Media/intellectual property/first amendment programs?

[vesperholly]

Help? I'm in a quandry.

Dismal UGPA (2.76), but I tend to be a strong test-taker. I won't take the LSAT until December, and I'm trying to get my applications started and in early so the score is the last missing piece of the puzzle.

I'm in-state in N.C., and definitely applying to UNC, which has a good in-state track record for media law. I'm applying to a lot of solid programs, but I'd like to find a range of programs (reach, achievable, safety) with solid reputations for media law. (I've been a journalist for the past 12 years and am going back to school. I'm tangentially interested in intellectual property law, too.)

My library, damn it, doesn't have the Princeton Review law school rankings, so I've been sifting through LSAC, here and the schools' course offerings and faculty publications. Help?

First-time poster, longtime fan, etc.

[legalwriter]

I had a similar pre-law school profile and interests. A lot of your options are going to depend on that LSAT because of your GPA, but if you do well, you'll have some choices.

It's hard to come up with a good list for you without knowing that LSAT score. I'll take a stab as though you're in the mid-160s.

High Reaches:
UNC
Indiana
GW
Mason

Reaches:
Iowa
Florida

Slight reach:
American

Safeties:
Missouri
Pittsburgh

Several of these schools have joint-degree programs with the journalism schools. If you don't already have an MA in journalism, you might think about applying jointly for the grad program. It can be an admission boost even if you decide later not to get the second degree.

[vesperholly]

That's a big help; thank you. I kept having the nagging feeling that I was missing some good programs and, yep, I definitely was. Off to research!