Which schools should I apply to next cycle? Forum

[yfang12]

Here is my situation, after I evaluate my last transcript by the LSAC I ended up with a 2.76 due to too many retake, my LSAT was 164/167, planning to take it again in Jun.

I do have a master degree from a pretty decent school in Europe and a human right graduate certificate from Columbia with high GPAs, but doubt it will do me any good since admission don't care about masters.

Do have some decent work experience, currently practicing law in a big firm overseas as a lawyer doing bankruptcy stuff (passed bar in my home country) , interned at a court in Washington DC before.

I wanted to practice in one of the following cities: Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC or Huston, got some family and friends in those cities.

I am just wondering which schools should I be applying to, last cycle I got dinged at most school ( applied with 164 LSAT and no master degree),only got into W&M, decided not to go because someone told me their big law chance are slim ( don't have a greencard, big law and non-profit organizations for sure can sponsor a work visa, some middle size firm does it too, but I was told not to bank on it). And I think i got dinged so much is because I aimed too high with my numbers, BU, UTA sorts of schools.

Anything would help, please through in some thoughts, both in which schools should I apply to and what I can do right now to improve my chance for admission.

Oh the reason I choose U.S for LS is because I already spent 8 years here, upon getting my BA I took the bar in my home country and went to Europe for a master because I wanted to travel, I was planning to come back in fall 2017 but didn't get into any schools that has a reasonable chance for my goal, so I went home and became a lawyer while reapplying to LS for 2018 cycle.


Thank you

[enoca]

what I can do right now to improve my chance for admission.

You probably already know this, but the one thing you can do that will make a huge difference is improve your LSAT. If you are retaking in June, you should be studying your butt off right now. If you can get into the 170s, you still are out at the t6, but if you apply to the rest of the t20, you'll probably have some good options.

http://mylsn.info/exyvno/

Even with your 167, you have a shot at places like WUSTL and ND, maybe even with some money. But your options definitely improve with just a few more LSAT points.

You aren't gonna be eligible for clerkships, but here is a rough look at how strong each school places in the Big Law job you'd need for a visa:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=276222

[cavalier1138]

You need to push your LSAT above 170. With a 170+ and WE, you might stand a chance at Northwestern and UVA, but you won't be looking at a lot of scholarship funding. It also seems like you should be considering an LLM after practicing a little more, but I don't know the bar exam situation for LLMs in your desired cities.

[AJordan]

A 170 and a T20 blanket is your best option at this point.

[yfang12]

A 170 and a T20 blanket is your best option at this point.

Do you think I should work for another year or so and postpone LS for few years for more experience?

[yfang12]

You need to push your LSAT above 170. With a 170+ and WE, you might stand a chance at Northwestern and UVA, but you won't be looking at a lot of scholarship funding. It also seems like you should be considering an LLM after practicing a little more, but I don't know the bar exam situation for LLMs in your desired cities.

UVA, NW and UT Austin were my top three choices, I didn't apply to the first two because of my numbers and got dinged at UTA. All three schools does LLM to JD transfer but according to my friends who did that, is not a good idea. They all struck out during OCI ( even the one in Uchicago, she attended OCI with all upcoming second year JD as a Transfer JD student), because firms just don't know what to take from a LLM Gpa.

With a 2.7+ do you think I ll have a chance at UTA if I apply through their ED program? They offers in state tuition + 1000 stipend/yr to out state student through ED, i think is a good enough deal for me at this time.

[yfang12]

Even with your 167, you have a shot at places like WUSTL and ND, maybe even with some money. But your options definitely improve with just a few more LSAT points.

For WUSTL if people want to work for big law which cities do they usually go to? I use to compete at WUSTL during mock trail years but the school itself just seems super isolated

[AJordan]

Removed