What top law school love high lsat/low gpa splitters? Forum

[rayiner]

You guys do realize that OP said that his GPA will NOT hit 3.0, meaning it will be below 3.0...a lot of your advice is assuming that he has a GPA above 3.0. There is a world of difference between a 2.9 and a 3.2/3 for law school admissions.

I think NU is his only shot at a T14, even with a 180.

GULC, Michigan, and Penn would also take him. Not guaranteed at the latter two, but not out of the running either.

[custom_concern]

You guys do realize that OP said that his GPA will NOT hit 3.0, meaning it will be below 3.0...a lot of your advice is assuming that he has a GPA above 3.0. There is a world of difference between a 2.9 and a 3.2/3 for law school admissions.

I think NU is his only shot at a T14, even with a 180.

Not true. There were several successful (non-NU) T14 applicants this cycle with 170 < LSAT < 175 and 2.5 < GPA < 3.0. It isn't likely, but it is not impossible, especially if one EDs at UVA/Penn/GTown

[02082010]

Agree with the corrected response that CCN isn't worth the ED app with any LSAT coupled with a <3.0 GPA. Some have been known to say Chicago is (mild) splitter friendly but I have never seen evidence of that.

[prospectiveprospect]

the tide now seems to turn that most of you think i will not be able to be accepted to a t14. so what are my best options in t25? (maybe i shouldn't have had such a good first two semesters in college)

[enygma]

I dunno, I got waitlisted at NYU with a 2.95/175. If i were to do it over again I probably would have applied there ED. still probably wouldn't have gotten in, but I would have enjoyed giving it my absolute best shot. And then you'd just have to deal with being on the waitlist at NU and eventually getting in after pulling all your hair out.

[missvik218]

Still possible. I'm languishing on their wait list and my gpa is under a 3.1. I think I heard they were going off a less gpa heavy index recently, but I don't think I ever confirmed it.

There is still hope!! Thank you ... Does Duke have an ED option?!

[.josh.]

I dunno, I got waitlisted at NYU with a 2.95/175. If i were to do it over again I probably would have applied there ED. still probably wouldn't have gotten in, but I would have enjoyed giving it my absolute best shot. And then you'd just have to deal with being on the waitlist at NU and eventually getting in after pulling all your hair out.

are you a URM? great softs?

pretty rare you even hear of a <3.0 getting waitlisted at nyu...

[missvik218]

Still possible. I'm languishing on their wait list and my gpa is under a 3.1. I think I heard they were going off a less gpa heavy index recently, but I don't think I ever confirmed it.

There is still hope!! Thank you ... Does Duke have an ED option?!

Nm, found it, they do but only for applicants to the summer-starting dual degree programs.

[enygma]

I dunno, I got waitlisted at NYU with a 2.95/175. If i were to do it over again I probably would have applied there ED. still probably wouldn't have gotten in, but I would have enjoyed giving it my absolute best shot. And then you'd just have to deal with being on the waitlist at NU and eventually getting in after pulling all your hair out.

are you a URM? great softs?

pretty rare you even hear of a <3.0 getting waitlisted at nyu...

nope/nope. if i had to guess i think i just wrote a personal statement that really connected with the admissions committee. essentially i wrote about my experience post-college biking across europe, then working, tying it together into my growth as a person and my desire to work in public interest.

[NayBoer]

the tide now seems to turn that most of you think i will not be able to be accepted to a t14. so what are my best options in t25? (maybe i shouldn't have had such a good first two semesters in college)

Get some work experience and apply to NU; or apply to GULC, UVA, Mich and maybe Penn. The T14 is not 100% out.

Below T14, definitely apply to WUSTL and UIUC, probably GW, and others depending on desired location.

Edit - I feel like I should use a signature to attach to my posts with splitter instructions that say more or less the above. The amount of times I've recommended apps to NU/GULC/WUSTL/UIUC must be ridiculous.

[prospectiveprospect]

just a random question and did not want to start a new topic. which top 50 school non t14 schools places the best in biglaw?

[LawDog3]

Duke, Cornell or GULC definitely

[oneforship]

I dunno, I got waitlisted at NYU with a 2.95/175. If i were to do it over again I probably would have applied there ED. still probably wouldn't have gotten in, but I would have enjoyed giving it my absolute best shot. And then you'd just have to deal with being on the waitlist at NU and eventually getting in after pulling all your hair out.

You're giving me hope with my 3.16!

[SpaceDawg]

If you apply ED are you legally obligated to accept it if you get in?

Sorry, I am very new to the application process.

[oneforship]

If you apply ED are you legally obligated to accept it if you get in?

Sorry, I am very new to the application process.

Yes, at most schools, ED is binding.

[chadwick218]

just a random question and did not want to start a new topic. which top 50 school non t14 schools places the best in biglaw?

Of the non-T14 schools, Vanderbilt, Fordham, Boston College, Boston University, Notre Dame, UCLA, Washington University, Texas, Illinois, and GW all place well into NLJ250 firms. After these schools, the % placed into big law starts to drop off a little bit.

http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/20080414 ... trends.pdf
http://lawfirmaddict.blogspot.com/2006/ ... ement.html
http://lawfirmaddict.blogspot.com/2007/ ... ement.html
http://lawfirmaddict.blogspot.com/2006/ ... ement.html

[SpaceDawg]

If you apply ED are you legally obligated to accept it if you get in?

Sorry, I am very new to the application process.

Yes, at most schools, ED is binding.

Thanks

[missvik218]

If you apply ED are you legally obligated to accept it if you get in?

Sorry, I am very new to the application process.

Yes, at most schools, ED is binding.

Thanks

Not all though, for instance Cornell and Boston College both have non-binding ED options ... most are though.

[Lawrence]

UMN outright dinged me this cycle...

+1, but my GPA is very low

They seemed much less splitter-friendly all around this cycle.

Really? The law school application process for splitters makes no sense to me at all... So random. I guess my suggestion would be to apply to every school in the T25 then!

Yeah, as a splitter one thing I can attest to is having a random cycle. Minnesota was very generous with me offering me 30k per year whereas I got outright dinged at Emory. OP looks like he might have similar numbers to me if he hits what he is expecting on the LSAT, and with that he can expect to have some weird decisions. My best advice would be to apply to a ton of schools within the top 25 as well as another safety or two and spend a lot of time to make sure the rest of your application besides that GPA is flawless.

[Aeroplane]

If you apply ED are you legally obligated to accept it if you get in?

Sorry, I am very new to the application process.

Yes, at most schools, ED is binding.

Thanks

Not all though, for instance Cornell and Boston College both have non-binding ED options ... most are though.

ED = Early Decision. ED is always binding.
EA = Early Action. EA is nonbinding.
Cornell, for example, has EA, not ED. A school can theoretically have both at the same time (IIRC some UG's do this, but haven't seen such a LS).

[UandIaresplittsville]

I dunno, I got waitlisted at NYU with a 2.95/175. If i were to do it over again I probably would have applied there ED. still probably wouldn't have gotten in, but I would have enjoyed giving it my absolute best shot. And then you'd just have to deal with being on the waitlist at NU and eventually getting in after pulling all your hair out.

are you a URM? great softs?

pretty rare you even hear of a <3.0 getting waitlisted at nyu...

nope/nope. if i had to guess i think i just wrote a personal statement that really connected with the admissions committee. essentially i wrote about my experience post-college biking across europe, then working, tying it together into my growth as a person and my desire to work in public interest.

[keg411]

Yeah, as a splitter one thing I can attest to is having a random cycle. Minnesota was very generous with me offering me 30k per year whereas I got outright dinged at Emory. OP looks like he might have similar numbers to me if he hits what he is expecting on the LSAT, and with that he can expect to have some weird decisions. My best advice would be to apply to a ton of schools within the top 25 as well as another safety or two and spend a lot of time to make sure the rest of your application besides that GPA is flawless.

Isn't Minnesota considered a splitter school whereas Emory won't accept GPA under 3.0? That probably has something to do with it. I think if you do enough research that you can figure out where you're essentially screwed and where you have a good shot (though I can see throwing an application to a non-T14 GPA friendly school if you're a splitter in the mid-170's, though there's still little chance of being accepted outright).

As a separate topic, I think it's curious that most of the "splitter-friendly" schools are in the midwest and DC (to a lesser extent) and I still wonder why that is (as compared to the top NY schools, all the Cali schools and the southern schools like Emory/Vandy).

[missvik218]

ED = Early Decision. ED is always binding.
EA = Early Action. EA is nonbinding.
Cornell, for example, has EA, not ED. A school can theoretically have both at the same time (IIRC some UG's do this, but haven't seen such a LS).

Ok yes, thank you this is what I meant!

Does EA do anything for you other than let you find out where you stand early in the cycle?

[oneforship]

ED = Early Decision. ED is always binding.
EA = Early Action. EA is nonbinding.
Cornell, for example, has EA, not ED. A school can theoretically have both at the same time (IIRC some UG's do this, but haven't seen such a LS).

Ok yes, thank you this is what I meant!

Does EA do anything for you other than let you find out where you stand early in the cycle?

It allows you to keep whatever leverage you might have in terms of $$.

[Aeroplane]

Does EA do anything for you other than let you find out where you stand early in the cycle?

I don't think it would. But who knows, maybe schools take it as a sign of interest.