Hello everyone, please allow me to preface this by saying that I am seeking admission in 2021. However, I gather that it is never to early to seek some advice. Here are my stats:
-3.54 Undergraduate GPA
-169 LSAT Score
I also have two years of professional work experience as a paralegal at a large law firm.
My goal is to practice biglaw in the Chicago, New York, or Texas markets. I am looking to apply to some T14s, and a few safety schools. So far, my top choice is UMich, also looking at UVA and Northwestern. Outside of the top 14, I am also really interested in the University of Texas at Austin (note however that I am not a Texas resident). I am planning on applying for ED to UMich. What are my chances, and should I look at maybe improving my LSAT score? Are there any schools outside of the ones mentioned that I should consider? Financial aid / scholarships will be important factors.
3.54 / 169 - UMich - what are my chances? Forum
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The Lsat Airbender
- Posts: 1801
- Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:34 pm
Re: 3.54 / 169 - UMich - what are my chances?
Definitely don't apply ED anywhere without a huge guaranteed scholarship.
You have decent chances at Mich/Northwestern but you'd bring more T14s into play, and (more importantly) tuition discounts, by
1) Applying to more of the T14 -- you can probably ignore HYS with your numbers but everywhere else warrants an application, if only to enhance your bargaining position for scholarships -- and
2) Increasing your LSAT score by even a point or two, which would put you on the sunny side of median at UVA and elsewhere.
Texas isn't a bad choice if you can negotiate a low price but you need to be willing to take the substantial risk of working non-biglaw in Texas.
You have decent chances at Mich/Northwestern but you'd bring more T14s into play, and (more importantly) tuition discounts, by
1) Applying to more of the T14 -- you can probably ignore HYS with your numbers but everywhere else warrants an application, if only to enhance your bargaining position for scholarships -- and
2) Increasing your LSAT score by even a point or two, which would put you on the sunny side of median at UVA and elsewhere.
Texas isn't a bad choice if you can negotiate a low price but you need to be willing to take the substantial risk of working non-biglaw in Texas.
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QContinuum
- Posts: 3594
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:52 am
Re: 3.54 / 169 - UMich - what are my chances?
Cosign everything LSAT Airbender wrote above. I'd also add:
Don't get me wrong: UT's a great school. I just want to be sure you're going into this with clear eyes, especially because you mention being a non-Texan who wants to work in Chicago/NYC, and generally, non-Texans who want to work in Chicago/NYC do not consider Houston/Dallas to be a good personal fit.
Be aware that legal jobs in Austin are relatively rare, and highly sought-after (i.e., you'd probably want to be top ~10-15% or so at UT to have a good shot at a BigLaw gig in Austin, and even then there wouldn't be a guarantee). And Austin's a tiny legal market more generally, even for non-BigLaw positions. So in TX you'd most likely be looking at a job in Houston (most likely; by far the largest legal market in TX), or Dallas (second-largest legal market in TX, but significantly behind Houston in terms of size). And out of UT, you should expect a 50% chance of not landing BigLaw anywhere.The Lsat Airbender wrote:Texas isn't a bad choice if you can negotiate a low price but you need to be willing to take the substantial risk of working non-biglaw in Texas.
Don't get me wrong: UT's a great school. I just want to be sure you're going into this with clear eyes, especially because you mention being a non-Texan who wants to work in Chicago/NYC, and generally, non-Texans who want to work in Chicago/NYC do not consider Houston/Dallas to be a good personal fit.
