164/3.74 anxious for new cycle Forum

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mattrich502

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164/3.74 anxious for new cycle

Post by mattrich502 » Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:01 pm

Greetings everyone,
I took the LSAT once and got a 164 several months ago, and my LSAC GPA is officially at a 3.74. The upcoming cycle has caused me a great deal of anxiety for what schools I ought to look at or think are realistic for the Fall 2022 cycle.

Currently, my top choices are SMU, IU Bloomington, Washington and Lee, Ohio State, Iowa, UW Madison, and Texas A&M. I'm less concerned with A&M compared to the others, but SMU is by all means my dream school. Are these realistic options given the extremely competitive cycle, or should I recalibrate my expectations for lower ranked schools?

Thanks.

crazywafflez

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Re: 164/3.74 anxious for new cycle

Post by crazywafflez » Wed Jul 14, 2021 6:11 pm

mattrich502 wrote:
Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:01 pm
Greetings everyone,
I took the LSAT once and got a 164 several months ago, and my LSAC GPA is officially at a 3.74. The upcoming cycle has caused me a great deal of anxiety for what schools I ought to look at or think are realistic for the Fall 2022 cycle.

Currently, my top choices are SMU, IU Bloomington, Washington and Lee, Ohio State, Iowa, UW Madison, and Texas A&M. I'm less concerned with A&M compared to the others, but SMU is by all means my dream school. Are these realistic options given the extremely competitive cycle, or should I recalibrate my expectations for lower ranked schools?

Thanks.
You've kinda got regional schools from all across TX, the South, and Midwest. Where do you want to practice and what are your career goals? Ranking of the schools largely doesn't matter after about the top 20. U of Minnesota may be 30 spots ahead of U of Tennessee, but U of Tennessee places significantly better in Tennessee.
If you want to be in Texas, specifically Dallas, SMU is a fantastic school, and you've got the scores to get in (I think you'd get in with a scholarship too- which I would only go to SMU or any of these schools on a hefty scholarship). You have the scores to get into all of these schools, but the question is, where do you want to practice and what are your career goals. If your goals are to practice in generic NYC biglaw, you won't get it from any of these schools unless you are in the top 10% (perhaps top 20, idk the exact cutoff); if you want Dallas biglaw, SMU gives you a viable shot if you are in the top 25%, but IUB won't be placing anybody in Dallas shops.
Head over to LST and check out how these schools place and where they place. Barring the T14 (maybe T20), go to school in the state you want to practice, because nobody in Florida cares that FSU is ranked behind ASU, they'll take the FSU grad.

mattrich502

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Re: 164/3.74 anxious for new cycle

Post by mattrich502 » Wed Jul 14, 2021 6:44 pm


You've kinda got regional schools from all across TX, the South, and Midwest. Where do you want to practice and what are your career goals? Ranking of the schools largely doesn't matter after about the top 20. U of Minnesota may be 30 spots ahead of U of Tennessee, but U of Tennessee places significantly better in Tennessee.
If you want to be in Texas, specifically Dallas, SMU is a fantastic school, and you've got the scores to get in (I think you'd get in with a scholarship too- which I would only go to SMU or any of these schools on a hefty scholarship). You have the scores to get into all of these schools, but the question is, where do you want to practice and what are your career goals. If your goals are to practice in generic NYC biglaw, you won't get it from any of these schools unless you are in the top 10% (perhaps top 20, idk the exact cutoff); if you want Dallas biglaw, SMU gives you a viable shot if you are in the top 25%, but IUB won't be placing anybody in Dallas shops.
Head over to LST and check out how these schools place and where they place. Barring the T14 (maybe T20), go to school in the state you want to practice, because nobody in Florida cares that FSU is ranked behind ASU, they'll take the FSU grad.

Hey, thanks for the detailed response! Your words are reassuring, even if this upcoming cycle will be horrendous. With that in mind, the truth is I'm not entirely sure where I want to practice, as I'm leveraging some moves with my long-term girlfriend, soon to be engaged. We are both attending a university in the Midwest, and the reputation of the Big 10 schools regionally seems to be good enough to earn a decent job after graduation in the area. To be honest, I'm not interested in pursuing biglaw in NYC or really anywhere. I intern at a larger firm right now and every single attorney working there hates their life, but likes the money. No disrespect to them of course, but I'm erring on the side of a work-life balance over a massive paycheck. As for goals, I'm especially interested in joining the JAG in any of the military branches, and perhaps transitioning to (ideally) federal government employment in some capacity. Otherwise, I'm not opposed to the private practice world of education law or getting a masters in healthcare administration alongside the JD to enter into health law. Just thoughts.. I'm a naive college senior after all, so who knows what will happen.

I have family ties in Dallas and attending SMU would be really great because I could comfortably live with one of my family members near campus, saving me a fortune over the course of 3 years.

Again, I really appreciate the insight.

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