@HappyAlumnus: I appreciate what you said, and I believe you when you say you did not intend to advise going. However, I am telling you honestly that this was not how your post read. It seems bluebayou read your post the same way, so it is not simply an individual quirk of mine.
I’m with Seattle-why worry about this now? Take all of the above advice and study hard for the LSAT. That score will pretty much make all the decisions for you.
@Demosthenes49, I’d be happy to let bluebayou speak for bluebayou’s self. I had several posts, and it appears that you read only a more recent one, not an earlier one that contained the text that I quoted.
Attending a pricey LS today is a really bad bet. But then so is attending a really low ranked LS for cheap. While you may earn a JD, it won’t much matter if you can’t get a real lawyer job (requiring a JD)…
btw: don’t forget that those so-called employment numbers, includes all of those working in temporary, school-funded jobs. Sure, $15.00 an hour paid by your LS is better than nothing, but I’m guessing that was not the plan on the day one applied to LS.
You won’t know anything and can’t make decisions until you take the LSAT. Study hard. Every point counts. If you do VERY well you will get offers from top schools. And it is worth going to a top school.
There is a proliferation of third rate schools now–their graduates don’t get jobs–you don’t want to go to one of them.
I agree to talk to current students and recent grads of your regional school. How many of them are getting jobs and what kinds of jobs. See if you can find some bottom of the class types and talk to them, too. Then take the LSAT and see what happens.
I remember that even in the old days when the market for lawyers was better (back when law firms were competing with investment banks and offering lots of $—remember that?) there were grads who didn’t get jobs or didn’t get good jobs right away. Law students who were not at the top of their classes but were motivated to be lawyers took a more round about way to success. Some worked for smaller cities, some hung out their own shingles and took whatever came in. Some ran for office after a few years, for smaller judgeship jobs. Many had to move away from the saturated big city areas to places where the COL was lower.
I am counseling to think beyond Big Law as an option. Be prepared not to make lots of $ right away. That free ride at a regional school looks pretty good in the context of a weak market.
You absolutely cannot can not count on being at the top of your class. No one can.
@abbiewsu, that has to be the worst reason in the history of law school to attend law school, especially in today’s job market.
If you think you can’t do “anything” with your Poli Sci degree, work for a couple of years. Get some sort of job - working on a campaign, municipal jobs, doing entry-level office work, whatever - to get some experience. You may find that you don’t need to spend three years of your life in law school to be successful; you may find that a different graduate degree would better suit your talents, personality, and interests. You’ll still have that 3.9, and you can bolster that with a very strong LSAT score and some actual understanding of what you want to do.
I cannot suggest strongly enough that students begin ‘networking’ even before they put down a deposit to law school.
Indeed, @ariesathena gives the best advice: (look for a job!) If you’re still hell-bent on law school, study hard for the LSAT and take the free ride. Low chance of reward, but low risk as well. If you fail to land a big-time gig, you’re no worse that you were before (as opposed to being 6 figures in debt and still unemployed).
Something to consider:
http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/2012/02/transfer-game.html
Thank you to everyone for your advice and input regarding my dilemma. I truly appreciate each of you taking the time to read my post and reply, as well as your input! Thanks again! 
@bluebayou Thank you again for your reply, I appreciate it! Knowing that I do eventually want to work the area of corporate/business law is one of the factors that is contributing to my dilemma. Like I stated in my original post, I have heard many times that the only way to get a decent job after graduating law school is by attending a top tier law school and like you stated, that means attending a T20 school if I want to work in the area of corporate/business law. I know that I am putting the cart before the horse in this situation because I have not applied or taken the LSAT yet, but I am just trying to figure out all or my options and see what may be best. I know that I may not truly know until after I take the LSAT and apply.
@STEMsupport Thank you as well for your reply, I truly appreciate it! Thank you for also for pointing out that I may need to step back and rethink what it is I exactly want to do. I kind of feel like I may have already taken a step back which is why I am questioning if I should go forward in wanting to attend law school, but may actually need to take a few more steps back to try and figure out what it is I exactly want to do. Maybe it isn’t truly law like I thought.
@SeattleTW Thank you as well for your reply, I truly appreciate it! I guess I may be putting the cart before the horse about having a dilemma right now. The reason that I feel like I do have a dilemma is because at this point I feel like I have no back up plan. I have been planning on going to law school after I finished my undergrad all throughout college and now here I am less than a year away from graduating and I don’t know what I want to do because of the lack luster job prospects in law. So, I may not truly have a dilemma right now since I have not taken the LSAT. At the same time though, I feel like I kind of do because at this point I have no back up plan with what I want to do if I don’t go to law school. Bottom line is that I am just trying to plan ahead and in the process, consider all of my options.
@ariesathena Thank you as well for your reply, I truly appreciate it! I think that you have misunderstood what I am trying to say in the statement that you quoted. My point with that statement is that yes, in my heart I want to go to law school and work in law. At the same time, I state my reason for feeling that I am in a dilemma is because of the lack luster job prospects. So I am not sure what you are referring to as being “ the worst reason in the history of law school to attend law school”. I KNOW that the job prospects for lawyers are lack luster, which is why I feel like I am in the dilemma that I am in. Also, the reason that I want/wanted to attend law school is NOT because I think that I can’t do anything with my BA in Political Science, it is because I am truly interested in law. I am majoring in Political Science because I am interested in it AND all along have planned on attending law school once I finished my undergrad. I am not thinking of attending law school just now as a so called back up, this is something that I have thought about and planned on doing since I started college.
You can always take the full-ride and transfer. See the link I posted?
@PurpleTitan Yes, I did see the link that you posted. Thank you for sharing! Transfering is definitly something that I could consider once I take the LSAT, apply, and find out where I get accepted along with any possible scholarships. I guess I am just trying to see all of my options because of the lack luster job prospects for lawyers, even for those who graduate for the top tier schools. This is why I feel like I am in such of a dilemma about whether I should go forward with wanting to go to law school.
If you get a 171+ then try your hands at lower T14s (Duke, Cornell will likely give you at least a half-ride)
Totally agree @demos. Since job opportunities are fleeting at best when attending a 3rd tier ranked Law school, my advice is to study your ass off for LSAT get a 170+ and perhaps you can get into a top 13 Law school. If not. Be prepared to struggle finding a good job. I thought my S was crazy to focus solely on getting a 175+ on his LSAT just to get into a top tier law school. But he was right. Major law firms came to recruit students at his Law School, after their freshman year! If you get into a top 10 law school, dont worry too much about debt. You earning potential will far exceed your debt. So my advice is don’t even worry about which law school you should go to until you get your LSAT scores back. THEN you will know your best options! Good luck on your journey.