went up to 168 and ND is not very generous with scholarships. OP will get scholarship money, but maybe not a ton

I am a current 2L who matriculated with a 167 and a lower GPA than yours, and I would give anything to go back in time and retake the LSAT. Don't make the same mistake that I did.

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It will not mess up your chances. Also, if you do get into any t14 school it will be sticker anyways. Taking in February will only increase your chances at money and being admitted.

You'll get a full ride to IU no matter what.

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chargers21 wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote:It will not mess up your chances. Also, if you do get into any t14 school it will be sticker anyways. Taking in February will only increase your chances at money and being admitted.

You'll get a full ride to IU no matter what.

I had hopes NU, Cornell, and Duke wouldn't be sticker from some things I had read online. But you're saying definitely not getting a decision until March is worth it even if i end up only improving to a 170? Because as of now I will be able to get all of my apps in by Nov. 15th.

Btw, thanks for the input everyone. My school's prelaw advisor has inconveniently been out of the state for 3 weeks.

You will get an answer. Schools that would admit you anyways will admit you based on your 167. Schools only take your highest score. The only thing it will do will potentially increase your scholarship and opportunities to get into some t6 schools.

chargers21 wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote:It will not mess up your chances. Also, if you do get into any t14 school it will be sticker anyways. Taking in February will only increase your chances at money and being admitted.

You'll get a full ride to IU no matter what.

I had hopes NU, Cornell, and Duke wouldn't be sticker from some things I had read online. But you're saying definitely not getting a decision until March is worth it even if i end up only improving to a 170? Because as of now I will be able to get all of my apps in by Nov. 15th.

Btw, thanks for the input everyone. My school's prelaw advisor has inconveniently been out of the state for 3 weeks.

If you get a 170+ you'd be smart to sit the cycle and reapply. You'd have greaaat options.

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chargers21 wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote: You will get an answer. Schools that would admit you anyways will admit you based on your 167. Schools only take your highest score. The only thing it will do will potentially increase your scholarship and opportunities to get into some t6 schools.

Maybe I'm just confused on how it works. Some of the apps say that indicating that a future LSAT will be taken will result in the application not being reviewed until the new score is received.

Clearly wrote: If you get a 170+ you'd be smart to sit the cycle and reapply. You'd have greaaat options.

I'm really looking to go to school next fall. I feel like I would get out of the rhythm of school taking a year and a half off (since I graduate in December as it is). If I do take it and end up with a 170 on the dot, would I be a virtual lock to get 150k to NU next year?

If you get a 170, you're not a lock for 150k, but that is roughly the avg according to MyLSN for your numbers with a 170. You'd be close to a lock for that kind of money from Cornell. It would be a huge mistake not to attempt to retake. And I am not saying you need to take the year off though that might help with your application, but there is no such thing as rhythm of school. I took several years off in between and my first year of law school was by far my best academically.

chargers21 wrote:

trebekismyhero wrote: You will get an answer. Schools that would admit you anyways will admit you based on your 167. Schools only take your highest score. The only thing it will do will potentially increase your scholarship and opportunities to get into some t6 schools.

Maybe I'm just confused on how it works. Some of the apps say that indicating that a future LSAT will be taken will result in the application not being reviewed until the new score is received.

Clearly wrote: If you get a 170+ you'd be smart to sit the cycle and reapply. You'd have greaaat options.

I'm really looking to go to school next fall. I feel like I would get out of the rhythm of school taking a year and a half off (since I graduate in December as it is). If I do take it and end up with a 170 on the dot, would I be a virtual lock to get 150k to NU next year?

There's no rhythm to speak of, 1L is going to be a clusterfuck with or without breaks. It's no justification in light of the benefit of retaking, we're talking about thousands of extra dollars in your pocket every month for decades, you could have such a better standard of living with a scholarship and you're a few multiple choice questions away. Gun like crazy for the lsat, master it and every detail in it. Apply anyway. If you're score comes back and is high you hit the jackpot. Wait till September and apply again, there's less money to give late and this is all about money. If not, take your best current option.

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It's up to the schools how they treat people who are registered to retake by default but you're allowed to provide input. Contact the schools and tell them that you're retaking because you believe you can do better but wish for them to proceed reviewing your application as it stands now.

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Whatever job you want? Preferably one that can pay the bills. Unless it is a super-elite job, law schools and law firms in the future won't really care. Do what you find interesting.

chargers21 wrote:Yeah, I am just super worried about not getting my app reviewed until the first week of March. And I am additionally worried about putting myself in a situation where I have to take a year off from school in order to get into the best law school I can with the best scholarship possible. But I guess my LSAT timing hase already put me in an inconvenient position.

I know this has almost nothing to due with the original topic or law school, but if I took a year off what kind of job should I get? I'm a science leaning psych major.

I think taking a year off and taking the June 2017 test is the way to go to be honest. Obviously you did well in getting a 167 with little prep, but the more time you have to study, the better you will do. You have approximately 3 months left until the February exam and approximately 7 months until the June exam. If you take the exam in February and don't score a 170, then you're out of takes and will probably wish you had delayed. Who knows, by the time the June test rolls around you could be prepping in the 175+ range looking at big scholarships to CCN. I'm confident with 7 months, you'll definitely break the 170 barrier and then you can submit applications on day 1 next cycle. I know sitting out a year is rough. But it's absolutely worth it for the potential money you'll save to attend a top school. I'm currently on a multiple year deferral to a T-14 so that I can stay in the military and get 60% of the GI Bill to save me $130k in student loans. I could have gone to a strong regional school for free or gone to a T-14 earlier at sticker, but I knew neither option was what was best.

Take that gap year to do anything that inspires you. Work at a nonprofit, become a teacher, hike the Appalachian Trail, whatever fancies you. Whatever job you get, it's not going to be your career so you might as well do something you enjoy for a year. If money is that important a factor on what you do during that year, take any job you can get. I recently read "Hillbilly Elegy" by JD Vance, which I highly recommend reading btw. It's a memoir on the author's journey from a poor community to graduating from Yale Law School. Between graduating from Ohio State and attending Yale Law School, he worked in a warehouse doing manual labor for a year. He knew it wasn't going to be a career, but it allowed him to save some money prior to attending.

Additionally don't underestimate the value of work experience at oci. My narrative included tons of anecdotes from jobs and it went over really well and made me stand out from peers. I'd wager at a T14 the ratio of people who strike out (a small group to begin with) probably leans heavily to those that are exceptionally young and lack any work experience.