3.55 Gpa 170 LSAT Forum

[Nelson10]

Double Major in Poli Sci and Econ w/ Minor in Law and Public policy from a small Liberal Arts School. Freshman Year GPA was 3.2 I've brought it up since then. What are my chances at Duke, Vandy, Texas, or G'Town. Those are the 4 top schools I'm applying to. Also applying to GWU, ND, UNC, ASU, and UGA in the 20-40 range could I start to see decent $ there? Finally, where may I start seeing big money? Looking into Tulane, SMU, San Diego, Denver, and Miami. If I don't get into my top two (Duke and Vandy) money becomes a huge issue for me. I have an LSAC Fee Waiver so the application fees aren't an issue and I'm having a hard time cutting into the list. Finally, geographically I wont say I don't care but I've spent 22 years in Buffalo and can't wait to get the hell out.

Have great letters of recommendation by the way and have worked 30-40 hours a week throughout College.

Forgot to mention I got a fee waiver email from Duke after I got my LSAT score as well. Not sure if this helps.

[FryBreadPower]

lawschoolnumbers.com
lawschoolpredictor.com

Looks like Duke is a no-go and you have iffy/ok odds at Vandy, Texas, Gtown

[ahnhub]

Duke, Georgetown have started accepting already, and people with your numbers or lower have gotten into both--G'town in particular looks like 170 is the magic number, regardless of GPA (Duke may be more picky about the GPA, although if they have a floor it is probably around 3.5 and you're over it). Get your app turned in ASAP. This cycle may prove to be a little different from the last two.

You are in at Vandy. Texas is weird 'cause of the in-state thing, but I still like your odds.

[Nelson10]

Would you recommend getting my apps sent in without all of my LORs ready? I have one on it's way to LSAC, one that should be sent out this week, and two that wont be until the end of the month. The end of the month ones are my professors who know me best. One teaches Con Law so he gets swamped with requests and the other is a County Legislator who was up for election today so he asked if I could wait until after for him to even think about it. I can have my personal statements ready tomorrow.

[VictoryGin]

I'm numbers twin. How come you're not trying for Mich, UVA, Penn, Cornell?

[Nelson10]

Never really considered Michigan or Penn. Sort of biased towards leaving the Northeast. As far as Cornell I've been there and it's not for me. It's Buffalo weather with nothing to do on top of it. Now that you say that I think I'm going to take a look at Virginia but for me, if I don't get into one of my dream schools (Duke or Vandy), I'm probably taking money somewhere.

[VictoryGin]

I feel you. Location has a lot to do with it for me as well. I'm in CA and would love to leave here and go TO the Northeast, as strange as that sounds. Good luck on your cycle. I think you're pretty Solid for Vandy, Texas, and G-town (and LSN seems to back me up) but iffy for Duke, as others have said.

[moneybagsphd]

Looks like Duke is a no-go and you have iffy/ok odds at Vandy, Texas, Gtown

wtf? that's just not true.

[Nelson10]

I feel you. Location has a lot to do with it for me as well. I'm in CA and would love to leave here and go TO the Northeast, as strange as that sounds. Good luck on your cycle. I think you're pretty Solid for Vandy, Texas, and G-town (and LSN seems to back me up) but iffy for Duke, as others have said.

Thanks good luck to you too. I would make sure to visit Cornell and get a feel for the area it's in before making any decision there. You may like it. But if your anything like me it won't be for you.

[Nelson10]

Anyone have an opinion on whether it would help, just be a waste of time, or even hurt to get a letter for Duke from Christian Laettner? We are from the same hometown my Aunt is good friends with his sister and I've met him a few times.

[bmore]

Are you serious? Can he tell Duke how well you work with others? What kind of student you are? What a great analytical mind you have? You do know they want LORs from Profs (and maybe employers) and not just a friend of a friend of a relative, even if he is a famous alum.

[VictoryGin]

It would probably hurt...

[Nelson10]

That's exactly what I thought and why I haven't done it. My Aunt is insisting on it and wont believe me that it's not a good idea.

[FryBreadPower]

Looks like Duke is a no-go and you have iffy/ok odds at Vandy, Texas, Gtown

wtf? that's just not true.

Granted, I was probably overly-harsh about his odds to Vandy, Texas, Gtown. But, I just don't see how Duke is a lock with these numbers. 3.55 is below their 25th percentile and 170 is at their median. Not sure how that makes him a sure thing candidate.

[JamMasterJ]

Duke and GULC are WL/accept. You're pretty competitive at the rest

[Nelson10]

Would there be any benefit in retaking in December? I took the LSAT in October all I did to prep was 4 full practice tests the week before and the logic games section in 4 more because I was too slow. I only actually got 2 or 3 questions wrong and the other 10 or so I didn't get to and were guesses. Highest PT was 175 and I didn't finish that one either. But with my GPA being as low as it it I don't feel like I can get to anywhere much better than where I can get with the 170.

[anewaphorist]

Nelson, the re-take breaks down interestingly. For YHS (who essentially have a GPA floor for non-URMs), you'd be hard pressed to get in without a 177+ and some incredible softs. You might snag one of CCN with a 174-6, but you really cannot bank on scoring that, as everything really has to align on test day for one of those scores. And if your re-take is no better than a 171, it would do nothing for your application anyway. If you realistically think you can get a 172-4, it might be worth your while to re-take, but you would have to lock those scores down in less than a month (for the December test). Otherwise, looks like you're "stuck" with the 170 or you're waiting until next year's cycle. The latter option is, quite frankly, foolish given the drop in LSAT takers and, by extension, applicants. You'll get into a T14 with your stats, so my advice is don't sweat it.

I say this because, although my GPA looks nothing like yours, my LSAT does, and I had to make a similar decision in late October.

To pay it forward, here is one of your numbers twins applying this cycle: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/killingly/jd

[Nelson10]

Thank you that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking to be honest. I feel like I have a pretty good shot at pulling out a 175 I rarely get questions wrong I just freeze up at times and reread a question like 7 times before answering and it slows me down it's so frustrating. Related question would lets say a 175 get me $ anywhere. I think I mentioned I have an LSAC fee waiver so I can take the December test for just the late fee. I think it's like $69.

In particular could a few point increase give me a better shot at getting decent money from Vandy? The more I research the more it becomes my #1 even if I got into Duke, Georgetown, or Texas.

[ahnhub]

Would you recommend getting my apps sent in without all of my LORs ready? I have one on it's way to LSAC, one that should be sent out this week, and two that wont be until the end of the month. The end of the month ones are my professors who know me best. One teaches Con Law so he gets swamped with requests and the other is a County Legislator who was up for election today so he asked if I could wait until after for him to even think about it. I can have my personal statements ready tomorrow.

Well, I would never advise someone to go complete without putting their best face forward. But now through late November/early December is probably when you have to get your apps in to be considered in the first wave of acceptances. I wouldn't wait any later than the end of this month. If a rec letter takes longer, I think you can contact individual schools to add your letter after you go complete--it's probably a pain in the ass, though. Four letters is a lot, but if they all have good things to say why not?

About retaking--the truth is, every point helps. Depending on timing, even a 1-point boost to 171 might help you a smidge at a couple of places. Getting 172 might mean a few acceptances you wouldn't otherwise have gotten. But since you're looking good for your top choice or something else in the T-14 now, it is debatable whether it would be worth it for you to study again--and also consider a December retake is probably a little less valuable than an October one, because you're getting in at the tail end. The GPA makes HYS almost impossible unless you have an outstanding soft, and CCN unlikely unless you rock a 175+. I normally think it's not worth it to retake a 170 unless you were regularly scoring 175+ on PTs.

About Vandy $$--check out LSN for 170-171 with GPAs around 3.6. A bunch got 60-70 K. A good idea might be to apply to a peer school you might get money from so you can negotiate (although Vandy seems to operate in its own little sphere in a way--hard to think of what a "peer" might be--UCLA maybe?)