3.5/157 Temple Forum

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anaid10

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3.5/157 Temple

Post by anaid10 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:59 pm

I'm set on going to Temple and have 3.5 gpa and 157 lsat but have been waitlisted since February. I have no intention to retake the lsat (i already have 2-3 scores and this is my best). I've visited the campus and sent several LOCIs. Thoughts??

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luckyirish13

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by luckyirish13 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:13 pm

1. What are your future goals?
2. Why Temple?
3. Unless you get a significant scholarship, (which won't happen if you're currently waitlisted) you're going to spend over $200,000 to go to a school that will not set you up with a career strong enough to pay off your debt. You're throwing away your future.

The cost/benefit analysis here is not a positive one. I'm not the same as some commenters on here who will tell you it's t-14 or bust, but if you're going to have to pay sticker at a tier 2 school it is absolutely not worth it. If you had a full ride scholarship to a Tier 2 school vs. paying sticker at a t-20, then the cost/benefit analysis would make sense for you to choose Temple, but as it stands, you seem determined to chain yourself to a lifetime of financial stress without going to a school good enough to get you a job that can pay off that burden. It's really, really, really illogical and dangerous for you.

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cavalier1138

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by cavalier1138 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:27 pm

anaid10 wrote:I'm set on going to Temple and have 3.5 gpa and 157 lsat but have been waitlisted since February. I have no intention to retake the lsat (i already have 2-3 scores and this is my best). I've visited the campus and sent several LOCIs. Thoughts??
How do you have "2-3" scores? And I echo the questions about why you want Temple and what your career goals are.

anaid10

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by anaid10 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:03 pm

My career goals are open to opportunities that come my way but I"m interested in real estate law, public interest, and corporate law. I have living costs covered, so except for cost of books, tuition for 3 years should be approx. 72K. I am set on temple for many reasons, including a) i have housing covered already, b) i have family here, c) tuition is cheaper than other tier 2 schools and d) i'm not boxed into working for big law.

The only thing I'm looking for is -- ways to be accepted of waitlist.

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cavalier1138

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by cavalier1138 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:06 pm

anaid10 wrote:My career goals are open to opportunities that come my way but I"m interested in real estate law, public interest, and corporate law. I have living costs covered, so except for cost of books, tuition for 3 years should be approx. 72K. I am set on temple for many reasons, including a) i have housing covered already, b) i have family here, c) tuition is cheaper than other tier 2 schools and d) i'm not boxed into working for big law.

The only thing I'm looking for is -- ways to be accepted of waitlist.
Just be aware that even though you aren't "boxed in" to biglaw, Temple will definitely box you out of it. And since one of your three very broad interests is "corporate law", please kiss that ambition goodbye.

There is no magic formula for getting off the waitlist. There is a magic formula to getting accepted in the next cycle, and you seem very aware of what the formula is.

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Future Ex-Engineer

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by Future Ex-Engineer » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:27 pm

cavalier1138 wrote:
anaid10 wrote:I'm set on going to Temple and have 3.5 gpa and 157 lsat but have been waitlisted since February. I have no intention to retake the lsat (i already have 2-3 scores and this is my best). I've visited the campus and sent several LOCIs. Thoughts??
How do you have "2-3" scores? And I echo the questions about why you want Temple and what your career goals are.
I believe that would be code for 'I definitely could take it again, but I don't want to put in the effort to study and get a better score that will get me a significant scholarship, or in at a good school'.

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luckyirish13

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by luckyirish13 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:57 pm

anaid10 wrote:My career goals are open to opportunities that come my way but I"m interested in real estate law, public interest, and corporate law. I have living costs covered, so except for cost of books, tuition for 3 years should be approx. 72K. I am set on temple for many reasons, including a) i have housing covered already, b) i have family here, c) tuition is cheaper than other tier 2 schools and d) i'm not boxed into working for big law.

The only thing I'm looking for is -- ways to be accepted of waitlist.
Your explanation of why Temple is reasonable, since you can stay with family and that will save you a good amount of money, but if you're set on Temple, beat the system. You can not only get into Temple, you can get into Temple and have them pay for your tuition. All you have to do is score a few points higher on the LSAT.

You're acting like $75,000 is a small number. That's massive! Thats the cost of 3 good sized cars. That's a down payment on a home in suburbia. That is several hundred dollars a month of debt you'll be paying every month for over a decade, all of which would go away just as long as you sacrifice the short term desire for the long term gain.

This is you right now. LSAT 155-160 + GPA 3.3-3.6 Most applicants to Temple with these numbers are waitlisted, denied, or accepted without scholarship money. http://mylsn.info/y1t4a0/
This is you next year after you've studied and improved your LSAT by just a few points. LSAT 160-165+GPA 3.3-3.6. Almost all applicants to Temple with these numbers are accepted with full or partial scholarships.http://mylsn.info/16evkx/

If the LSAT is hard, that's understandable. You aren't the only one who struggles with it, but it is the sort of thing you can absolutely improve on, as long as you recognize that it it worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. If you raise your LSAT to a 165, you'll be looking at a full ride or near full ride instead of spending $75,000 you don't need to spend. Even if you just raise your score to a 160, you'll almost be guaranteed to get into Temple, and most likely will have some scholarship money. ($40,000 is a significant cut out of that $75,000 number)

Fortunately you didn't get into Temple yet. This is fantastic! If you had gotten into Temple right now, you'd be spending tens of thousands of dollars you don't need to spend. But the legal gods have smiled on you and given you a gift. Accept that gift, don't go this year, study up on the LSAT, and go next year with most or all of your tuition paid for by scholarship. That's how you get off the waitlist.

anaid10

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by anaid10 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 5:17 pm

luckyirish13 - thanks so much for your response. the only urgency is in my age. i have been out of school for nearly a decade and I'm turning 30. i feel i'm behind the curve that my peers (who are already well into their careers) and after a few failures in the past, i want this to be the year where i am admitted. i took the lsat my senior year of college, then twice again two years later, then again last year. after all these attempts, my 157 was the best i achieved. but thank you for opening my eyes to how much money one year can save me. my only fear is that even with extra studying, i won't score higher and i will be another year behind.

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luckyirish13

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Re: 3.5/157 Temple

Post by luckyirish13 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 5:56 pm

anaid10 wrote:luckyirish13 - thanks so much for your response. the only urgency is in my age. i have been out of school for nearly a decade and I'm turning 30. i feel i'm behind the curve that my peers (who are already well into their careers) and after a few failures in the past, i want this to be the year where i am admitted. i took the lsat my senior year of college, then twice again two years later, then again last year. after all these attempts, my 157 was the best i achieved. but thank you for opening my eyes to how much money one year can save me. my only fear is that even with extra studying, i won't score higher and i will be another year behind.
I totally understand that. I'm actually in a similar boat, since I'm 24, and by the time I apply to law schools I will be 25, and by the time class starts I'll be 26. I've been out of school for about 2 and a half years now, and the thought of waiting another year and a half is hard. So I can only imagine how you'd feel considering you're 5 years older than me.

But at the same time, the point of going to law school is to emerge with a better future. We're not doing this for fun, we're doing it because we want to set ourselves up for a financially viable career. The less debt we have to deal with, the better the future we have. I actually considered applying to law schools this year, until I looked in depth at the numbers and realized I needed to get a very strong LSAT if I want my future to be economically viable. Getting the good LSAT requires time and effort. Just going to law school because I want to or because I feel behind isn't going to cut it, if it doesn't lead to me getting a strong career. That's why so many commenters here on TLS are t-14 or bust, because those are the schools that set people up with the best odds of a career. I'm not saying that a T-14 school is necessary, since I know going to a good regional school can and does work, but those schools don't set you up with Biglaw, so you won't be making oodles of money. You can come out of a Tier 2 school and be making a decent salary, but you'll still be in debt. That's not worth it, since you'll be roughly in the same place you were before you went to law school. Yes your salary might be better, but it's offset by you paying off your loans each month.

The cost/benefit analysis of a Tier 2 school is that you need to have some or all of it covered by scholarship, so that the decent salary you make once out of school will have you in a better situation than you would have been without law school.

I would recommend putting some money into an LSAT training course, or a tutor, or some other set up whereby you get people who know how to beat the test helping you learn how to beat it. It's an investment in your future, since it can legitimately save you $40,000-$75,000 (those were the scholarship amounts MyLSN users to Temple had submitted). Put in some time and a little money now, bite the bullet for a year, and you'll be significantly better off in the future. Obviously it's your decision, not mine. I'm just saying, if you really think hard about the financial costs each way, I think there is a clear advantage to focusing on upping your LSAT score and reapplying next cycle.

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