JD/MPP options

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi all. </p>

<p>So currently I’m a sophomore at at a top 10 LAC. </p>

<p>I want to go to law school, but have no desire to become a lawyer. I’m going to go off to work on the Hill/White House and such. </p>

<p>I know there are a lot of solid schools with incredible joint JD/MPP options - Harvard, Stanford, Duke just to name a few. I just wanted to gauge my potential at being accepted into any of these programs. </p>

<p>So I’ve got ~3.7 GPA. I’m double majoring in Government and Economics.</p>

<p>I also have some work experience. I was hired to work with the Obama campaign full time, and took last semester off to do so. I’m still on track to graduate with my class, as I have overloaded every semester I was able to (and have still performed fairly well academically). I intend to keep overloading, mostly because I’m maintaining a 3.9 right now with 5 upper level classes and am doing fine. </p>

<p>This morning the school offered a free practice LSAT that one of my friends had taken before/has the answer key for. It doesn’t have the writing section on it, but based on the 4 sections I took I got ~165 (this was a diagnostic test with absolutely 0 preparation going in… I didn’t even know what the sections were going to be). </p>

<p>So, a few questions…</p>

<li><p>What is a reasonable upper limit to expect on the LSAT? I read that you can expect a 15 point bump with diligent studying, but I would assume that marginal improvement decreases towards the upper end of the range. Is 175 too high, or is it perhaps attainable?</p></li>
<li><p>Assuming I maintain a 3.7 + score a 170 on the LSAT, what are my chances at those programs? At other T14 law schools? (for that matter, why are the top law schools referred/restricted to the T14?)</p></li>
<li><p>What would you folks recommend to help study for the LSAT? I heard the Powerscore stuff is quite good. </p></li>
<li><p>Is there anything I should be looking for to get involved with? I’m working as the blog editor for the school paper, am a student senator, have two Research Assistant gigs with Econ profs, and though I won’t major/minor in it, I am going to take a lot of Psych courses. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>First, the obligatory warning: hardly anybody gets significant merit-based aid for JDs or MPPs at top schools. You can expect to spend about $160,000 for four years of tuition alone; depending on where you live you can expect your living expenses (car/transit, rent, utilities, food, laptop, travel, clothes/dry cleaning, health insurance, textbooks, entertainment, etc.) over 4 years to be as much as $100,000 more. If you have to borrow all this money, you could easily have student loan payments over $2000 each month for 10 years (you can stretch the payments out, but you’ll end up paying a lot more over time). There are loan-repayment assistance programs at many law schools and through the government but they have many loopholes and requirements (don’t count private loans, asset caps that preclude you from owning a house or car, assuming a 25-year repayment plan, etc.) and may cease without much notice. </p>

<p>The jobs you’re looking at, as I’m sure you know, probably pay under $60,000 to start. But all this is up to you. Here are some answers to your questions:</p>

<ol>
<li>What is a reasonable upper limit to expect on the LSAT? </li>
</ol>

<p>It’s impossible to know. Obviously, your chances of getting a 180 are minuscule, but the best way to find out how much you’re going to improve is by studying and taking practice tests. Figure you’ll do a couple points lower than your average on the tests you’ve taken with preparation. I did similarly to you on the “cold” LSAT and only went up a few points–I don’t think you can easily assume you’ll break 170, but you might.</p>

<ol>
<li>Assuming I maintain a 3.7 + score a 170 on the LSAT, what are my chances at those programs? At other T14 law schools? (for that matter, why are the top law schools referred/restricted to the T14?)</li>
</ol>

<p>At that point, your chances of getting into one or more of the top 14 are good. The more schools you apply to, the bigger the chance that one will take you, but it’s hard to predict which one. Top schools have more 3.7+/low-170 candidates than they can accept. Whether you will also get into the MPP program will depend on recommendations, work experience, GRE score, essays, etc…it seems like a less numbers-driven process than law school. (It’s top14 since the same 14 schools have always occupied the top 14 places on the US news rankings…#15 has changed around over time). </p>

<ol>
<li>What would you folks recommend to help study for the LSAT? I heard the Powerscore stuff is quite good.</li>
</ol>

<p>I liked the Logic Games Bible and as many previously-issued LSAT exams as I could find (I bought the Bible so I could write in it…everything else came from my public library). </p>

<ol>
<li>Is there anything I should be looking for to get involved with? I’m working as the blog editor for the school paper, am a student senator, have two Research Assistant gigs with Econ profs, and though I won’t major/minor in it, I am going to take a lot of Psych courses.</li>
</ol>

<p>At this point your best bet is to keep your grades up, get good recommendations, and study hard for the LSAT (and GRE for the MPP).</p>