Chances (168, 3.74) Forum

[mwells56]

Figured I'd make one of these threads like all the other cool kids just to get y'all's opinions.

LSAT: 168
GPA: 3.74
2 academic recs, one very strong one not bad, plus one professional reference from an ADA in Brooklyn
In the process of getting reviews on my PS but I think it's solid
Resume won't hold me back but won't blow anyone away I don't think
Not planning on retaking

Had originally planned to apply to the following:

Harvard (thinking of knocking this one off because, well, yeah)
CCN
MVPD
Northwestern
Georgetown
WashU
Vandy
Fordham

Thoughts?

[sparkytrainer]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

[UVA2B]

You're not getting HCCN based on this, so I'd cross them off (unless you're applying on a hope and a prayer that you'll get into one of CCN for scholarship negotiation purposes). You might get one of MVPD, decent shot at NU, great shot below that.

What do you want to do after law school?

[mwells56]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

[sparkytrainer]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

You can take more than 3 times now, right?

You are pting into the 170s and will be fine with a 168? So you have the inherent ability to have a life changing score, yet stop before the goal-line. Okay.

Money should be a concern. Law school costs 250-300k. Unless your parents have millions to spend on you, then it should be a concern.

You need to retake and man up. You are probably not going to like your t13 options especially given you have been practicing much higher.

[mwells56]

You're not getting HCCN based on this, so I'd cross them off (unless you're applying on a hope and a prayer that you'll get into one of CCN for scholarship negotiation purposes). You might get one of MVPD, decent shot at NU, great shot below that.

What do you want to do after law school?

Yeah I'm from NY and I think I have enough of a chance at Columbia and NYU to at least apply. I'm pretty confident I'll get into Michigan (I'm currently an undergrad). But I'd also be satisfied if I ended up at Vanderbilt or WashU. Money isn't a huge sticking point for me.

Not totally set on what I want to do after law school. I interned at the DA's office and really liked it but that BigLaw $$ is a attractive. My ultimate goal is to live in NY.

[mwells56]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

You can take more than 3 times now, right?

You are pting into the 170s and will be fine with a 168? So you have the inherent ability to have a life changing score, yet stop before the goal-line. Okay.

Money should be a concern. Law school costs 250-300k. Unless your parents have millions to spend on you, then it should be a concern.

You need to retake and man up. You are probably not going to like your t13 options especially given you have been practicing much higher.

Yeah I'm fine with a 168 because I think it's good enough to get me where I want. Yeah I could take it again technically, but I think the chances of me going up vs. the stigma of taking it four times isn't a good look. If this was my second take I'd definitely go again. And yeah, with the money thing, my parents are going to be contributing large amounts.

[UVA2B]

You're not getting HCCN based on this, so I'd cross them off (unless you're applying on a hope and a prayer that you'll get into one of CCN for scholarship negotiation purposes). You might get one of MVPD, decent shot at NU, great shot below that.

What do you want to do after law school?

Yeah I'm from NY and I think I have enough of a chance at Columbia and NYU to at least apply. I'm pretty confident I'll get into Michigan (I'm currently an undergrad). But I'd also be satisfied if I ended up at Vanderbilt or WashU. Money isn't a huge sticking point for me.

Not totally set on what I want to do after law school. I interned at the DA's office and really liked it but that BigLaw $$ is a attractive. My ultimate goal is to live in NY.

Why isn't money a huge sticking point for you? Independent wealth? Parents are so wealthy as to make hundreds of thousands of dollars meaningless?

It's not a huge problem that you're not set on what you want to do following graduation (I always prefer it, but I understand I made this decision at a very different point in my life), but you should seriously consider what matters most to you in your future career. Law school isn't the end goal: the career is the end goal. If you think Biglaw is what you want, you should seriously consider retaking again (unless you have aforementioned FU money from somewhere and you get a shot at Michigan or NU or maybe GULC). But if you think working in the public sector in NY, maybe Fordham for cheap is a better call, Until you decide what you want more precisely, this will be an unfortunately opaque decision.

[sparkytrainer]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

You can take more than 3 times now, right?

You are pting into the 170s and will be fine with a 168? So you have the inherent ability to have a life changing score, yet stop before the goal-line. Okay.

Money should be a concern. Law school costs 250-300k. Unless your parents have millions to spend on you, then it should be a concern.

You need to retake and man up. You are probably not going to like your t13 options especially given you have been practicing much higher.

Yeah I'm fine with a 168 because I think it's good enough to get me where I want. Yeah I could take it again technically, but I think the chances of me going up vs. the stigma of taking it four times isn't a good look. If this was my second take I'd definitely go again. And yeah, with the money thing, my parents are going to be contributing large amounts.

Its your life man, but you are making a stupid, bad decision. Good luck, I hope you enjoy burning 300k of your parents money for GT and a 40% chance at biglaw.

[mwells56]

You're not getting HCCN based on this, so I'd cross them off (unless you're applying on a hope and a prayer that you'll get into one of CCN for scholarship negotiation purposes). You might get one of MVPD, decent shot at NU, great shot below that.

What do you want to do after law school?

Yeah I'm from NY and I think I have enough of a chance at Columbia and NYU to at least apply. I'm pretty confident I'll get into Michigan (I'm currently an undergrad). But I'd also be satisfied if I ended up at Vanderbilt or WashU. Money isn't a huge sticking point for me.

Not totally set on what I want to do after law school. I interned at the DA's office and really liked it but that BigLaw $$ is a attractive. My ultimate goal is to live in NY.

Why isn't money a huge sticking point for you? Independent wealth? Parents are so wealthy as to make hundreds of thousands of dollars meaningless?

It's not a huge problem that you're not set on what you want to do following graduation (I always prefer it, but I understand I made this decision at a very different point in my life), but you should seriously consider what matters most to you in your future career. Law school isn't the end goal: the career is the end goal. If you think Biglaw is what you want, you should seriously consider retaking again (unless you have aforementioned FU money from somewhere and you get a shot at Michigan or NU or maybe GULC). But if you think working in the public sector in NY, maybe Fordham for cheap is a better call, Until you decide what you want more precisely, this will be an unfortunately opaque decision.

The money situation is basically that my family places a has a good amount of it and places a high value on education so money will play some but not a large role in my decision.

I think the most important thing for my goals is that I don't feel locked in by where I go. Like if I go to Fordham I'll feel like public sector in NY is my destiny, but if I end up at, say, Northwestern, my options are little more fluid, you know?

[mwells56]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

You can take more than 3 times now, right?

You are pting into the 170s and will be fine with a 168? So you have the inherent ability to have a life changing score, yet stop before the goal-line. Okay.

Money should be a concern. Law school costs 250-300k. Unless your parents have millions to spend on you, then it should be a concern.

You need to retake and man up. You are probably not going to like your t13 options especially given you have been practicing much higher.

Yeah I'm fine with a 168 because I think it's good enough to get me where I want. Yeah I could take it again technically, but I think the chances of me going up vs. the stigma of taking it four times isn't a good look. If this was my second take I'd definitely go again. And yeah, with the money thing, my parents are going to be contributing large amounts.

Its your life man, but you are making a stupid, bad decision. Good luck, I hope you enjoy burning 300k of your parents money for GT and a 40% chance at biglaw.

Mmkay

[cavalier1138]

Are you a K-JD? That actually has an impact on your chances at Northwestern.

[mwells_56]

You should retake. You will be out of CCN, maybe pull some of the DPVM group, and likely at least one of NW/C. But probably with no money at all.

This was my third take. I had already been PTing well into the 170s (got a 178 on a PT like two days before the real thing) so I'm basically accepting this is the best I can do and I'm not upset about it. Money not really a big concern.

You can take more than 3 times now, right?

You are pting into the 170s and will be fine with a 168? So you have the inherent ability to have a life changing score, yet stop before the goal-line. Okay.

Money should be a concern. Law school costs 250-300k. Unless your parents have millions to spend on you, then it should be a concern.

You need to retake and man up. You are probably not going to like your t13 options especially given you have been practicing much higher.

Yeah I'm fine with a 168 because I think it's good enough to get me where I want. Yeah I could take it again technically, but I think the chances of me going up vs. the stigma of taking it four times isn't a good look. If this was my second take I'd definitely go again. And yeah, with the money thing, my parents are going to be contributing large amounts.

Its your life man, but you are making a stupid, bad decision. Good luck, I hope you enjoy burning 300k of your parents money for GT and a 40% chance at biglaw.

I've been waiting so long to respond to this post.

You're right. I did go to Georgetown. But I got a $75,000 scholarship. And you're also right, I didn't land a biglaw job. But I did land a gig to go in-house at a F100 company that pays 6 figures.

I know the common TLS response to this will be something along the lines of "this is anecdotal, you got lucky, don't take this into your decision making," blah blah blah. And I agree, I did get lucky and my experience is certainly not typical. But I'm also petty, and 21 year old me was pissed about this comment, so 24 year old me is here to bring it full circle.

[Artaserse]

Good for you, op. Congratulations on your F100 job! I admire your patience.