luvcu95

First of all, this is my first post on this site, so I'm sorry if it's in the wrong place.

I am currently a senior in high school and I have finished all of my college apps. Now I am working on the hard part - deciding where I want to go to school next year. I have a 3.99 unweighted GPA, I am ranked second in my class, I got 2100 on my SATs (690 on Literature subject test and 710 on US History subject test), 30 on my ACT, I have taken 5 AP classes and gotten 5s on all of the exams, and I am involved in numerous extracurrics such as being an officer of National Honor Society, taking piano lessons, working at a part-time job, etc. I want to pursue a career in healthcare law and plan to major in philosophy or economics, with a minor in biology. I am a white, Catholic, middle-class female. So far my top schools are Gonzaga University in Washington state, Fordham University in New York, the University of San Diego, and the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. I really like the University of St. Thomas because of its beautiful location, gorgeous campus, and caring faculty, and also because it is very close to my grandparents and extended family, who live in St. Paul (I don't get to see them very often because I live in Washington state). They have offered me a considerable amount of financial aid to attend, almost a full scholarship. However, I am very concerned about the quality of academics at St. Thomas. Their acceptance rate is 83%, and I know I am well above the average student in terms of stats. I am also concerned about St. Thomas's national reputation - I eventually want to attend law school, and I know it is important to attend a well-known undergraduate college in order to get into a good law school. Can anyone offer insight on the value of a St. Thomas degree and their quality of academics? Do any of my other schools sound like a better alternative for me?

Also, I am considering applying to the University of Notre Dame...do you think I have a chance of getting in?

Thank you!! Any help is much appreciated! I am very stressed out about this decision and I have been going back and forth for months.....

happymomof1

Law school admission is heavily numbers based. You need a good GPA and LSAT score. The name on your diploma barely matters at all. Also, law school is ridiculously expensive. You want a cheap undergrad education so that you have money left for law school. There are thousands of unemployed and underemployed law school grads out there who can't make payments on their college debt right now. You do not want that to happen to you.

oldfort

I think your chance of getting into ND is good. For a law degree to be worth anything it needs to be from top schools. Do some research on those law schools, you will get a good sense where they admit most of their students. You may want to speak with the colleges you are interested in of their law school placement rate. Of course, you may change your mind abou law school, then you need to be concerned what your college diploma could do for you when it comes to job placement. If you want to live in the midwest, St Thomas maybe a good choice for you, but not so if you want live in other regions.

You have very good stats. I think you should have wide range of choices with good merit aid. If you are looking at USD, why not USC. If you are looking at Fordham, then what about all other NE schools. Not sure if you are eligible for FA, but many top private schools meet full need.

luvcu95

Thanks for your help!

In response to oldfort's post, I ideally want to go to a Catholic college, so that's why I haven't really been looking at USC, etc. What do you think about USD's law school? I know it is a tier1 law school, but it's not ranked very highly in terms of national rankings....maybe go to USD for undergraduate then Stanford for law school (if I can get in).....?

barrk123

If you want to go to a catholic school check out boston college

luvcu95

barrk123: I did look at Boston College, and it was in my top three for a long time. However, I eventually decided that it was too far away from home. I'm trying to stay either on the west coast or in the midwest. Haha I know, I'm picky. The only reason I applied to Fordham is because they offered me a priority application so it didn't cost anything to apply, and I figured, why not? The valedictorian of my school last year received a full tuition scholarship from Fordham, and I have similar grades, scores, ec's, etc. as her, so if I could receive a considerable amount of financial aid I would definitely be persuaded to go there. I still really like the school, but it's just a little far away. Any thoughts on USD's law school? Or Gonzaga?

luvcu95

I'm also considering going to UST for undergraduate school and then going to the University of Minnesota to get my JD....I know they have a pretty good healthcare law program.