CONCLUSIONS DRAWN:
At this point, Denver's my top pick (roughly 1/2 ride (17k/year), strong job market, really cool city, etc).. despite last year's drop in their ranking on USNews, I think it's bound to swing back... stock traders might call it 'undervalued,' so might as well exploit the cycle. I was surprised by the size of the offer, my LSAT is only marginally higher than the 75th percentile, and my UGPA is sub-50th. Job experience? Geographical diversity? Either way, good s***! Everyone raves about the city, too, and the opportunities out West seem better than here in the manufacturing Midwest.
$9000 a year @ CWRU. This was always a target school for me, based on reccomendations of corporate attorneys, etc. and some of my professors in intl biz and the like. Supposedly, it's got a strong regulatory and corporate program (employment data is unusually skewed towards "business" as opposed to "private practice") and I know quite a few successful alums in govt and private industry. Extra nice deal because my scores were more or less at median and it's a tough admissions cycle. It really comes down to this or DU.
Penn State made a generous offer, not sure if I want to spend another 3 years in a remote, midwestern college town. Seems like a solid program though, keeps climbing the charts. I know some alums, as well. I like the proximity to larger markets, but I'm not convinced I'd be competitive in said markets w/o being near the top of the class.
Mich State gave a modest 25% scholarship. Not being snide, most don't realize it's still a private school (used to be Detroit College of Law before MSU bought it) and therefore hella expensive. They've got better natl placement than Wayne, but lower average salaries... if I was planning to stay in MI, they've got natural access to state gov, which might be useful in networking, etc. Still, kinda expensive and kinda a rehash of undergrad... On the fence, at best.
In-state tuition scholarship @ SCarolina... never been to SC, just applied on a lark. I have some family in the South, though, and they were impressed by this particular acceptance more than others. Anyone know of the program's reputation in local markets?
In @ Georgia State.... Atlanta is a great city, quite a competitive market though. GSU is a good school, but they didn't offer any financial assistance, so it's less enticing. Also not sure I'm committed enough to living and working there enough to compete for employment against nearby heavy-hitters like Emory, UGA, Vandy, Duke, etc.
Got a half ride at Wayne State; as a native Detroiter I can't say that the thought of sticking around here excites me terribly. It's a good program, though, and I know quite a few successful alums locally.
Same issue w/Toledo. Got a full ride, which was a pleasant surprise, but concerned about the regional prospects for employment and spending another 3 years in the rust belt.
Accepted at DePaul, found out I got into CIPLIT and LARC, which are apparently restricted admission IP sections? It's a good IP school, which I'm interested in, but committing to a separate, career-defining track in law school before you've had any law classes is like deciding to be an accountant when you're in high school, in my view. Chitown would be sweet, but no scholarship (surprised by that) makes it hella, hella expensive.
Shocked about W/L @ Loyola. It's a good school, with good salary expectations, etc. in Chicago market, but given that I got scholarships at several similarly-ranked programs it was an unpleasant reminder about how tough and fickle admissions can be. I don't think I'm going to chase this one too hard, as I doubt they'd make it worth my while in terms of financial aid given that they waitlisted me.
Extremely bummed about Wisco... thought I'd at least get a W/L. Madison is a great town, seriously great. Alas, no Rathskeller ale in my future. Monona and Mendota are a blast in the summer, too. Sigh... I guess I can always visit Bascom Hill.
Less so Ohio State. Not a Buckeye fan, but it's a solid, national school and Columbus is a fun town... employment prospects (at least according to USN) are surprisingly regional, given the natl rep and ranking of the school, which makes it less upsetting I guess. More Case Western students (one example) end up leaving Ohio, which is counterintuitive considering OSU's sizable rank advantage.
Annnnd also a big no sir at Indy. No big surprise, their medians are higher than OSU or Wisc, still disappointing though... I'm a closet Hoosier fan when I'm not watching the Spartans. I ain't mad atchoo, bay-bay. Keeps it real, Bloomtown.
GMU: Not surprised, they're trying hard to climb the rankings by all accounts and get tons of apps. Think the median LSAT is 164... as a Libertarian-leaning guy, the law and econ focus was pretty interesting, same w/DC-area location... might get tired of the conservative orthodoxy after a while, though. Oh, well.. guess I won't get to be a CATO legal researcher anytime soon.
GWU: Surprised it took them so long to reject me. My scores aren't competitive there at all, and I'm not URM or anything.
American's waitlisting was ''ehhhh.'' My scores aren't great (but not bad either) by their metrics; it's another school, like DePaul, that is so prohibitively expensive (both in terms of tuition and local CoL) that it's hard to justify w/o some sort of scholarship, or a commitment to govt work or something. Friends who practice in the DC market kinda rag on it, too... no offense to anyone intending to attend. Not sure I "get" the whole DC pedigree pissing contest thing...
STILL PENDING:
Got a ''hold decision'' at Iowa... which I was told isn't akin to a waitlist, but I fail to see the discrepancy. Given the program's ranking and my rejection at less highly-ranked Big 10's, I'm shocked I got this far and plan to push for this quite hard. Any suggestions on how?
Applied to UCHastings on a lark. Great program, high ranking, cool location... best case scenario is I sneak in somehow by being geographically diverse or via my automotive background, which would certainly strike a different chord in San Francisco. If I got in, I would definitely be interested...
Colorado - doubt I'll get in, maybe a W/L... Since I'd end up practicing in Denver either way if I went to either school in the state, I'm not sweating this because I got the ride at DU Sturm. It'd be nice though, it's a great, top-flite program.
Chicago Kent, like Loyola and DePaul, boils down to the expense of the city and the availability of financial aid. I have several friends who went here and got good jobs in a variety of fields. IL state legislature, SEC, private firms, all sorts of stuff... pretty interesting stuff, supposed to be a very solid IP program too. If I made the cut, I'd seriously consider it, I would probably need some scholarship money though, should I be so lucky. This was always my top choice for the Chicago market... be interesting to see what happens.
Just wondering if you got a scholarship offer from UToledo? I have close to the same numbers but applied late.