3.8 GPA, 160 LSAT, Decent Softs and Resume Forum

[lkoy22]

So here is another classic thread. This is a mix between Help me Choose and What are my Chances - Advice in general thread
160 LSAT
3.8 GPA
Incredible softs including lots of community service (loads of verified hours), leadership positions (SGA, etc), strong work resume as an IT Engineer at a fortune 100 Company, High academic award resume including national and international speech and debate finalist awards.

I feel like I may not be able to get a higher LSAT and I know the typical answer to this is retake but lets put that aside for now and just go based on these numbers.

I'm not interested in Big Law - if something were to randomly happen for BigLaw then sure I might, in some realm, consider it.
I am extremely focused on working with a small to mid range environmental law firm or possibly working towards being a state and local ADA or something to that nature in the realm of public work.

Given that,
I have scholarship offers at various regional schools like CU, Denver, Lewis and Clark, Vermont, Belmont in Nashville
Applied at UNC, WUSTL, UIowa, ASU, Boston U

Given these, should I be prioritizing just still going to a "higher" ranked school like WUSTL or UIOWA or just focus on region since I'm wanting to be more in a mid range environmental firm and go to Portland or Colorado.
I have no ties to Portland, some ties to Colorado and stronger ties to North Carolina and very very strong ties to TN.

Any thoughts and what are my chances at applying to a slightly higher school than WUSTL and Boston U... probably not much right?

Additionally, if I need to move this thread to "help me choose" then just let me know and I will.

[sparkytrainer]

Just FYI those softs at best are mediocre and won't help you at all

[lkoy22]

lmao, okay.
Thanks pal

[ms9]

As a serious and honestly meant to be helpful fyi, I would encourage you to refer to your softs as "strong" rather than "incredible" especially when you pretty much outed yourself to adcoms who read this board. And for similar reasons perhaps wait until all offers are in before soliciting "where do I go" advice" because things can change in an instant.

[cavalier1138]

lmao, okay.
Thanks pal

They weren't joking. Those are pretty standard softs for a law school applicant.

Your school choices are all over the map (literally). Do you have any idea where you'd like to practice? And environmental law is a very different practice area from an DA's office. Do you have a particular environmental firm in mind? Are you considering governmental or non-profit environmental organizations? But if you're not interested in biglaw, then focus on getting a full ride to the best regional school you can (in the region you want to work). That likely means retaking the LSAT, because a 160 generally isn't going to get you a full ride at that level of school.

[KENYADIGG1T]

People will tell you to retake--and they would be absolutely right--because it *is* your best option right now. Take however much time you need to get the score you need for the best possible law school at the lowest price--speaking from personal experience. That GPA is a terrible thing to waste, to be honest.

Remember, your softs will be compared with others in the applicant pool and, to be honest, in that contexts your softs are not as "incredible" as you claim. They're pretty average, tbh. Also the strength of your softs hinge on how you contextualize them (PS, recs). If you haven't thought about even that, you shouldn't be prematurely touting your softs no matter how strong they are.

[lkoy22]

Thanks for the replies that did not come over as being a pure asshole.
I definitely appreciate the feedback.

My PS and LOR's definitely, in my opinion, are strong. I don't think they bring down my application at all and add to the quality.

I may end up thinking about a retake but that would probably mean sitting out of school an additional year.

The choices were all over the map because I've been given a lot of random advice that ranges from: Just apply to the top ranked schools no matter what... to just apply to what regions you want to be in.

I would want to be in Portland or Denver to practice.
My ideal schools - disregarding pure rank hype that - would be Lewis and Clark in Oregon or CU Boulder / Denver Sturm College of Law

[cavalier1138]

Thanks for the replies that did not come over as being a pure asshole.
I definitely appreciate the feedback.

My PS and LOR's definitely, in my opinion, are strong. I don't think they bring down my application at all and add to the quality.

I may end up thinking about a retake but that would probably mean sitting out of school an additional year.

The choices were all over the map because I've been given a lot of random advice that ranges from: Just apply to the top ranked schools no matter what... to just apply to what regions you want to be in.

I would want to be in Portland or Denver to practice.
My ideal schools - disregarding pure rank hype that - would be Lewis and Clark in Oregon or CU Boulder / Denver Sturm College of Law

Ok, your PS and LORs could literally be the best in the world, but your LSAT is a 160.

The people telling you to apply to the "top ranked schools no matter what" were either wrong or were only referring to T13 schools. You have not applied to any top-ranked schools as that term is traditionally used in law school admissions. If you want to practice in Portland or Denver, you should be focused on either a top school or a full ride to one of the state powerhouses in Oregon or Colorado (note: Colorado is, by far, the easier market to get work in). So that means you can drop UNC, ASU, Iowa, Vermont, Belmont, and BU. WashU might not be a terrible choice for that, but you need to bump your LSAT up significantly to get any money there.

That said, rank still matters within regions. Your comment about disregarding "rank hype" makes me think that you haven't really looked at employment outcomes from these schools relative to your desired career paths. Check out LST and figure out which schools are actually the best matches for you.

[lkoy22]

I appreciate that feedback. Sorry, I worded that a big weird. I meant just the top law schools you could potentially get into. Obviously my numbers put me well below the line for a T13 school. I have checked out the employment outcomes for those schools and it seems like a regional school will suit what I'm looking for just fine. I think it boils down to how much money will it cost me and whether or not that is worth it or not.

[A. Nony Mouse]

If you want to practice in Portland or Denver, you should be focused on either a top school or a full ride to one of the state powerhouses in Oregon or Colorado (note: Colorado is, by far,the easier market to get work in) but still not easy.

Just a minor adjustment to this.