Law School Advice - Age, PhD, Grad school GPA, etc... Forum

[melamine]

I haven't been immersed in law school forum discussions much, so i'm really at a loss when it comes to chances of getting accepted at the T-10 schools? Does being old count against me at all? I'll be applying when i'm 31. And how much does grad school GPA count for?

PhD in philosophy from a ~T25 philosophy program
~3.75 undergrad from T-5 undergrad program
~3.65 grad school
LSAT will likely be at least 165 (i've only taken a two practice tests so far, so i imagine it will go up from here), but i'm going to try and get in the low 170s.

Does anyone know how they account for grad school GPA? How much will having a PhD in philosophy count? I'd like to do what i can to ensure admission to U. Chicago and Northwestern - but would like to aim for Harvard. Is my Grad school GPA going to count against that?

Any thoughts?

[SaintClarence27]

I haven't been immersed in law school forum discussions much, so i'm really at a loss when it comes to chances of getting accepted at the T-10 schools? Does being old count against me at all? I'll be applying when i'm 31. And how much does grad school GPA count for?

PhD in philosophy from a ~T25 philosophy program
~3.75 undergrad from T-5 undergrad program
~3.65 grad school
LSAT will likely be at least 165 (i've only taken a two practice tests so far, so i imagine it will go up from here), but i'm going to try and get in the low 170s.

Does anyone know how they account for grad school GPA? How much will having a PhD in philosophy count? I'd like to do what i can to ensure admission to U. Chicago and Northwestern - but would like to aim for Harvard. Is my Grad school GPA going to count against that?

Any thoughts?

To answer a few of your questions:

Age really doesn't matter much. Work experience will actually help (a little, but that can make a big difference).

Grad school GPA means very little. Undergrad GPA means a LOT more. It's mostly about your LSAT and UGPA. The PhD, because it's not science-oriented, will probably not matter much either.

Overall, the two biggest things are LSAT and UGPA. Then work experience and personal statement, then other softs (other degrees, random unique experiences). With your UGPA (not that it's bad, just below median, I believe), you'd really have to ROCK the LSAT to have a chance at Harvard, and even then it's iffy (assuming you aren't an under-represented minority). To really ensure Northwestern AND Chicago, you're probably going to need a 172 or so, though you'd still have a good chance to get into both with a 170.

[melamine]

sorry - just realized i needed to post this in another forum. see what a newbie i am? lol. if someone could move this to the appropriate forum that would be great - or just leave it.