How many law schools to apply to?

tringo335

So far there are only 5 I am really interested in but I feel like I should apply to more to give myself a better chance. Is there anyone who knows of a 'magic' number? Would also love to hear how many you all are applying to.

Christina Walton

I’m pretty sure the 7Sage Admissions Course says you should apply to 3 safeties, 3 targets, and 3 reaches

VerdantZephyr

@tringo335 I don't think there is a magic number you should apply to if you are only interested in 5. There is an argument to make to apply to similarly ranked schools you aren't interested in so that you can maybe better negotiate scholarships, but you certainly do not have to apply to anywhere you are not interested in. It is possible with more research you might find more you are interested in. For what reasons are you interested in those five? Is it a region, a type of law, a clinic, or job placement statistics?

Constantine

10 - 20

Miranda2021

I am going to apply for 20

VerdantZephyr

I am going to point out for anyone seeing the above comments that applying to 20 is very unusual and not financially realistic for most people. Apply where you want to go. If you have infinite resources and time apply to more, but for many of us both of those things are finite.

Cas Scaman

Right now I have 13 schools on my list. I live in Chicago and so nearly all of my schools are either in Illinois or the midwest. I'm applying to all of the schools in Chicago and most in Illinois (some of the state schools are safety's) and then a couple out of state. Depending on my November scores and whether I decide to take it again, I may not apply to some of the top schools on my list (namely UChicago and Michigan). Most of the schools on my list are safety or target schools with only 3 reaches.

josie.buchwald

I only applied to one, because I knew that it was the only school I really wanted to go to. Since my stats were within their medians I felt sure that I'd get in, and I did. I think that you shouldn't waste your time applying to schools that you don't want to go to.

T14plssss

Apply to schools you like and schools you'll likely receive scholarships from. You can use those scholarships to bargain for better offers at the ones you like. Also, you might get more money than you think from some schools you didn't consider. I think applying to one school is short sighted even if you really are only considering that one school.

VerdantZephyr

@T14plssss Agreed, though there is much to be said for applying ED at schools with guaranteed scholarships. I think this whole thing is very subjective to a person's individual circumstances, desires, and goals. @tringo335 I just realized you also asked how many we are applying to. I am applying to between 12 and 15 but a lot of that is because I got fee waivers from both the schools and LSAC. I have about a half dozen I like better for one reason or another and then another half dozen that would also be great but maybe are not as exciting for one reason or another. At the end of the day, this is a really personal process for all of us and we tend to latch onto our own ideas about it or strategies and want to defend/propagate them, but not everyone has the same motivations or goals.