Am I aiming too high?

[dblless]

Hi all!

I hope everybody's well. I wanted to ask a quick question as application season ramps up. I graduated in 2015 and have been working at a nonprofit. I want to do public interest law, whether that's as a prosecutor or doing veteran's benefits (I know that seems random, but I'm v. passionate about both of these issues). I'm a first gen college student (and first-gen Asian American) and took on more debt for undergrad than I probably would choose to if I were making the decision again. With that said, I'm trying to go to law school without going too deep in The Hole.

My stats are:
3.63 UGPA (I worked 3 jobs per semester in undergrad and wrote an addendum about this)
172 LSAT

I am thinking of applying to: Vanderbilt, Duke, UNC, Georgetown, GW, UVA, UMich, Boston College, Boston Law, William and Mary, UCLA and UCI.

Am I aiming too high to have a good shot at scholarships? Are there other schools in the mid-Atlantic or California I should be considering?

HELP!

Thank you,
Dblless

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Dblless,

Thanks for the question! Here's how I'd organize your chances:

• UVA, Duke, UMich, Georgetown:
  
  • Admission: wide range of chances here, anywhere from 25%-60% chance of admission.
    
    Financials: you'd have about a 25-40% chance of decent money, perhaps up to $70-80K total in optimal conditions.
  UCLA, Vanderbilt:
  
  • Admission: very good of admission, 75-90%.
    
    Financials: about a 50-60% chance of a good aid package, which could be up to $80-90K total.
  
  Boston University, Boston College, UCI, GW, UNC, William and Mary:
  
  • Admission: you're likely in, with chances at each over 85%, and in some cases you're basically a lock.
    
    Financials: even better outcomes here, and in some cases you'll be looking at full rides I'd expect.

You can kind of see how this breaks down along ranking lines, with your chances getting better and better, and the aid packages more generous, as you go lower in the rankings. If admission alone was the sole criterion, you would have a good shot at some of the T14s not listed above (NYU, Northwestern) but when you add the monetary consideration in, your list narrows considerably. It's not likely that in the T14 you'll see full aid packages. You're close, but at the top schools it's going to be hit or miss. As you move lower in the rankings, it's really all about what you prefer and where you want to live/practice. for example, Emory is a school in the T25 where you'd get in and probably get a very large aid package, but I have no idea if you should apply there because maybe Atlanta is too far south for you.

Of the schools you didn't mention that I feel would be a natural addition, I'd include:

• USC: if you're going to apply to UCLA, USC is a very natural addition and has similar outcomes;
  
  Berkeley: because why not? Chances are around 40-50%, but that's not bad;
  
  NYU: NYU is the least selective of the T6, and your chances of admission are around 60%, better than several of the other schools on this list such as Duke and UVA; the money would be reasonable too, most likely.

Please let me know if this helps, and if so, please let other people know that PowerScore was helpful to you. We'd really appreciate it no matter what forum or site it's on!

Thanks and good luck!

[dblless]

Thank you, Dave! That is really helpful. I have added USC and Berkeley. I'm not sure about NYU because the coat of living is SO HIGH in New York and my partner might hate living there. Emory might make sense, though.

I've turned in Duke, Georgetown and Vanderbilt and we'll see where that goes! Duke is priority track so I should know this week.

[Dave Killoran]

Great, glad to hear that! Cost of living in Durham is not bad either and the town of Durham has really improved over the years since I went there).

Good luck!