Biology major, now considering Law Forum

Not sure where your numbers will get you? Dying to know where you stand? Come have your palms read by your fellow posters!
Post Reply
wolframalpha

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:52 pm

Biology major, now considering Law

Post by wolframalpha » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:58 pm

Hey guys,

I'm finishing up my undergraduate degree and will be graduating with a degree in Biology as well as one in Philosophy. My only concern is--My overall GPA is a 3.35, but my Major (Philosophy) GPA is a 3.7. I was just wondering how much the overall GPA (due to the added science major) would hold me back from decent law schools. I was also wondering how much a good (and how good?) LSAT score would help to overcome this.

Thanks

User avatar
Solerpower

New
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:12 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by Solerpower » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:02 pm

Your overall GPA is all that matters, so 3.35 is all that they will care about.

A 3.35 will hold you back from t14 barring you being a URM or a killer LSAT score.

Your looking at t40 maybe t25.

wolframalpha

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:52 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by wolframalpha » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:08 pm

Solerpower wrote:Your overall GPA is all that matters, so 3.35 is all that they will care about.

A 3.35 will hold you back from t14 barring you being a URM or a killer LSAT score.

Your looking at t40 maybe t25.
I'm new to this whole thing--What's t14, URM, t40, t25, etc.?

Edit: URM = I'm guessing being Indian doesn't count.

3ThrowAway99

Gold
Posts: 2005
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:36 am

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by 3ThrowAway99 » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:27 pm

T14 refers to the Top 14 law schools, generally considered the best of the law schools (all of which have been ranked in the top 10 at some point in the past). There are further distinctions made within the 14 to distinguish alleged mini-tiers of hierarchy..

URM= under-represented minority. African American, Native American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican I think all qualify. There may be some other ethnicities as well, but I'm not sure (and the ones I stated need to be confirmed). Indian in terms of decended from the country of India I don't believe is considered URM. If you do qualify for URM status it can give a very significant admissions boost due to affirmative action policies at most schools.

T25- Top 25 law schools.
T40- Top 40 law schools. (both somewhat arbitrary, as are all the rankings to some degree perhaps, but can help give people an idea of what level school to target based on numbers and other factors (such as URM status).

User avatar
jks289

Silver
Posts: 1415
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:42 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by jks289 » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:30 pm

wolframalpha wrote:
Solerpower wrote:Your overall GPA is all that matters, so 3.35 is all that they will care about.

A 3.35 will hold you back from t14 barring you being a URM or a killer LSAT score.

Your looking at t40 maybe t25.
I'm new to this whole thing--What's t14, URM, t40, t25, etc.?

Edit: URM = I'm guessing being Indian doesn't count.
t14=Top 14 school.
URM - under represented minority (no, Indian doesn't count)
t40= top 40 school (really 30-40, maybe 25-30)
t25 = top 25 school. (15-25)

Use lawschoolpredictor.com to gauge what kind of LSAT score you need for various schools.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


wolframalpha

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:52 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by wolframalpha » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:53 pm

I scored a 162 cold on a practice LSAT. I think I could get a 170 or higher...How much would this help?

narkizopoint

Bronze
Posts: 200
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:33 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by narkizopoint » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:07 pm

wolframalpha wrote:I scored a 162 cold on a practice LSAT. I think I could get a 170 or higher...How much would this help?
Come back after your June LSAT score is out and you will get plenty of good answers.

User avatar
TaipeiMort

Silver
Posts: 869
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:51 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by TaipeiMort » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:10 pm

wolframalpha wrote:I scored a 162 cold on a practice LSAT. I think I could get a 170 or higher...How much would this help?
170+ will get you considered at most all of the T14 schools.

Practice like crazy. Everything is the LSAT for you now. If you want to go to a T14 school, or a T40 school with $$$, get a 170+.

Also, with a 162 cold, I'd shoot for a 175; test day has a knack for taking your average down. I was practicing at a 175 average, got really sick three days before the test and ended up with a 171.

wolframalpha

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:52 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by wolframalpha » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:26 pm

narkizopoint wrote:
wolframalpha wrote:I scored a 162 cold on a practice LSAT. I think I could get a 170 or higher...How much would this help?
Come back after your June LSAT score is out and you will get plenty of good answers.
I didn't mean to say that I'm guaranteed a 170. I know there's a lot of hard work left to do, but I was just wondering how the scenario would play out if I did have a 170+.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
im_blue

Gold
Posts: 3272
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:53 am

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by im_blue » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:58 pm

Your GPA will count as a 3.35, so you'll need a 166+ for a T20-30 and 170+ for a T14.

houston

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:16 am

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by houston » Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:42 am

I heart spam. (LinkRemoved)

User avatar
lostjake

Bronze
Posts: 317
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:07 pm

Re: Biology major, now considering Law

Post by lostjake » Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:32 pm

[quote="houston"][/quote]



Thank you for that information :|

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “What are my chances?”