lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand? Forum

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crumpetsandtea

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lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand?

Post by crumpetsandtea » Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:42 am

Just graduated with awith an upward grade trend. Looking for tips on where I'd be a target/safety.

I am female, asian, attended a top-10 public university with a double major in polisci & philosophy, with a lot of extracurriculars/internships (state assemblymember, law firm, federal district judge). I'm also planning on taking 1 year off & getting work experience before applying.

SCHOOLS I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING AT: (by order of USNWR ranking)
- Northwestern
- Georgetown
- UCLA
- WUSTL
- GWU
- BU
- UC Davis
- Boston College
- Washington & Lee
- Uni of Colorado, Boulder
- George Mason
- UC Hastings
- American University
- Northeastern

LOOKING FOR: schools with good Public Interest programs, schools that favor splitters. Tips on EA/ED. Should I retake--opinions, I know the final choice depends on me/study habits/etc?

Thanks in advance for the advice. (:

Edit: It's also probably worth noting that if you think a school on my list is TOO high for me to reach, let me know. It's always good to have some sort of reality check if it's needed.
Last edited by crumpetsandtea on Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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im_blue

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Re: 2.9/168, lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand?

Post by im_blue » Tue Nov 30, 2010 2:23 pm

1) No shot at the first 3
2) Add Illinois, Minnesota, and Emory
3) Retake! With a 170+ and WE, you have a shot at Northwestern ED.

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paratactical

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Re: 2.9/168, lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand?

Post by paratactical » Tue Nov 30, 2010 2:27 pm

What kind of quality WE are we talking about? Working at Starbucks or the Gap for a year won't help your applications, but being in a real office environment might help.

If you think you can do better than a 170, I would suggest retaking. That 2.9 is going to hurt you because a lot of schools really really really don't like to take any GPA under 3.0, even if it wouldn't change their medians and 25ths. However, having the opposite LSAT, one over that precious 170 line might help mitigate the GPA in more circumstances.

Hopefully more splitters will come in to give you more specific advice.

Good luck.

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snapdragon

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Re: 2.9/168, lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand?

Post by snapdragon » Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:18 pm

I'm close to your numbers and applying this cycle. First of all, I'd make absolutely sure that your LSAC GPA is a 2.9, and not a 3.0. It does make a big difference. And if you think you can break 170, retake.

Secondly, my LSN (http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com) username is snapdragons. There are a fair number of 2.9-3.0 and 166-168 applicants. I'd watch our cycles and see what happens. I think I have someone on my watchlist who has almost your same numbers. That might give you a better idea of the results you can expect (for example, some predictors show me as "Deny" for Emory, a school that historically takes many applicants with LSATs over 166)

As far as your list specifically:

SCHOOLS I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING AT: (by order of USNWR ranking)
- Northwestern - out
- Georgetown - out
- UCLA - out
- WUSTL - probably in
- GWU - WL/out full time. maybe in PT
- BU - out. allegedly they love GPAs.
- UC Davis - not too sure
- Boston College - WL.
- Washington & Lee - in
- Uni of Colorado, Boulder- in
- George Mason - in
- UC Hastings - not too sure
- American University - in
- Northeastern - in

If you really love these schools, certainly, apply. I'm applying to a few on your list, so it's hypocritical if I said not to. Just recognize that your cycle will likely be unpredictable so apply broadly, if possible, and pick some safety-ish schools in geographic areas that you like. If you're OK with the southeast, Wake Forest might be a good option to look at. Otherwise, good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about why I applied where I did.

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crumpetsandtea

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Re: 2.9/168, lots of softs, possible WE: where do I stand?

Post by crumpetsandtea » Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:10 pm

im_blue:

thanks for the advice. I think I'm applying for the first 3 anyway just on the off chance I am ridiculously lucky, but I figured I might not have a chance at them. Sad but true!

paratactical:
I've been out of school for about 2 months and I'm still job hunting, but right now I have 2 potential jobs, one at a small law firm that I've interned at twice before (once unpaid, once paid) that has requested I come back if I'm in the area, and another at a new business firm that is looking for a bilingual office aide. And yeah, my GPA is seriously the bane of my existence. But if I can get the time/money to take a prep course I might re-take my LSAT in the hopes of that elusive 170+.

snapdragon:

Helloooooo fellow splitter! I'm icedtea at LSN, I'll probably PM you there. Thanks for the input on schools--I'll probably drop BU, but keep the unachievable top three on my list just cause well...I'm a hopeful SOB. As for my LSAT score, I hit around 173 when I was studying pre-test, and I definitely didn't study enough (I focused pretty much solely on LR/LG and aced those...literally 90% of my wrong answers came from RC). I'm just scared of retaking and scoring like, a 162 or something.

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