Top Law Schools

Hi all,

What ranking of schools would I be competitive for a full ride with these stats/background?

- LSAT: 169
- Undergrad GPA: 3.8
- MA in Philosophy
- 3 years of teaching history at a high poverty public high school school
- Some activist background and an interest in public interest law

Thanks gang,
Dingus

Maybe WUSTL, and probably decent chances at places like USC, Emory, etc.

The better question is what school(s) you want to go to for your career goals.

Thanks!

Right now, I'm looking at these schools:

Tier 1: Duke, UVA, Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, Georgetown
Tier 2: WUSL, Emory, Vanderbilt, William and Mary
Tier 3: UNC, Wake Forest, Indiana, U of Georgia

All these schools are in places I wouldn't mind living after graduation. I'm interested in labor/employment law (I'm very active in my teacher's union), juvenile law, or immigration law. As someone shooting for in public interest law, I won't make the big bucks post-graduation and hope to keep debt to a minimum.

Dingus69 wrote:Thanks!

Right now, I'm looking at these schools:

Tier 1: Duke, UVA, Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, Georgetown
Tier 2: WUSL, Emory, Vanderbilt, William and Mary
Tier 3: UNC, Wake Forest, Indiana, U of Georgia

All these schools are in places I wouldn't mind living after graduation. I'm interested in labor/employment law (I'm very active in my teacher's union), juvenile law, or immigration law. As someone shooting for in public interest law, I won't make the big bucks post-graduation and hope to keep debt to a minimum.

This is a reasonable list, although if you're fine with the lower Midwest (which IU implies) then I don't see why you wouldn't shoot your shot at Michigan (which is just a great match for your numbers and goals anyway), UIUC, OSU, or maybe even UIowa or Minnesota. UT-Austin and Cornell also come to mind - might be a little outside your geographic constraints, but you're competitive for money at both and they're peers of places you do want to attend, which means they could give your a toehold for scholarship negotiation.

Dingus69 wrote:Tier 1: Duke, UVA, Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, Georgetown
Tier 2: WUSL, Emory, Vanderbilt, William and Mary
Tier 3: UNC, Wake Forest, Indiana, U of Georgia

All these schools are in places I wouldn't mind living after graduation. I'm interested in labor/employment law (I'm very active in my teacher's union), juvenile law, or immigration law. As someone shooting for in public interest law, I won't make the big bucks post-graduation and hope to keep debt to a minimum.

If by "public interest" you mean you want ACLU/EFF/etc.-type high-profile impact litigation work, or to work for the federal Department of Justice/SEC/Federal Reserve/etc., you should be T13 or bust. While not high-paying, these positions are extremely selective and are (much) harder to get than BigLaw.

If by "public interest" you mean you want to fight the good fight on the streets, e.g., as a state/local public defender, state/local nonprofit providing day-to-day legal aid to youth or at-risk groups, etc. then school pedigree matters a lot less and you should attend law school in the market where you want to work after graduation.

In any case, keep in mind that outside the T13/T20, law schools are regional. Georgia, Indiana, NYC, Chicago, and D.C. are each very different places. Very few folks are truly completely agnostic about whether they want to spend the next 30+ years living & working in Indiana vs. NYC.