Top Law Schools

So I just got my LSAT score on Monday and obviously I was thrilled. My score was about 2-4 points higher than I expected, which is changing my list of schools a little bit.

I always planned to apply to Yale if I broke 170, because even though I knew it was a long shot, it's my dream and I don't let dreams die easily. But now people on this forum and in real life are telling me I should apply to Harvard and Stanford as well. Looking at LSN, almost everyone who has been admitted so far and most people who got in last year had numbers higher than mine or came from an Ivy League undergrad or are chemical engineers. I have decent softs but nothing spectacular.

So do you guys think it's worth applying to Harvard and Stanford? I don't want to waste time and money on applying to schools that I have virtually no chance at, and I am not entirely sure I'd be willing to move across the country to go to Stanford anyway. But do you think it's worth applying with my numbers? And if so, is it too late? How much does applying early help you at H and S? I know it doesn't make a difference at Yale, which is nice.

Do iiiiiiit.

beepermad wrote:Do iiiiiiit.

heeeyyyy i remember you from last cycle. round 2?

Veritas wrote:

beepermad wrote:Do iiiiiiit.

heeeyyyy i remember you from last cycle. round 2?

I think you are remembering someone else. I took the LSAT for the first time ever a month ago.

democrattotheend wrote:

Veritas wrote:

beepermad wrote:Do iiiiiiit.

heeeyyyy i remember you from last cycle. round 2?

I think you are remembering someone else. I took the LSAT for the first time ever a month ago.

oh no, not you! beepermad!

but, congrats on kicking ass!

Why wouldn't you? Think about all of the expenses you will incur over the next three years. What's an extra $200 or so now, just to see if you can get in to a dream school? Median at Harvard is 3.88/173, not sure about Stanford. You're obviously very close to median at H, so honestly, what have you got to lose? Just apply.

eskimo wrote:Why wouldn't you? Think about all of the expenses you will incur over the next three years. What's an extra $200 or so now, just to see if you can get in to a dream school? Median at Harvard is 3.88/173, not sure about Stanford. You're obviously very close to median at H, so honestly, what have you got to lose? Just apply.

I guess I'm not sure Harvard is a dream school. I think I may have a complex about the prestige or something, and I am afraid it might be too pretentious for me. Somehow I don't get that vibe about Yale as much...but maybe that's off base. And Stanford I liked but it's so far from home...I don't know if I want to move across the country. I think part of my problem is not wanting to leave DC at all...in some ways maybe it would have been easier if my LSAT was 3 points lower and Georgetown was the best school I got into. Now that I can probably get in somewhere ranked higher than Georgetown I feel like I have to.

But you're right - it's about $100 to apply to Harvard with the LSAC fee, so it's probably worth it to see if I can get in. If I do, I'll have to decide then. There are a lot of things that look good about it. Ditto with Stanford.

Veritas wrote:

beepermad wrote:Do iiiiiiit.

heeeyyyy i remember you from last cycle. round 2?

CHAH. C'est moi. I ended up going to a Master's program in London for a year but can't get law school off my mind. I think it's love.

Apply quickly and you will get into one of either Harvard, Yale or Stanford. Probably Harvard. Don't hate Harvard...the president graduated from there it is even more reputable than Yale.

Sourpunch wrote:Apply quickly and you will get into one of either Harvard, Yale or Stanford. Probably Harvard. Don't hate Harvard...the president graduated from there it is even more reputable than Yale.

Good point about President Obama. The cool thing is, I'm pretty sure I read that he didn't even check the URM box, so he must have had pretty good numbers.

I decided to go ahead and apply to Harvard, and probably Stanford too. I guess it's worth $200 just to see if I could get in.

Think of it as the lottery: you gotta be in it to win it.

That being said, your odds are A LOT higher. Congrats, and work at putting together an amazing app for all three.

eskimo wrote:Why wouldn't you? Think about all of the expenses you will incur over the next three years. What's an extra $200 or so now, just to see if you can get in to a dream school? Median at Harvard is 3.88/173, not sure about Stanford. You're obviously very close to median at H, so honestly, what have you got to lose? Just apply.

It's funny - looking at the medians, I feel like I would have a decent shot, but looking at LSN, almost everyone who got in had higher numbers.

obama didn't graduate with high distinction from columbia. so he had <3.5gpa. probably checked the urm box!

dubsky wrote:obama didn't graduate with high distinction from columbia. so he had <3.5gpa. probably checked the urm box!

democrattotheend wrote:

eskimo wrote:Why wouldn't you? Think about all of the expenses you will incur over the next three years. What's an extra $200 or so now, just to see if you can get in to a dream school? Median at Harvard is 3.88/173, not sure about Stanford. You're obviously very close to median at H, so honestly, what have you got to lose? Just apply.

It's funny - looking at the medians, I feel like I would have a decent shot, but looking at LSN, almost everyone who got in had higher numbers.

Yeah, the LSN graph doesn't look too promising, until you realize that a) all of the green dots didn't necessarily end up at Harvard (for example, a lot of those stellar # green dots probably went to Stanford or Yale, thus don't affect Harvard's median) and b) I'm sure a lot of the lower (not auto-admit) numbers that make the medians lower were waitlisted at first. So if your numbers are that close to the medians, you're probably in for a waitlist at worst.

jayzon wrote:

dubsky wrote:obama didn't graduate with high distinction from columbia. so he had <3.5gpa. probably checked the urm box!

I hope idiocy isn't infectious.

OP, you have a shot. Now feel better about yourself, shaddup, and enjoy your awesome cycle.

doesn't columbia determine who gets honors based on percentile rank and not numbers? pretty sure that's how they do it.

law school admissions were exactly the same in 1988 as they are today, so we can definitely determine how obama applied based on what we know about his undergraduate record.