Hey guys, I am an extreme splitter (171/2.1) with 3 yrs of strong work experience (I work with juvenille delinquents at a treatment facility). I will be able to get strong letters from my boss and coworkers about my work ethic, personal growth, character, etc. Will my WE, time away from school, and LSAT be able to compensate for my gpa, and what are the range of schools that I should be applying to?

My top choices at the moment are:

Northwestern (looong shot, but hoping my interviewing skills and strong WE will make a difference)
WUSTL
UIUC
Indiana-Bloomington.


Am I looking at the right schools?

What are my chances?!

IMO, it's hard to tell which schools to look at because as a splitter you are going to have an extremely unpredictable cycle. A 2.1 is pretty low even for a splitter, so it's going to be harder to predict your cycle... You may find an acceptance from a T14, but rejections from T30+.

My advice: cast a wide net and send out a lot of apps--a few to some T14s, 5-10 between T14-30, and then ~5 to T30+. For schools T14+ definitely consider where you want to practice after you graduate, some regional schools are very strong in their locations.

That said, it is mostly the 25th and 75th percentiles that matter. You'll be below the GPA 25th, so make up for it with being above the 75th for the LSAT. No one wants to hear this and it does sound a bit absurd, but consider retaking the LSAT if you think you can do better and getting into a top school is your goal. 173 and above, IMO, gives you a much better shot at Northwestern and other T14s.

The WE and recs will definitely help. Think about it this way: You are competing for spots with other splitters like yourself. Give the adcomms a solid reason why you are better than a 3.0/170 in the rest of your app, and you'll probably be good. Focus on what makes you different and what you can add to the incoming class. Polish your application package. Tie in your WE to why you want to practice law--either in your PS, or an addendum. Explain what needs to be explained very matter-of-factly. And apply ASAP--don't underestimate how much it helps to be one of the first apps looked at.

I am in a similar boat, a little older with grad degrees. The last poster hit the nail on the head. there is just no telling for us. We may get into Yale and wait list at Stetson. It depends on what the schools value. From my research, Top 30ish schools are actually more forgiving than 50+ ranked schools. I think the better schools can afford to take a risk on the numbers and place greater value on the softs.

I am applying to 20+ schools on the whole range of the top 100 - basically anywhere that my wife and I would live that will offer a waiver. At $12 a pop I can apply a lot. Send out an email to any school that interests you with your LSAT and a brief bio (not mentioning the GPA). Ask what the procedure is to get a merit based fee waiver. Many, maybe most, of the schools I have approached this way outside T14 have given waivers. There are also several threads on TLS to find out which schools are not charging this year or have hidden waivers.

Concentrate on your essays. Make sure they are personal and, if you are not URM, use the optional diversity essays to discuss what your life experience will add to the class. My diversity essay is based in part on my time in residential child care. PM me if I can help.

thanks for all the help guys. Keep it coming!

are there any other schools in the T30 that I would have a legitimate shot at, or who are known to historically look favorably upon LSAT splitters like myself? Said another way, are there schools where people think, "If you're a splitter, you definitely need to apply to X" ?

What are my chances at Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State, or Wisconsin?

I am a bit of a splitter with exceptional softs and the best piece of advice I ever got was to enter your numbers into the calculator and whatever percent comes back (say, 5 percent chance at Cornell) then the opposite of that (95 percent) would be how much better your softs need to be relative to the other applicants to get in. In the Cornell example, you would have to have better softs than 95 percent of the other applicants to get in.

Idk about this... the calcs are known not to work so well when you have more non-traditional applicants. Also, I had very unspectacular softs--if even any at all--and got T14. I think certain other intangibles helped--being a re-applicant, applying ED, writing a good PS. I'm only saying this because as a splitter you shouldn't feel like you are fighting a hopeless fight. Put together a good package, keep at it, and you might be very pleasantly surprised.

Also, I know Minnesota, GWU, W&L, and I think BU to a lesser extent are splitter-friendly. So consider those too.

Oh yeah, for sure. I'm just saying that is the best way to use a calculator for those types of people. Who knows with splitters and untraditional though, could get in at Georgetown, and out at American, who knows.

Just apply to tons of schools.

Thanks. Anything else?

In ED at Northwestern!!!!!!!!!!!!

congratulations!

Hot damn, congrats.

Thanks Now to figure out how to pay for it all...