<p>I am still on the border about attending law-school, but I want to see how good my chances are for the following law schools
Drexel, Rutgers Camden/New Brunswick, Seton Hall, American University</p>
<p>So here are my "credentials"</p>
<p>Rutgers University Class of 2015
GPA: 3.88
Major: Material Science and Engineering
Extracurriculars: material science club, research under a professor for the past year and continuing, intramural sports</p>
<p>I am sure I need to improve on extracurriculars, but I am wondering what kind of stats I would need to get into the mentioned schools above, and if I could receive a good amount of merit scholarships. Thank you for your time!</p>
<p>You should not attend any of those schools outside a substantially compelling reason. Frankly, with a 3.88 there’s no reason you need to. Go get a decent LSAT score and apply to the T14.</p>
<p>you are worth more to a T14 than you are to those other schools. More importantly, what good is a merit scholarship when your employment prospects are <10%?</p>
<p>In general, here are my thoughts (copy-pasted from another thread):</p>
<p>1.) If you get into a top-6 school, go. If not…
2.) If you get into a top-14 with substantial scholarship, go. If not…
3.) If you get into a top-28 with full-tuition AND if it is in the legal market where you would eventually like to work, go. This is even better if it is the premiere school in that market, which most of the T28 are. If you don’t get into any schools like this…</p>
<p>4.) Rethink whether law school is worth it. This is a very bad time to try to enter the legal market, for all the reasons that have become so famous.
5.) But if you are absolutely dead-set on going, then do everything you can to get the best grades you possibly can, keep your debt as low as humanly possible, and try very hard to choose a school that is the best school in its market.</p>
<p>@lawful2014: I don’t think attending any of those schools is worthwhile, even with a full ride. For reference, I was offered a full ride to several of those schools and did not attend. Keeping the cost of law school down is definitely a plus, but not in exchange for the employment numbers those schools offer. Spend some time [url=<a href=“http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/]here[/url”>http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/]here[/url</a>] checking out schools. A far better bet is to leverage money out of a lower T14 with offers from higher T14s. That way you get decent job stats AND keep the cost down. With a 3.88, all you need is a decent LSAT score.</p>
<p>but it looks like employment % is very high for JD graduates, especially the higher ranked ones. Coming out of a law school that will give you a good aid/full ride, i dont see the risk there.</p>
<p>What are you talking about? Drexel, the first “school” on your list, employed a whopping 46.5% of its class. That’s worse than a coin flip. Your odds are actually better taking your tuition to Vegas and putting it all on black. Of those, only about 5-10% are earning a salary capable of paying back what they had to borrow to go to Drexel. The other schools on your list do not fare better.</p>
<p>It’s called opportunity costs. Instead of sitting in a lecture hall/classroom for three years, one could be a barista for a couple of years and then graduate to manager.</p>
<p>After three years of xx LS, one could graduate with a JD and then become a barista.</p>
<p>@bluebayou technically, I will be getting a bachelor’s in an engineering degree, so I highly doubt being underemployed to a customer service level. But I do see your point on taking a huge risk and ending up with a non-JD required job. I am still in a thinking process about this, so I appreciate your insight on your point of view.</p>
<p>OP: I strongly encourage you to read law school transparency, while still viewing the employment numbers with a critical eye. Law schools do all they can to inflate job stats, and it’s really all about getting a job at the end of law school.</p>
<p>Do law schools give more merit aid than they used to? I don’t remember that being much of an option when I applied. and OP, your GPA is great. Study so u can ace the LSAT too. and noting other comments, I went to one of those tippity top schools and it is no guarantee of employment when u graduate. of course, the market could improve over next 3 years but u got excellent advice on that point.</p>
<p>ctl makes a good point: it’s become something of an urban legend that law schools are throwing money at applicants; are there any stats to back this up? I went to law school long ago and it certainly didn’t happen then(although law school was a fraction of the cost, even adjusted for current dollars). I haven’t seen any reliable stats on merit aid, so I’d like to be educated.</p>
<p>right now, WashU is throwing money at nearly everyone. Just this week, they took a kid off of the WL (based on a higher June LSAT), and offered up a full tuition. From WL to full tuition – don’t get any better than that.</p>
<p>UCLA is throwing out a whole lot more money to hold onto their acceptees. Even GULC has had to dip into reserves to keep some students from fleeing. </p>
<p>Tis a good time to be an applicant with above median numbers.</p>
<p>Dang, if I was only younger… and to the op, DEF take into scholarship options in accepting a law school. even going to a top tier school will leave you with lots of debt, most people are not making 6 figures when they get out, and those that are have HORRIBLE billable hour expectations. I have a friend who took one of those tip top jobs, she pretty much used her whole salary to pay off the loans(she was married so that was an option) and paid off the loans fast but she was the exception, not the rule</p>
<p>Sorry bb, but I’m just not seeing it. We get a couple of dozen interns through the office every summer, and none have heard about the alleged merit aid largesse-let alone be recipients of it. So it’s all anecdotal, and while median numbers may get you into schools that wouldn’t have looked at you before, there’s nothing beyond anecdotes to suggest that merit money is going to median candidates in any organized, sustained level.</p>