Admission chances Forum

[fiji_water]

Hi!

I'm planning to apply Early Decision to Columbia this fall. I'm currently a junior at UPenn Wharton. I'm majoring in Finance and Statistics, with minors in Mathematics and Computer Science. My GPA is a bit on the low side for law school (3.49, maybe a 3.50 by the end of the semester) but I did well on the LSAT (177).

Does anyone with experience know what my chances are of being admitted?

Please let me know!

[crazeazn]

"what are my chances" section. with all those majors you need to learn how to read.

[helix23]

I'm not sure about your chances of getting into Columbia, but I know your chances of getting a good answer are better if you post this in the proper forum: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=9

[GW1010]

Chances of being admitted: Pretty close to 100% with ED

That said...

1) You'll be competitive at Harvard and Stanford with that LSAT score. Apply regular decision at Columbia and take a shot at the best
2) I'm a senior at Penn, and everyone knows it's a lot more difficult to get a good GPA in Wharton than in the College where I am. Ad comms will take that into account
3) For future reference, post what are my chances questions here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=9

Good luck!

[jbagelboy]

Hey, good luck with CLS! I got in with quant background too, I think it helps, although your grades are prohibitive from butler/hammy -- if you can get all As and A-s your senior year and take a consulting or finance job your first year out of school, you might have even better chances EDing fall 2014 instead since you can may break 3.6 and below median GPAs oftrn fare better with work experience. And you already have the lsat as a lock so theres no rush. Just a thought.

ill just add since you are probably new to the forum that the level of detail you provided in this post alone would very easily out you to any admissions officer, and yes they do browse TLS. So be wary what you say, but its not a huge deal.

Good luck!

[vanwinkle]

Thread moved.

Also, apply to the whole T6. Don't rule out HYS with those stats.

[Tiago Splitter]

Get better grades next year and sit out a year so you can apply with all of your senior grades factored into your GPA. You have a decent shot at Harvard if you can land a year of solid work experience and a bit higher GPA.

[Ti Malice]

1) You'll be competitive at Harvard and Stanford with that LSAT score. Apply regular decision at Columbia and take a shot at the best
2) I'm a senior at Penn, and everyone knows it's a lot more difficult to get a good GPA in Wharton than in the College where I am. Ad comms will take that into account

Unless OP is a URM, no to the bolded parts of (1) and (2). I mean, it's worth the Hail Mary to H, but chances are exceedingly slim with that GPA. S is out altogether.

OP, you shouldn't apply ED. Unless there's some major flaw in your app, you're a lock at CLS with those numbers. The consensus is that ED doesn't really affect your chances for CLS anyway. You're not destined for big money there, but they might throw you $25-30K later in the cycle if you get your GPA over 3.5. (Can you take a few easy-A community college classes over the summer? If your GPA is north of 3.6 when you apply, H starts to become a real possibility.) Blanket the T14 from CCN on down (except Berkeley) and see what kind of scholarship offers you get. You might be able to use those to squeeze some money out of CLS if they start off tight-fisted.

[Cobretti]

1) You'll be competitive at Harvard and Stanford with that LSAT score. Apply regular decision at Columbia and take a shot at the best
2) I'm a senior at Penn, and everyone knows it's a lot more difficult to get a good GPA in Wharton than in the College where I am. Ad comms will take that into account

Unless OP is a URM, no to the bolded parts of (1) and (2).

OP, you shouldn't apply ED. Unless there's some major flaw in your app, you're a lock at CLS with those numbers. The consensus is that ED doesn't really affect your chances for CLS anyway. You're not destined for big money there, but they might throw you $25-30K later in the cycle if you get your GPA over 3.5. (Can you take a few easy-A community college classes over the summer?) Blanket the T14 from CCN on down (except Berkeley) and see what kind of scholarship offers you get. You might be able to use those to squeeze some money out of CLS if they start off tight-fisted.

If he can get his GPA up to 3.55 he's got a decent shot at H. Certainly good enough to send an app.

[Ti Malice]

Yeah, I was editing my post to reflect that (and other things). Odds become a lot better at 3.6. Regardless, it's worth a shot at H. But with the current stats, OP will be a serious long-shot.

[fiji_water]

Thanks for the advice guys! I really, really appreciate it. I gave it a lot of thought and talked it over with friends - I think I'm sticking with Columbia ED.

Thanks again!

[BigZuck]

ITT: OP has a plan, asks for advice, gets advice that runs counter to said plan but is actually superior to said plan, then goes ahead and leaves the thread with the same plan.

Too bad rad wasn't here with lawschoolnumbers.com to /thread right there and

[tachikara]

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[stuckinthemiddle]

You have a Wharton degree and you want to jump straight into law school? Why? You have so many other opportunities open to you.

[jbagelboy]

Fiji, I went to Wharton UG as well, any reason you're making the jump straight into law instead of trying for OCR for full-time employment? Did you strike out this summer, or are you just plain uninterested in banking, trading, consulting? Working after college will help shore up your finances, is a lot of fun (especially if you're in NY), and will make you a more attractive applicant to law schools and employers. I spent a few years working and it was definitely worth it.

If you're dead-set on Columbia and you don't care about the money at all, then ED makes sense. But I'd agree with the thread that HYS and substantial scholarships are a possibility if you don't ED and apply more broadly.

+1

[jbagelboy]

Thanks for the advice guys! I really, really appreciate it. I gave it a lot of thought and talked it over with friends - I think I'm sticking with Columbia ED.

Thanks again!

No offense, but I wouldn't base this life decision on "talking it over with friends". Are these friends in NYC for work and you want to be there with them? You have several better scenarios articulated to you, but I guess they are from total strangers so I understand your reluctance to care. Then again, this suggests you created the thread for reaffirmation of a decision you'd already made.