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So I am hoping to get into Columbia Law or another t-14 school.

I have LSAC GPA 3.5 from a state school (but i took 2 bullshit semesters of classes before graduating which prolonged my undergraduate career to 5.5 yrs. Although I had all of the requirements done to get a double major in hist and econ in 9 semesters, which i graduated with it still looks really bad to be an undergrad that long- I'm an idiot for staying in so long i just liked it)..... not that impressive.

I'm hitting low 160s now on the LSAT but i think i can reasonably get a 165+ or even a 170+ with enough prep.

here's where I might sneak in...

1) I'm from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in NM. My mother is a dual citizen (Mexican/American) national and her family has been there for 5 generations in the middle of nowhere Mx. (she is of European origin but still a Mexican nonetheless) I'm almost sure I qualify URM (Mexican) - my mom is a Mexican national and I grew up 2 hours north of Mexico in a predominantly Mexican cultural environment. My father, however, is white.

2) My father went to Columbia and from what I have heard legacy placement can be helpful there.

3) although it is not a sure thing (hard to quantify in any real sense) I imagine I can legitimately put together a very compelling personal statement because of my extremely unusual socioeconomic, cultural, and personal background.

I understand that a high LSAT would be my best bet (172 and up) but I'm not counting on it.
I've improved on the LSAT very quickly so far but mostly because of the the games section. My cold scores were abysmally low there. I don't hope to progress as fast or with as much of a margin on the other sections because they were much better than my games section scores for one, and they are supposed to much harder to improve on.

My question is, what would be the approximate minimum LSAT scores that might get me into Columbia, Cornell, NYU, or other top 14 schools?

would I even have a chance with a 165? (I don't think it's likely)

On one last side note the LSAT mean for URM applicants is close to 146.5 with a standard deviation of nearly 9.25. Two standard deviations from the mean on this scale puts one in the 97.5 percentile with an approximate score of 165. a 168 falls in the 99th percentile. I'm not sure if law schools take this into account but being URM and scoring 165 or greater might theoretically provide one with a substantial advantage. Or maybe not, I really don' know how helpful URM status actually is or if there is such a thing as the rumored URM "boost" in LSAT firepower.

Your GPA is very low and graduating in 11 semesters doesn't look very good. You need low 170's minimum imho.

Go to law school predictor or lsn.

thx for the reply thats about what i thought.... i figure a 175+ will give me a reasonable shot. 170-172 might give me a shot and 165 prob not a chance at all.

you can just search. there are a lot of threads about this. they often turn into heated debates about AA, though, which is why searching is better than starting a new thread.

If it is any help, I was waitlisted in 2 cycles with a 155. (I am Latino too). I think if you break the 160 and aptly explain your circumstances you should have a shot. People on here think it's 170 or bust.

elm84dr wrote:If it is any help, I was waitlisted in 2 cycles with a 155. (I am Latino too). I think if you break the 160 and aptly explain your circumstances you should have a shot. People on here think it's 170 or bust.

This is the exception, not the rule. You were waitlisted, not admitted.

A 155 is about 17.5 points below their median, and Columbia is a very LSAT centric school regarding admissions. I think their LSAT to GPA ratio is something like 3.62:1, meaning the LSAT is 3.62 times more important than GPA when making an admissions related decision.

I EARNED a 174 and was admitted. My roommate got a 173 and was WLed.

Your urm status will help, but it's not going to be a miracle. Your GPA is still low by their standards.

Try law school predictor or law school numbers. Any input on this board is mere speculation and opinion. Those sites base their analysis on thousands of users who submit all of their data and results.

I realize I was an exception and that I was not admitted, but people were basically telling the OP that unless he broke a 170 he had no hope, which is not true.

Thanks for the input guys, and likewise the encouragement, however, I think ol wicker is right. To even get weak consideration at Columbia I would need a 169 according to LSC which relies on sound statistical forecasting methods. 172 is CLS mean score for acceptance with a much better undergraduate record than I have. I think a 175 would do it for me but actually putting up numbers like that on test day... obviously much easier talked about than done. Nonetheless I will apply even if I only get what i did on my diagnostic. Stranger things have happened than someone getting into CLS with 3.5/162 but I certainly wouldn't hold my breath with a score like that. The fact of the matter is even if i go to a matchbook school my uncles will likely give me a job in their firm. Getting into an ivy league program commands respect and bolsters the ego but in my case I'll get out and probably have the same job whether i go to UNM or Harvard. The real difference in my case is about 200 grand.

Very true. The better you do on the LSAT, the bigger your scholarship offers are going to be though, so ace it.