Top Law Schools

Hi all,

GPA: 3.3 (2 terrible semesters killed it, aside from those two its a 3.8-3.9, but nothing that I can really explain away - just had a mental breakdown)
LSAT: 172
Softs: nothing incredible, standard stuff for prospective law student
LORs: one prof, one immigration lawyer I worked for

I've run my numbers through mylsn, but I'm hoping to get some human commentary on my thought process to see if I have any dumb ideas or if I am not considering things I should.

Schools:
WUSTL
UCLA
NYU
Columbia
UT Austin
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
Umich
Northwestern
USC
UC Irvine
GW

My ideal areas to practice are in NY or CA. I would like to have the possibility of biglaw there (even though I know that at a lot of these schools, its pretty remote), but I also don't really want to go into crushing debt. I know my splitter status means I'll have a pretty wild cycle. Are there any schools I should consider adding to my list? Some of these schools (like Columbia) I'm applying to because I have a fee waiver, so even though I know I have a snowball's chance in hell I figure I might as well try my luck.

When considering cost of attendance, biglaw placement, and general quality, it seems like WUSTL is my likely school - they seem to admit people with my numbers with a pretty substantial scholarship, they have a relatively mediocre biglaw placement but it's still present enough that I can at least try for it, and the only real downside is that I have never really considered practicing in that area.

Some questions that I could use some insight on are:
1. Am I an idiot for considering paying sticker at NYU or Columbia? I know its unlikely I get in, but if I do, I would love to attend
2. Are there any schools I should add to my list?
3. I want to go to a school that allows me at least a chance at biglaw, but that I could also have the freedom to choose other routes (immigration or public defense). I know paying sticker at my dream reaches would basically force me into biglaw, but I wouldn't mind it at that point - I just don't want to pay sticker at a lower T1 school.

I've spent (probably far too much) time reading over responses to other people in this topic, so I feel like my intuitions are relatively accurate. I have a job lined up at an immigration firm that I interned at during undergrad for a few years, so if I don't go to law school/don't have a smart option to pick, I have that as a backup for a few years. I would really like to attend law school immediately, but only if doing so would make long term sense.

Any advice/answers/criticism? I don't mind if you're harsh or blunt - I would very much appreciate any insight anyone has.

• I'd recommend adding Penn, UVA, and Duke, all of which you have a decent shot at per MyLSN (see below).
• I'd especially do a Why Penn and Why USC - Penn seems to generally value the Why Penn highly, and USC seems to do YP with candidates with your numbers.
• I absolutely think you should attend a T13 if possible. Their placement into BigLaw is substantially better than the T20, and they also generally have great LRAPs, so you can have the option of doing PI even if you take out substantial loans.
• I agree that you should try to avoid paying sticker at a lower T1.
• I don't think you stand to gain much by putting off law school. You already have a 170+ LSAT, and your 3.3 GPA is already locked into stone - there's not too much more you can do, at a reasonable ROI within the foreseeable future, to strengthen your application.
• If you do receive a substantial scholly at WUSTL, and little/no money at the T13, then come back; but I don't think it's necesarily a cut-and-dry decision due to WUSTL's much weaker placement.

Best of luck!