Top Law Schools

hey all-

i have a 3.4 gpa from a national university, with a strong upward grade trend my last 2 years (3.7s) my lsat is lower than i would like (162), but i have good softs:

congressional internships
teach for america
kaplan lsat faculty
lots of work experience/community involvement

basically i have a great resume but my numbers are a little low...as an aa female what are my chances at the t14/20? also, should i apply binding ed to any school or is that a bad idea?

thanks!

You will definitely get into a top 14. Harvard and Stanford are reaches. Anything below that and you have a good shot. Northwestern Cornell and Michigan are probably the 3 top 14 schools that you are most certain of being accepted to.

BruceWayne wrote:You will definitely get into a top 14. Harvard and Stanford are reaches. Anything below that and you have a good shot. Northwestern Cornell and Michigan are probably the 3 top 14 schools that you are most certain of being accepted to.

I second that and will add Berkeley and NYU.

Good luck!

You posted this in the chances forum already.

I have a 3.78, instead of a 3.4, so I don't know how that will work out for you, but:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/subtle

strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough. Penn, you have a shot because they are a partner school with TFA. NYU is a soft reach, you got a better chance at UofC. Anything below Columbia besides those already mentioned, you have a good shot at. Apply early and good luck!

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough. Penn, you have a shot because they are a partner school with TFA. NYU is a soft reach, you got a better chance at UofC. Anything below Columbia besides those already mentioned, you have a good shot at. Apply early and good luck!

I got into Berkeley with a similar GPA. I'm not you, but I would suggest trying.

pixytree wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough. Penn, you have a shot because they are a partner school with TFA. NYU is a soft reach, you got a better chance at UofC. Anything below Columbia besides those already mentioned, you have a good shot at. Apply early and good luck!

I got into Berkeley with a similar GPA. I'm not you, but I would suggest trying.

What was your LSAT?

pixytree wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough. Penn, you have a shot because they are a partner school with TFA. NYU is a soft reach, you got a better chance at UofC. Anything below Columbia besides those already mentioned, you have a good shot at. Apply early and good luck!

I got into Berkeley with a similar GPA. I'm not you, but I would suggest trying.

There are LSN profiles that indicate you weren't the the only one Pixy. Congrats to you, and good luck to the OP.

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough.

I totally disagree. Stanford may be a reach but she should still apply. I think her TFA experience is HUGE, amongst her other great softs.

Maybe MartianManHunter could chime in. A 3.6/164 landed him an offer with grant money and he applied there in December.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/MartianManhunter/jd

Malcolm8X wrote:

pixytree wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough. Penn, you have a shot because they are a partner school with TFA. NYU is a soft reach, you got a better chance at UofC. Anything below Columbia besides those already mentioned, you have a good shot at. Apply early and good luck!

I got into Berkeley with a similar GPA. I'm not you, but I would suggest trying.

What was your LSAT?

Similar GPA/LSAT. OP apply early, it makes a difference. Take time to write a compelling PS and get it looked over by a couple of other people.

thanks for all of the responses! thoughts on ed-ing or if i were so lucky as to get in, would i get any $$ from these schools?

A score of 162 on the LSAT is not low since you have URM status. You should do well among the top 14, just be sure to apply to all that interest you. How did you qualify to teach for Kaplan LSAT ? Did you take a timed PT that was at least a 164 ?

yeah- i have test anxiety. my timed PTs are always 168+ but i freaked out over the real thing, and don't have time because of tfa to commit to studying for a retake.

wishful2012 wrote:yeah- i have test anxiety. my timed PTs are always 168+ but i freaked out over the real thing, and don't have time because of tfa to commit to studying for a retake.

don't ED. You can get money from T6 and below probably-- at least some financial aid, if not merit. But I think with your softs you have a shot at some merit scholarships and grants.

Are you a first gen college grad or graduate student?

BlaqBella wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough.

I totally disagree. Stanford may be a reach but she should still apply. I think her TFA experience is HUGE, amongst her other great softs.

Maybe MartianManHunter could chime in. A 3.6/164 landed him an offer with grant money and he applied there in December.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/MartianManhunter/jd

AA male =/= AA female. And a 164/3.6 =/= 162/3.4. By all means apply, but they'll be big reaches. I wouldn't expect $$ from a T10 either but below, you may have a chance.

Malcolm8X wrote:

BlaqBella wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough.

I totally disagree. Stanford may be a reach but she should still apply. I think her TFA experience is HUGE, amongst her other great softs.

Maybe MartianManHunter could chime in. A 3.6/164 landed him an offer with grant money and he applied there in December.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/MartianManhunter/jd

AA male =/= AA female. And a 164/3.6 =/= 162/3.4. By all means apply, but they'll be big reaches. I wouldn't expect $$ from a T10 either but below, you may have a chance.

Don't forget that MartianManHunter is a HBCU graduate. I think that adds a great deal of weight to his application as well.

I have the same LSAT as you, lower gpa and currently still in undergrad. I feel like you can break T14. Look at my cycle

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/miracle2011

miracle2011 wrote:I have the same LSAT as you, lower gpa and currently still in undergrad. I feel like you can break T14. Look at my cycle

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/miracle2011

We all agree that she can break in. Good job getting into UC-Berkely [sic] btw. They're usually gpa happy but an early application does help.

Yale loves TFA applicants. As a former TFA participant, I think you'd qualify for a 30k "love offering" at Yale.

pixytree wrote:

wishful2012 wrote:yeah- i have test anxiety. my timed PTs are always 168+ but i freaked out over the real thing, and don't have time because of tfa to commit to studying for a retake.

don't ED. You can get money from T6 and below probably-- at least some financial aid, if not merit. But I think with your softs you have a shot at some merit scholarships and grants.

Are you a first gen college grad or graduate student?

i'm actually a second gen college grad (if that's a term)

DukeCornell wrote:Yale loves TFA applicants. As a former TFA participant, I think you'd qualify for a 30k "love offering" at Yale.

really? maybe you could provide some more insight into the "tfa factor" my numbers seem to be way off to even hope for yale (it's also a school that tfa doesn't give a fee waiver for) are there other schools that are more tfa receptive?

also- how much do schools look at an upward grade trend..could that offset a lower gpa at a gpa-heavy school like berkeley (3.7s last two years with advanced classes)?

wishful2012 wrote:
really? maybe you could provide some more insight into the "tfa factor" my numbers seem to be way off to even hope for yale (it's also a school that tfa doesn't give a fee waiver for) are there other schools that are more tfa receptive?

also- how much do schools look at an upward grade trend..could that offset a lower gpa at a gpa-heavy school like berkeley (3.7s last two years with advanced classes)?

In terms of what you can control, your acceptances and scholarship offers will largely depend on how you feel about those experiences/soft factos and how you make adcomms feel about those experiences/soft factors.

ETA: Questions such as "How can I make my TFA experience appear to have greater significance and relevance to ppl that have never done it, or to adcomms that have other value systems and multiple considerations, or as it relates to the underlying themes in my application?" will yield you far more helpful responses than simply asking, "How do schools typically view TFA?" The same applies to grade trends, WE, athletic involvements, etc. Hope some of this helps.

Good luck.

really? maybe you could provide some more insight into the "tfa factor" my numbers seem to be way off to even hope for yale (it's also a school that tfa doesn't give a fee waiver for) are there other schools that are more tfa receptive?

also- how much do schools look at an upward grade trend..could that offset a lower gpa at a gpa-heavy school like berkeley (3.7s last two years with advanced classes)?

I'm not sure how far removed you are from TFA, but Yale is currently a TFA partner school. With that, there are certain named and unnamed perks that TFA corps members (past and present) get from their partner schools, namely an admissions boost, and a two year deferral if admitted to TFA in the same year you apply to law school. That being said, I'm not sure how sizable of a boost you will actually receive on your app, but based solely on what you've posted, you're off to a great start! You're in the world-fame AA 160+ Club (welcome!), you're in the URM Club, and you're in the TFA Club.

With regard to your second question, Norte Dame, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UVA, Emory, and Columbia are all TFA partner law schools, but there are many more.

For a complete list, go to the TFA website: click on the "After the Corps" section at the top of the page, scroll down to the "Graduate Partner School's" section then click the drop-down to "Law/Legal Services." It should give you a complete list. Also, if you have a school in mind, TFA will contact them for you (if they are not a partner). Use your TFA resources! Good luck!

Malcolm8X wrote:

BlaqBella wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough.

I totally disagree. Stanford may be a reach but she should still apply. I think her TFA experience is HUGE, amongst her other great softs.

Maybe MartianManHunter could chime in. A 3.6/164 landed him an offer with grant money and he applied there in December.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/MartianManhunter/jd

AA male =/= AA female. And a 164/3.6 =/= 162/3.4. By all means apply, but they'll be big reaches. I wouldn't expect $$ from a T10 either but below, you may have a chance.

True, AA females will have different cycles than males. But I'm an AA female with similar numbers and I got $$$ from all 4 of the T10 I applied to. It's possible. Don't bank on it, but apply like you want it. Like I said...get apps in early (got mine in in October and early November) and take your time with your statements. Helps to include a "Why I love XYZ" school in your statements to show the school you really took the time to figure out if it'd be a good fit. Some people wait until they're waitlisted or slow on getting a decision to do this-- I wouldn't recommend it.

Alltheirsplendor wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:

BlaqBella wrote:

Malcolm8X wrote:strike out berkeley and stanford. GPA is not high enough.

I totally disagree. Stanford may be a reach but she should still apply. I think her TFA experience is HUGE, amongst her other great softs.

Maybe MartianManHunter could chime in. A 3.6/164 landed him an offer with grant money and he applied there in December.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/MartianManhunter/jd

AA male =/= AA female. And a 164/3.6 =/= 162/3.4. By all means apply, but they'll be big reaches. I wouldn't expect $$ from a T10 either but below, you may have a chance.

Don't forget that MartianManHunter is a HBCU graduate. I think that adds a great deal of weight to his application as well.

really? what's that about?