Law School Discussion

good luck shadexpress! Waiting at this point is torture but well worth it  I was just up in Davis this past week looking for an apartment- once you hear back and make your decision let me know- I have a few leads on housing if your interested 

almostlegal- I would hold out as long as you can. You probably won't be getting a seat that opened up on June 1st, but if someone was holding a seat at your school and got accepted off a waitlist themselves it would take them a little while to decide where they wanted to go before they pulled out. If they wanted to get confirmation back from their new school before they pulled out it would take even longer for their seat to open up. It's less likely as time goes by, but it can still happen. I wouldn't give up just because they are taking a long time, but I would pull out when you absolutely need to make alternative plans.

In at Davis!! And to think- I was about to move out of California

It's true that the report is going to be a condensed version of your transcripts, but I think it will still be much more detailed that what you are fearing. It breaks up your grades by year- so admissions offices will be able to see that since you have entered undergrad your grades have gone up. You will be able to see the report on lsac.org once they have entered your transcript information into the system, so you will know exactly what the schools are going to see. As a heads up, don't be surprised if the numbers shown on the report are not exactly what you calculated. Each university averages grades differently, and the lsac works to balance it out so everyone is on an even playing field. If your school replaces D's and F's if you retake a class, or if you take a class for pass/ no pass, you may see a difference between your transcripts and the lsac report.

From the schools I have worked with all told me they look beyond just the numbers for every application they receive, and most claim to actually read each application cover-to-cover. You can of course mention the discrepancy in grades in your personal statement or possibly an addendum.

If you want to know the specific policies for the schools you are looking at I would strongly recommend visiting the school or attending a law school forum. Most schools don't interview, but they seem to always welcome visitors.

I found this spreadsheet on another thread.

http://members.aol.com/stuje1/lawrankings.xls

According to it Hastings has only been ranked higher than Davis for two years since 1990 ('99-'00). Even if Hastings were to overtake Davis in '09 I think it will be short lived. Also, even if Hastings were to be ranked higer than Davis in '09 (and maybe even for a few years after), with such a solid history of Davis being slightly higer than Hastings I think professionally Davis will hold more prestige for a for several more years.

With that said, both are great schools, and when it comes down to it I think the biggest difference between them is not the rankings but the programs they offer.