Chance Me: 3.7 UW, 1480 SAT, 32 ACT, Philosophy major (pre-law track) [PA resident]

You sound great! But, all of the schools on your list are reaches, except for Pitt and American, leading a very possible result of only getting into those schools. And, American could even be iffy. It’s pretty notorious for wanting to see extreme demonstrated interest, leading to higher stats students sometimes getting a rejection if the school senses that it’s a backup to more preferred schools.

Since you really prefer smaller schools, I’d highly recommend adding in some smaller schools that are targets and safeties. Your list indicates a preference for the East Coast, but I’m going to recommend two schools in Minnesota - Macalester and St. Olaf. Both are really great small LACs. Macalester is a high target/low reach and St. Olaf is a low target, maybe high safety. They both give merit aid. If you’re intending to go to law school, saving as much as possible during undergrad is very important! Macalester is right in the heart of St. Paul (a rare LAC right in the middle of a big city) and St. Olaf is in a really charming college town (Northfield) about 45 minutes outside of the Twin Cities. St. Olaf has one of the prettiest campuses I’ve seen - and Macalester is also nice (just not as pretty as St. Olaf). Lots of love for both schools in this board, and I personally know multiple kids at both schools who are really happy. If you missed out on your other reaches, many of which are high reaches, these could be really nice options come this spring.

Also, just some completely unsolicited advice about law school. I recommend to all students to take two years off after undergrad and before attending law school. The market for all types of legal jobs - public and private sector - is pretty brutal. Having work experience, plus the maturity and additional life experience that comes with being a little older - will be a huge boost for you in law school, both academically and professionally.

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