Should I apply for Law schools with 155 on LSAT?

[chong12]

As depressed as it is when 155 popped up on the LSAT result!

What are the chances for me to get into Fordham, Cardozo or Brooklyn Law school with 155 on LSAT and a CPA license?
Considering the low score on LSAT, I think it's not gonna be easy to get into them.  I heard a lot of people said the Top 50 law school requires 165+  to get in.

So should I just apply and hoping that my CPA will help me a little, or spend more time to study and retake the LSAT?

[bigs5068]

Well I got a 155 on the LSAT and went to a tier 4, but things are working out awesome for me. You probably will not get into Fordham, Brooklyn, etc with a 155. However, you could go to a school like CUNY which is only around 10,000 a year for tuition compared to 30,000 a year at those other schools. I have worked with plenty of attorneys from CUNY that were doing fine for themselves and some were better off financially than those that paid 80,000 more to go to a higher ranked school and ended up in the same job as a CUNY grad. There is no doubt that higher ranked schools open more doors, but tier 2/3/4 schools can all provide you with jobs and a quality education.  Realistically if you studied your a** off and got a 155 then that is probably the best you can do, but with that score you can get into an ABA school. Believe it or not ABA schools will teach you the law and it is no different whether you learn it at Cooley or Harvard. Obviously, Harvard will open more doors, but any ABA school will give you a sufficient education to have a successful career as an attorney.

[chong12]

I was thinking about CUNY Law school too.  I had the concern as you mentioned (CUNY might not provide more chances for landing a job).  Since I have been studying for LSAT for around half a year, and I am so sick of it, don't even wanna touch it anymore. 
There is no intention for me to land a job with those big law firm since the stress is big enough to ruin my normal life.  Probably getting a decent job that paying me around $100,000 a year is good enough.

Do you know what is the average salary a T2,3,4 grad attorney can make?  I know two people graduated from T3 law school, and couldn't find a job after they passed their BARs.  Now, they are working for Immigration law offices, and making believably low salaries, like 4,000 a month, I guess.

[haus]

The future is hard to predict. I think a 155 LSAT would give you a very solid shot at CUNY. Which from the outside looking in looks to be a solid law school that has a very low cost for tuition (although I do not know what cost of living in that area would do to the equation).

I have heard it said that law is a bi-model pay distribution. There is a group of people that get paid very well and a group that does not. Some things that one can do to help themselves are to attend a school that places well, one can also be sure to work hard and take advantages of the opportunities that present themselves at which ever school they do attend (network, go out of your way to meet and help people who are doing interesting work).

I suspect that going to a school such a CUNY you will need to advocate for yourself more then a student from a Tier 1 school would, but even if you did go to a Tier 1 school, at some point when you decided to move past your first job you would likely wish to develop this skill anyway.

The profile at Top Law School for CUNY mentions median incomes in the 50-60k range for students just out of school.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/cuny-law.html

[nealric]

I strongly suspect you would make more as an accountant than as a lawyer coming from the types of schools you describe. Don't be surprised to see people working for $15 an hour without benefits after CUNY. Some will move up, others will not.

You should also retake the LSAT if you have only taken it once. There is really no reason not to - it can only help your case.

[Hamilton]

It's not $100,000/yr and you may be hard pressed to find accurate statistics.  I recommend drilling down on the stats for the schools you will likely attend - I mean REALLY dig into the stats.  Yes, there are some who win the lottery and start out making very decent money, but like lottery winners, they are few and far between.  Don't be afraid to look at the stats (and your friend's situations) and ask yourself if it is worth it.

Ask yourself it it is your life passion to be a lawyer or whether it seems like the thing to do to make some good money.  If the latter, my answer is straightforward - dont do it.

Do you know what is the average salary a T2,3,4 grad attorney can make?  I know two people graduated from T3 law school, and couldn't find a job after they passed their BARs.  Now, they are working for Immigration law offices, and making believably low salaries, like 4,000 a month, I guess.

[haus]

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm

I find the Bureau of Labor Statics numbers to be useful for wrapping my mind around the big picture, but keep in mind with a median there are as many people BELOW the number as there are above.

For a reference point, pop around their site and compare with other professions as well.

[bigs5068]

Yea you might make your as a CPA that is true, but if you want to be a lawyer there is a chance. I asked my school for a list of salaries that graduates received and it was honest. I was not staggered by any means, but 63% of the graduates I think had salaries of 60,000 or more after passing the bar.  The truth is with CUNY's price tag it might be better to go there than Fordham or Brooklyn, where you will go 100,000 in debt and people will still select Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale grads over you. I really think unless you go to an ELITE school you should get out with as little debt as possible. People will say different things, but that is my view. The reality is there is no guarantee of a job if you go to law school or any type of schooling.  Part of me honestly regrets not going to CUNY since even if I did not get a scholarship it would have been cheaper than my current school. I like my school a lot now and I really think I would have done fine no matter what school I went to. Having less debt would have been better though. Well good luck and I get the e-mail addresses of some attorneys who are working that went to CUNY if you want to personal message me. Well good luck.

[haus]

It seems that like much in life law school is what you make out of it.

As I am looking at options, I am concerned about the expense of school. Currently I live in the suburbs of DC and am looking at PT programs. Fortunately there are quite a few options, unfortunately many of them are very expensive. As it get closer to making a decision I will have to strongly consider the impact that the cost is going to have on me. I may be in a somewhat unusual position in that I am viewing a law degree as a means of helping me expand a little on my current career path instead of starting a different path. My current salary is in the low 100k range, and I suspect that when I wrap up my Masters and then (possibly) go on for the JD I should be able to move up from here. But I would like to keep the cost of this effort to as manageable of a level as I can.

[Hamilton]

Sounds very similar to my position when I did it - I would advise that you step back and have a concrete idea as to HOW SPECIFICALLY having a JD will help you advance.  If you can't nail one down, think twice about doing it... will it be nice to have or is there DEFINITELY a benefit to have it?  In the end after I passed the bar, I decided that I was not going to take a step back salary-wise and practice law, the JD did not result in a direct tangible career benefit (although it adds some gravitas - but that does not mean $$) - so the question was why do it?  I had scholarships and tuition reimbursement through work, so my out-of-pocket was negligible - but the time can never be recouped.

My $0.02, if you are not going to practice law and will pay full price for the JD, do not waste the time and money.  Get a MBA or a doctorate in your field if you want to enhance your education.

Don't get a JD as a gap-filler or resume-booster - either have a plan or burning desire to practice law, or think of better uses for your money.

As I am looking at options, I am concerned about the expense of school. Currently I live in the suburbs of DC and am looking at PT programs. Fortunately there are quite a few options, unfortunately many of them are very expensive. As it get closer to making a decision I will have to strongly consider the impact that the cost is going to have on me. I may be in a somewhat unusual position in that I am viewing a law degree as a means of helping me expand a little on my current career path instead of starting a different path. My current salary is in the low 100k range, and I suspect that when I wrap up my Masters and then (possibly) go on for the JD I should be able to move up from here. But I would like to keep the cost of this effort to as manageable of a level as I can.