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I am a URM (AA) and I am just wandering what I should do, or what I need to do to increase my chances at NYU or Chicago. These are my dream schools, but my stats are far outside their ranges.

LSAT: 157 (plan on retaking in October and taking a prep class for it)
GPA: 3.29 (3.19 LSAC)

Any advice would be great. Would ED help? If so at which school?

My other choices are: Alabama, Emory, Georgia State, Samford, FIU, Miami, Minnesota.

I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

IAMGenius wrote:I am a URM (AA) and I am just wandering what I should do, or what I need to do to increase my chances at NYU or Chicago. These are my dream schools, but my stats are far outside their ranges.

LSAT: 157 (plan on retaking in October and taking a prep class for it)
GPA: 3.29 (3.19 LSAC)

Any advice would be great. Would ED help? If so at which school?

My other choices are: Alabama, Emory, Georgia State, Samford, FIU, Miami, Minnesota.

Male or Female? That makes a significant difference.

Are you a first generation college student? If so, NYU has a full-ride for those students.

Can you improve your GPA? Unless you are an engineering or hard science major your GPA needs improvement.

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Aren't you negative nancy today ( I saw your posts on UPENN)

hiromoto45 wrote:

IAMGenius wrote:I am a URM (AA) and I am just wandering what I should do, or what I need to do to increase my chances at NYU or Chicago. These are my dream schools, but my stats are far outside their ranges.

LSAT: 157 (plan on retaking in October and taking a prep class for it)
GPA: 3.29 (3.19 LSAC)

Any advice would be great. Would ED help? If so at which school?

My other choices are: Alabama, Emory, Georgia State, Samford, FIU, Miami, Minnesota.

Male or Female? That makes a significant difference.

Are you a first generation college student? If so, NYU has a full-ride for those students.

Can you improve your GPA? Unless you are an engineering or hard science major your GPA needs improvement.

Male and yes I am first generation college graduate. I am an engineering major as well. What difference does any of this make?

hiromoto45 wrote:

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Aren't you negative nancy today ( I saw your posts on UPENN)

LOL, I got all fired up in that damn NBA Chatter forum. Haha. But really, you can't tell me that a 157, 3.19 is anywhere near reasonable for either of those schools.

This post I stand behind. She needs at least 15-18 more points to be in contention. Possibly even more.

http://nyu.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Sometimes I wonder about you JWicker....do you know exactly what you're talking about? Or you just having fun? AA by far get the biggest URM boosts.

OP, I know an AA male that got NYU with a 160, 3.5....and another AA male that got Columbia, but was WL at NYU with 157, 3.4....Retake and try your best to break a 163 at least. Good luck.

EDIT: The fact that you are an engineering major should also help, but don't count on it. Get that LSAT score up

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Just to keep my options open and make sure I get in somewhere! Obviously NYU and Chicago are my reach schools, Alabama, Emory are my inbetween, and FIU, Georgia State, and Samford are safety schools that I would only go to if I didn't get in anywhere else...

IAMGenius wrote:

hiromoto45 wrote:

IAMGenius wrote:I am a URM (AA) and I am just wandering what I should do, or what I need to do to increase my chances at NYU or Chicago. These are my dream schools, but my stats are far outside their ranges.

LSAT: 157 (plan on retaking in October and taking a prep class for it)
GPA: 3.29 (3.19 LSAC)

Any advice would be great. Would ED help? If so at which school?

My other choices are: Alabama, Emory, Georgia State, Samford, FIU, Miami, Minnesota.

Male or Female? That makes a significant difference.


Are you a first generation college student? If so, NYU has a full-ride for those students.

Can you improve your GPA? Unless you are an engineering or hard science major your GPA needs improvement.

Male and yes I am first generation college graduate. I am an engineering major as well. What difference does any of this make?

Engineering does help your chances a little, as it is considered a very difficult major (and is difficult). However, 3.19 is almost impossibly low.

NYU didn't let anyone in with a GPA that low last year.

GAIAtheCHEERLEADER wrote:

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Sometimes I wonder about you JWicker....do you know exactly what you're talking about? Or you just having fun? AA by far get the biggest URM boosts.

OP, I know an AA male that got NYU with a 160, 3.5....and another AA male that got Columbia, but was WL at NYU with 157, 3.4....Retake and try your best to break a 163 at least. Good luck.

EDIT: The fact that you are an engineering major should also help, but don't count on it. Get that LSAT score up

My understanding and research indicates that Hispanic Americans get the largest boost. Obviously AA is better than not being a URM, but come on, these numbers are no where near NYU's ranges, at all. A 157 is 15 points below median.

I also think I have a pretty good understaning of NYU admissions, considering I go there.

GAIAtheCHEERLEADER wrote:

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Sometimes I wonder about you JWicker....do you know exactly what you're talking about? Or you just having fun? AA by far get the biggest URM boosts.

OP, I know an AA male that got NYU with a 160, 3.5....and another AA male that got Columbia, but was WL at NYU with 157, 3.4....Retake and try your best to break a 163 at least. Good luck.

Thanks, The worst part about the June 2010 Test is that I was PTing at 168 average. Got to the test and bombed the first section which was logical reasoning for me. Got -14. On the second logical reasoning I got -2. Hopefully I can get rid of the nerves come October.

IAMGenius wrote:

hiromoto45 wrote:

IAMGenius wrote:I am a URM (AA) and I am just wandering what I should do, or what I need to do to increase my chances at NYU or Chicago. These are my dream schools, but my stats are far outside their ranges.

LSAT: 157 (plan on retaking in October and taking a prep class for it)
GPA: 3.29 (3.19 LSAC)

Any advice would be great. Would ED help? If so at which school?

My other choices are: Alabama, Emory, Georgia State, Samford, FIU, Miami, Minnesota.

Male or Female? That makes a significant difference.

Are you a first generation college student? If so, NYU has a full-ride for those students.

Can you improve your GPA? Unless you are an engineering or hard science major your GPA needs improvement.

Male and yes I am first generation college graduate. I am an engineering major as well. What difference does any of this make?

I PMed you. So check for my reply there. Don't let Jwicker discourage you.

IAMGenius wrote:

GAIAtheCHEERLEADER wrote:

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Sometimes I wonder about you JWicker....do you know exactly what you're talking about? Or you just having fun? AA by far get the biggest URM boosts.

OP, I know an AA male that got NYU with a 160, 3.5....and another AA male that got Columbia, but was WL at NYU with 157, 3.4....Retake and try your best to break a 163 at least. Good luck.

Thanks, The worst part about the June 2010 Test is that I was PTing at 168 average. Got to the test and bombed the first section which was logical reasoning for me. Got -14. On the second logical reasoning I got -2. Hopefully I can get rid of the nerves come October.

Ya, retake for sure. If you could get between a 168 and a 172 you will open up a lot of doors.

JWicker10 wrote:

GAIAtheCHEERLEADER wrote:

JWicker10 wrote:I don't see how your choices range from 2 of the best schools in the world-FIU, Miami, Alabama etc.

You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

Sometimes I wonder about you JWicker....do you know exactly what you're talking about? Or you just having fun? AA by far get the biggest URM boosts.

OP, I know an AA male that got NYU with a 160, 3.5....and another AA male that got Columbia, but was WL at NYU with 157, 3.4....Retake and try your best to break a 163 at least. Good luck.

EDIT: The fact that you are an engineering major should also help, but don't count on it. Get that LSAT score up

My understanding and research indicates that Hispanic Americans get the largest boost. Obviously AA is better than not being a URM, but come on, these numbers are no where near NYU's ranges, at all. A 157 is 15 points below median.

I also think I have a pretty good understaning of NYU admissions, considering I go there.

Link to said research? A vast majority of the URMs with the lowest admit numbers are AAs. But I'm curious as to where you are getting your information.

The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

Yeah I do agree. I definetly plan on redoing my list now that I have an actual LSAT score to go off of. I've been doing the hypothetical score so far.

Not addressing any specific posts, but I disagree with a majority of the info posted here OP. Being a URM helps, but it isn't some magic free pass into the most elite schools in the world, nor should you depend on that.

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

What in the world are you talking about? That would be an educational scandal of epic proportions.

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

Can you explain this? I don't know how a professor would use AA in classes. That would be a violation of their academic integrity.

hiromoto45 wrote:

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

Can you explain this? I don't know how a professor would use AA in classes. That would be a violation of their academic integrity.

It is regularly used for undergrad, but I don't have a clear idea of the percentage of teachers who do it. I'm not going to go into it.

JWicker10 wrote:Not addressing any specific posts, but I disagree with a majority of the info posted here OP. Being a URM helps, but it isn't some magic free pass into the most elite schools in the world, nor should you depend on that.

Jesus, did anyone even imply this? Certainly not me, nor the OP.

sumus romani wrote:

hiromoto45 wrote:

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

Can you explain this? I don't know how a professor would use AA in classes. That would be a violation of their academic integrity.

It is regularly used for undergrad, but I don't have a clear idea of the percentage of teachers who do it. I'm not going to go into it.

You are full of BS.

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

I would consider a free 10 points on the LSAT a magic free pass, ya. You did say that.

JWicker10 wrote:

sumus romani wrote:The advice to pick some middle schools is very good.

You have schools that are out of your reach, at least given your current scores, and you have some schools that are not worth the tuition money. An AA male will get +10 on the LSAT and no real bonus on the gpa (since it is possible that teachers already use affirmative action in individual classes). URM cycles are hard to predict, but work with your actual gpa and your LSAT+10. Look to medians at schools and set up your list from there. Also, some of those safeties do not have remotely good job prospects, so you want to think long and hard about value.

I would consider a free 10 points on the LSAT a magic free pass, ya. You did say that.

Look, I don't set up the informal admissions rules, the adcoms do. Quite a few books, including How to Get into Top Law Schools, 4th Ed., explicitly give the +10 for african americans rule. No one think that this somehow constitutes a free pass into top law schools, or that it should.

JWicker10 wrote:You're no where near their ranges and AA isn't the hot button URM group to be a part of in terms of getting a big boost.

With your GPA, you'd need mid 170s to get into either of your top two "choices." Minimum.

JWicker10 wrote: My understanding and research indicates that Hispanic Americans get the largest boost. Obviously AA is better than not being a URM, but come on, these numbers are no where near NYU's ranges, at all. A 157 is 15 points below median.

I also think I have a pretty good understaning of NYU admissions, considering I go there.

If you are serious, you really ought to stop talking. 165 makes OP more than solid for CCN. 160 would means the application would be worth it.