Can anyone explain how these different law school curves work? I guess I just don't understand how this effects class rank. If a curve is like a B-, does that mean if someone has a B- average they are at the absolute bottom of the class? It's the one thing I do not understand that might effect my school choice.

I already applied to NU but have yet to send in the signed portion or the fee waiver. I have a suspicion that the fee waiver is nothing but a ploy to increase applications, since people with 160s and 3.0s have been getting them with no work experience, and when I emailed them about the waiver, they replied that they were sent to "people who took the LSAT and have an interest in law school. They didn't even feed me some BS about high quality students!

My question is, do I go up for the interview, tell them to consider my app without an interview, or just pull the app? I live close enough to Chicago that it would not take long to go up there and back, but I do not want to show up having my fate already decided and waste half a day of my life. I have no WE, which means I am already on their *&^% list.

...and they are being less than accomidating regarding it. Here are the responses I have received, from Penn and Cornell.

"Dear Chris,
Thank you for your e-mail. If your file is still incomplete on Nov. 15,
you will be added with regular admissions. We would give you a decision
after the candidates that applied for early notification receive theirs.

Sincerely,
Penn Law Admissions"

and from Cornell

"Hello and thank you for your e-mail.  Every late application will be
reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  I cannot say for sure if we will
accept it after the November 15th deadline.  If we do not, you will be
moved to our regular admission. 

Thank you."

You would think they would be a little nicer about this fiasco, but it seems it will just make LS admissions just that more cut-throat, and based on an uncontrollable situation. 
 

So, my apps are going out this weekend. What do you think will happen with these...

Penn
Michigan
GULC
Cornell
Berkely
UVA
Notre Dame (Fee Waiver)
W&L (Fee Waiver)
Illinois (Resident)
Iowa (JD Grad Recomendation)
WUSTL

Anybody got any guesses? I'm guessing that Notre Dame on down is in for sure, maybe scholarship, but the ones on up are the toss ups. 3.83/165

I'm about a week or two away from sending in all my applications, and I keep looking at the schools and thinking I am missing something. I don't have any ultra-safety schools (90% or up) or ultra-reaches (20% and under), and my advisor (who wrote one of the how to get into law school books I see people talking about on here) thought that my chances at these schools were competitive. They are, in Chiashu order:

Penn (27%)
Michigan (34%)
Cornell (35%)
Duke (37%)
Georgetown (38%)
Illinois (59%)
Iowa (75%)
Washington STL (84%)

My advisor thought that the most difficult to get into would be Michigan, and also not to waste my time with anything less than Wash U. I'm prepared to be bonked at Michigan, which is my #1, and the others in the top 14 for that matter, although the other aspects of my file give me a few more points over what Chiashu lists. The thing that scares me I guess is the seeming lack of middle ground. Say I get tossed at Penn, Mich, Cornell, Duke, GT, that leaves me with Illinois (where I'm from), Iowa, and Wash U. None of them are bad schools, but are there schools in between the Top 14 and those three that I should apply at? I have fee waivers from Notre Dame and Wash & Lee that I will probably use. Suggestions?