Dear Swifty,
Took some time to do it, mostly because the Princeton Review site
<http://www.princetonreview.com> is being naughty, but also because I
calculated your chances and if it worth applying based on several
factors:
- Your GPA and LSAT, and the average of those admitted to the school;
- How tough it is to get into this school (A Princeton Review scale
from 60 - easiest and 99 - hardest);
- Whether or not they require letters of recommendation. Let me
repeat, again, that most (if not all) school would accept letters of
recommendations also from employers or colleagues in case of people
who have been out of college for a long period, and in my opinion, you
have nothing to fear of;
- Location (I remember you prefer the East and "old" South);
- Whether or not they have an evening programme. Evening classes
usually attract more mature students and those who have to keep on
working. However, this is not an absolute indicator to the level of
satisfaction one might have in a given school (you might feel at home
with younger people, some of the friendliest law schools to
older-students - according to Princeton Review - do not have an
evening programme).
- US News Report ranking.
Low Chance
==========
But still worth a try:
George Washington University Law School <http://www.law.gwu.edu/>: the
school is placed 20 in US News. It is highly selective (93 in
Princeton Review selectivity ranking), with average GPA of 3.5 and
LSAT of 164 of the admitted students. It has evening classes and does
not require, only recommends letters of recommendations. It is placed
in the DC.
Georgetown University <http://www.law.georgetown.edu/>: placed 14 in
US News, it is highly selective (97 in Princeton Review), and requires
a GPA of 3.64 and an LSAT of 167. It also has evening classes, but
requires letters of recommendation. Placed in the DC.
Outside your favourite geographic area, but still (IMHO) worth a try:
Northwestern in Illinois <http://www.law.northwestern.edu/> - highly
selective (98 in Princeton Review), and requires letters of
recommendation, but bases itself on an interview system, as a final
determinant.
University of Texas (Austin) <http://www.utexas.edu/law/> - Only
recommends letter of recommendation, GPA should be 3.62 and LSAT 165.
50/50
=====
University of Pittsburgh School of Law <http://www.law.pitt.edu/> -
(average GPA 3.30; LSAT 159); selectivity: 84; ranked 47 (top 50) in
US News; only recommends Letters of Recommendation; has no evening
programme;
University of Kentucky College of Law <http://www.uky.edu/Law/> -
(average GPA 3.5; LSAT 160); selectivity: 88; ranked 50 (top 50); only
recommends letters of recommendation, no evening programme.
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
<http://www2.law.temple.edu/> - average GPA (3.4; LSAT 160); 85 in
selectivity ranking; top 100 (59 in US News); only recommends letters
of recommendation; has an evening class.
Brooklyn Law School <http://www.brooklaw.edu/> - The film "My Cousin
Vinny" features a main character who graduated from an evening
programme of a law school in Brooklyn. Though the name of the school
is not mentioned (as far as I recall), it is safe to assume that it is
Brooklyn Law School, known for educating non-traditional students. It
is a comedy, but Vinny wins the trial at the end... (Yes, and as for
the important information: Average GPA of 3.2, average LSAT of 162;
selectivity rate of 88; ranked at the top 100 (67) of US News, only
recommends Letters of recommendation, and has an evening programme.
Two, out of your area:
University of Utah <http://www.law.utah.edu/> - highly ranked as
older-students friendly. (GPA 3.6; LSTA 162); selectivity stands at
92, being at the top 50 (47) of US News; requires letters of
recommendation, no evening class.
Arizona State University <http://www.law.asu.edu/> - also ranked as
one of the friendlier schools to older students (average GPA 3.5 ;
LSTA 161; selectivity rate of 93; ranked at the top 100 - place 53;
requires letters of recommendation, has no evening programme).
Sure Thing
==========
No such thing as a sure thing. But these schools?s entering class'
average GPA and LSAT is a tad lower than yours, still - they are
(relatively) highly ranked.
University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
<http://www.louisville.edu/brandeislaw/> - Average GPA 3.22 ; LSTA 156
; selectivity rate of 84; Ranked 82 (top 100) in US News; relatively
older class (average age of 27), with evening classes, only recommends
letters of recommendation.
Georgia State University <http://law.gsu.edu/> - - average GPA of
3.32; average LSAT of 158; selectivity rate of 91 ; at the top 100 of
US News (place 89); requires letters of recommendation; has evening
classes. Ranked as one of the friendlier to older students.
Here is the full table. I think that the Google Answers format might
ruin it a little, but at least we had a try:
Name Marks/selecticity ranking Letters evening (y/n)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columbia 3.6/170/99 Top 15 YES No
University of Chicago 3.65/169/98 Top 15 YES No
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 3.62/167/96 Top 15 YES No
University of Pennsylvania 3.7/168/98 Top 15 YES No
University of Virginia 3.66/167/96 Top 15 YES No
Duke University 3.7/168/98 Top 15 YES No
Northwestern University (IL) 3.6/169/98 Top 15 YES No
Cornell University 3.5/165/97 Top 15 YES No
Georgetown University 3.64/169/97 Top 15 YES E
University of Texas/Austin 3.62/165/98 Top 15 R No
George Washington University Law School 3.5/164/93 20 (top 20) R E
University of Pittsburgh School of Law 3.30; 159, 84 top 50 47 R No
University of Utah 3.6 ; 162 ; 92 top 50 47 YES No
University of Kentucky College of Law 3.5/160/88 top 50 50 R 23 no
Arizona State University 3.5 ; 161; 93 top 100 53 YES No
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law 3.4; 160 ; 85 top 100 59 R E
Brooklyn Law School 3.3/162 ; 88 top 100 67 R E
University of Richmond School of Law 3.4 ; 160 ; 87 top 100 72 R no
Rutgers University, Newark 3.3;160; 90 top 100 72 YES E
University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law 3.22/156 ;
84 top 100 82 R 27 (E)
Georgia State University 3.32; 158; 91 top 100 89 YES E
Seattle University 3.6/159; top 100 99 R from employers E
University of New Mexico 3.3; 155; 87 top 100 99 YES No
University of Arkansas at Little Rock 3.3/153/79 Tier 4 n/a E
R ? recommendation only, and could also come from non-college teachers
(i.e., your boss).
E ? Also has an evening programme, which is more adult friendly.
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarifications on this answer before you rate it. |
