Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q&A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles.
If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.
Dear Shawn:
I have just received my final admissions results and am having difficulty choosing between two schools. The schools I am considering are New York University and University of California–Los Angeles. Although I know that NYU is a higher-ranked school, there are several considerations that push me in the direction of attending UCLA. First, UCLA offered me a significant scholarship that would pay for about a third of my law school tuition. Second, they have a very strong entertainment law program, and that is an area of law I am interested in. Finally, I am from Los Angeles, my parents live there and I am planning on settling there once I finish law school. What is your advice on which school I should attend? -Two Great Options
Dear Two Great Options: Congratulations on such fantastic admissions results. Having a choice between two excellent schools is a great place to be.
[Get seven tips for surviving the first week of law school.]
It is difficult for me to answer this question definitively because there are so many personal and intangible factors involved in the decision. Instead of trying to decide for you, I’ll give you some information that will hopefully help guide your decision.
With respect to your professional development, attending NYU is clearly the better choice. The reputation of the law school you attend is extremely important in terms of finding your first job after law school, and your alma mater’s reputation will stay with you for your entire career.
I often describe the choice to attend law or business school as tying yourself to a certain brand, which will stick with you for the rest of your career. Although UCLA and NYU are both clearly excellent schools, NYU’s reputation is stronger.
You mentioned entertainment law and settling in Los Angeles. You are in a good position at both schools. Although UCLA has a very strong network in Los Angeles and in the entertainment industry, a degree from NYU will make you a competitive applicant nationwide and in any industry.
[Consider how a law school’s location can affect your job prospects.]
As for the scholarship money, I would consider two factors. First, think about how you would otherwise finance law school. Second, consider what type of work do you plan on doing immediately after law school.
If you are able to finance law school without going into debt, then professional development advantages should probably outweigh any scholarship. If you are planning on taking on student loan debt to finance your education, however, you should more strongly consider strong scholarship offers.
Having less debt coming out of law school enables you to more easily take jobs that are not as lucrative. But if you are planning on entering a high-income area of law such as corporate law, then incurring more debt will be less of a factor.
Dear Shawn:
I am writing to ask you about retaking the LSAT. I have taken the LSAT twice, both times scoring in the low 150s, and am beginning to prepare to take the October test. I did very little preparation the first two times I took the test, so I am confident that I can get a significantly higher score by putting in the work over the next few months. How will schools take my three scores into account when evaluating my application? -Lucky No. 3
Dear Lucky No. 3: Most schools will now consider the highest of multiple LSAT scores in most cases, and schools are more apt to take the highest of multiple scores when the highest score is more than five points higher than the other scores.
When reporting two scores, schools tend to be a bit less likely to average scores, but with three scores, as will be the case with you, they are more likely to take the average of three scores.
[Understand how law schools evaluate LSAT scores.]
In your case, whether or not the schools average your scores will depend on how far away your October exam score is from your other scores. If you are able to score at least eight points higher, most schools will almost certainly view that score as the most accurate indication of your ability on the test. The closer the October score is to your other scores, however, the more likely they are to average the three scores.
In order to increase the chances that schools don’t average your three scores, I encourage you to write a brief addendum explaining why they should only consider this October score. You should explain to them that you were inadequately prepared for the previous tests, and that your October score reflects your ability after thorough preparation for the test.
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Advice on Law School Admissions Offers, LSATs on Applications originally appeared on usnews.com
