Chances of admission

[saywhatagain07]

duly noted, breadwinner

[contrarian]

I would say that your odds are poor.

The biggest soft factor you should be concerned about is if you are a member of a suspect class of persons (i.e. - racial minority, female, handicapped, or homosexual)- This gets you the most diversity points -

Also, a 155 LSAT will probably not get you in anywhere I'd want to go.

Corrected that for you.

[OldCraig]

Alright, here we go, do I have your attention everyone? Good.

SLU will provide the same EDUCATION as Yale. There's no denying that. Smart people, who are savvy on reality don't try to sugar coat the fact that career opportunity is what differentiates law schools, not the quality of in-class discussions and lectures. Everyone reads the same cases. But I won't go there, since the poster above me doesn't want any discussion on whether going to SLU right now, in our economy, is a good idea, but rather, whether the OP can simply "get in" to SLU. Although, if I simply answered the OP's question affirmatively or negatively, and that was that, I doubt the OP would be satisfied. Even if the OP WAS satisfied, the OP SHOULDN'T be. The price tag on an SLU law degree is currently about $32,000 or more in annual tuition alone, and you have been swindled if you are going to take out federal loans on a law education with good paying jobs reserved only for the top 20% of the class. But I digress.

So let's talk about the merits of a 3.46 and a 155 LSAT getting the OP into SLU. The median LSAT admitted to SLU last year was a 156 according to the data released by the ABA, and the 25 percentile range was a 154, placing the OP, were she in last year's class somewhere b/w 25-50 percentile. This will get her NO scholarship money to pay down the price tag of an SLU education, and she will essentially have to live her first year studying 12 hours a day to ensure she demolishes the competition simply to have a shot at a job with a salary over $100k (which is what she will NEED to make the payments on her federal loans --- unless, like I said earlier, she just has $150,000 lying around).

Moreover, the OP's UGPA is less than the median according the ABA statistics released by the ABA. Granted, it's still higher than the 25 percentile range UGPA of 3.24. I would opine then that unless the OP is a: racial minority, female, disabled person, or homosexual, that she will get no meaningful amount of diversity points for her application, and she will, once again, be ineligible for scholarship monies.

Ultimately, will the OP get in? Isn' that what she asked? A simple inquiry: "will I get in?" Probably. School's have to fund themselves, especially private ones, and they'll let whoever they've got to let in IN so they can feed the monkey. I suppose the merits of such a question, taken at its basest level, seem nominal in the context of T2's and T3's because the "getting in" part is NOT even close to being the important part. The important aspects to consider when considering a T2-T3 education are collateral, i.e.: 1) will I be able to pay the loans back? 2) will I be able to be top 20% so I can get the job to pay the loans back? 3) Do I really want to waste 3 years of my life on an education that DOESN'T give me job security? 4) etc. and so on.

Don't be naive OP, these other posters are the "dumb poos" that law school's are awash with. They will try to sell you on the way they've lived their lives, on the choices they've made, so they can feel somewhat better about themselves. Trust me, they're not happy. Living idealistically is a bad move when it comes to law school. I, however, am telling you like it is. DON'T waste your life. I am NOT overstating this. This is a serious decision you are making. Yea, it's a free country, but that doesn't mean that simply BECAUSE you can do something, you should. In fact, law school is one of the most dangerous educational investments someone can make.

In summation, you will most likely get in. SLU will cash your federal loan checks faster than you can blink. You are more than welcome to spin the wheel of fate, stacked so ominously against you, that it's borderline criminal. 195 ABA approved law schools. Less than half of those approved law schools should currently be there.

End of story.

[TheBreadWinner]

Wow, all that to say, Yes, he/she will probably get accepted.  Who says legal writing teaches you to be concise and to the point?!  Well done.

[saywhatagain07]

OldCraig, your point has been made.  However, allow me to try and put this into perspective for you by taking into account the fact that I am also a premedical student (though I am leaning more toward law everyday).  If money was the main factor in my decisions, then I would be even more insane for being prepared to drop $200,000 on a 4-year medical education and spending the next 5 years of my residency making $40,000 a year working 80 hours per week.

You want to talk about spinning a wheel of fate?  Soak that in for a second or two..........ok good.

However, not only is that not "criminal," but it's the conscious decision of most informed medical students today, as medical educations are typically MUCH more expensive than even the most prestigious law educations.  Moreover, their scholarships are even rarer to come by than law scholarships.

That kind of makes a 3-year $94,000 Law school debt seem less drastic by comparison, doesn't it? (provided I don't raise my LSAT and get $0 in scholarships).

I think it is also worth noting that I live within reasonable driving distance of SLU, so room-and-board expenses are covered provided I stay at home for the duration of my law school education.

In my humble opinion I believe there are several law firms in St. Louis that would have no problem hiring a well-performing SLU Law graduate specializing in Intellectual Property, so let's try not to worry about job security/salary for the time being.  But you can call me "criminal" for assuming this.

I guess that just leaves the original question which I inquired about: "will I get in?," and it appears to have been answered.  Thank you.

[TheDudeMan]

Saying SLU will provide the same education as Yale is ridiculous.  First, the faculties won't even come close.  Second, the quality of one's legal education is affected by the intelligence of one's peers.  After all, it is a curved grading system and I'm sorry, but you can't sit here and act like people that slid into SLU are going to have the same overall intelligence as someone at a top school, especially yale.

[saywhatagain07]

First, Kasm, if you had actually read my entire statement, I made it pretty clear that I would be living at home while attending SLU Law.

Secondly, Kasm, it is true that doctors eventually pay off their loans but don't overlook the fact that this usually takes until their late 30s to early 40s to do so.  Even successful surgeons (often the highest compensated physicians) stay poor into their early 30s while they complete their 5 to 7-year residencies (once again, making $40,000 - $45,000 a year working 80 hours per week).  I assure you my figures about medical school are correct.  This is something I have researched extensively.

Secondly, Dudeman, I don't care about Yale or Harvard so please don't bring them into this discussion.  If you did your homework like I have done and checked the websites of the major firms in STL you will notice a trend in the law schools that their attorneys attended.  And suffice it to say that a very significant portion of them came from regional schools in Missouri...NOT Ivy League.  I know full-well that I would be looking for a job in the midwest (KC or STL), not New York City. 

So spare me the whole "top 10 law school rhetoric."  I'm sure they are far superior in every way to SLU Law.  Great. Point made.  I don't care.  Next.

[OldCraig]

First of all, people at T2's-T3's are much more competitive because they figure out they HAVE to be to survive. You will quickly realize "OH GOD, I will be bankrupt at 27 if I don't finish at the top of my class", so they typically study much more than students at the "top schools" - I know because I've been to both, trust me on that one.

And, yes, I fully expect you to believe me when I say, a 155 LSAT and a 180 LSAT are no different when it comes to whether a person will be a great lawyer. I'm saying it. I'm meaning it. Feel it wash over you like a mid-summer rain my friend, because it's the truth. Just because the socio-economic elite have rubber stamped their ivy league educations as the "most deserving of praise" and the "highest academic endeavor" doesn't mean the OP can't roast them like turkeys in the court of law after going to SLU for 3 years. The question is: will she get that chance?

[MahlerGrooves]

First, Kasm, if you had actually read my entire statement, I made it pretty clear that I would be living at home while attending SLU Law.

Secondly, Kasm, it is true that doctors eventually pay off their loans but don't overlook the fact that this usually takes until their late 30s to early 40s to do so.  Even successful surgeons (often the highest compensated physicians) stay poor into their early 30s while they complete their 5 to 7-year residencies (once again, making $40,000 - $45,000 a year working 80 hours per week).  I assure you my figures about medical school are correct.  This is something I have researched extensively.

Secondly, Dudeman, I don't care about Yale or Harvard so please don't bring them into this discussion.  If you did your homework like I have done and checked the websites of the major firms in STL you will notice a trend in the law schools that their attorneys attended.  And suffice it to say that a very significant portion of them came from regional schools in Missouri...NOT Ivy League.  I know full-well that I would be looking for a job in the midwest (KC or STL), not New York City. 

So spare me the whole "top 10 law school rhetoric."  I'm sure they are far superior in every way to SLU Law.  Great. Point made.  I don't care.  Next.

Sorry, I suppose I glossed over it   I was just asking a question, I believe you when you say you've done the research.  I did the same research when I was a premed debating switching career paths.  "Generally" it takes lawyers 10 years to pay off their loans, so that means late 30s for most.  Sorry for making any response... and go ahead and shoot me down for something in this post too. 

Not sure why people on LSD have gotten so rude.

Neither am I.  It's getting bad, actually.  Wow.

[saywhatagain07]

My apologies if I sounded a little short with you, kasm.  No harm done.  I have no doubts in my mind it will probably take well into my 30s to finish paying off a SLU education

On another note, I find myself agreeing with OldCraig for a change.  And as far as whether or not I'll get the chance to roast a Harvard graduate in the court of law, well, lets consider that my motivation to do well in school