Top Law Schools

At top 10 school. First one in family to attend college. Been out of college for 3 years working in finance. Looking to star Law School on fall 2012. Should I retake in October?

I can say with almost complete certainty that you wouldn't get into a top 10 school absent some extraordinary stroke of luck. If you are Mexican American, or Puerto Rican, then you may have a chance. But hispanics as a whole, in particular South and Central Americans, aren't really underrepresented in law school so there isn't really any sort of boost from it. Again, if you are Mexican or Puerto Rican, the equation changes because those 2 cultures are certainly underrepresented in law schools.

Edit: I read your past post saying you are Colombian. Then no, a top 10 school would be a HUGE longshot. You should be focused on schools in the 15-30 range. I would still send out apps to all the top 10 schools you are interested in and you may get lucky on one, but don't count on it.

I think it depends on what kind of Hispanic you are. If you're Mexican or Puerto Rican, the boost should get you into some T14 schools (but probably not quite good enough for HYS). If not, I have no idea.

I think you have good chances at the top law schools, especially since you're coming from an Ivy. A 166 is at the 98th percentile for non-PR/Mexican Hispanics, and only about 140 Hispanic students score as high as or higher than you on the LSAT. And because there are way more than 140 Hispanic students at T14 law schools, Hispanics must be receiving a significant boost on their LSAT scores at top law schools.

That said, I don't think HYS is likely. CCN isn't either, but I wouldn't be surprsied if you get into one of them. I think you should apply to a wide range of T14 schools, with a few T20 schools thrown in as safeties and for scholarships.

Voting Retake!

Since you are Columbian, yes you should retake for a 170+.

Only retake if you think you can improve. If you don't think so, polish your ps and app and apply early and broadly.

futurelawstudent1 wrote:I think you have good chances at the top law schools, especially since you're coming from an Ivy. A 166 is at the 98th percentile for non-PR/Mexican Hispanics, and only about 140 Hispanic students score as high as or higher than you on the LSAT. And because there are way more than 140 Hispanic students at T14 law schools, Hispanics must be receiving a significant boost on their LSAT scores at top law schools.

Where did you get those numbers?

The Kid wrote:

futurelawstudent1 wrote:I think you have good chances at the top law schools, especially since you're coming from an Ivy. A 166 is at the 98th percentile for non-PR/Mexican Hispanics, and only about 140 Hispanic students score as high as or higher than you on the LSAT. And because there are way more than 140 Hispanic students at T14 law schools, Hispanics must be receiving a significant boost on their LSAT scores at top law schools.

Where did you get those numbers?

"43% of all statistics on the internet are made up." - Abraham Lincoln

The Kid wrote:

futurelawstudent1 wrote:I think you have good chances at the top law schools, especially since you're coming from an Ivy. A 166 is at the 98th percentile for non-PR/Mexican Hispanics, and only about 140 Hispanic students score as high as or higher than you on the LSAT. And because there are way more than 140 Hispanic students at T14 law schools, Hispanics must be receiving a significant boost on their LSAT scores at top law schools.

Where did you get those numbers?

http://www.lsac.org/LsacResources/Resea ... -10-03.pdf for the scores by race and ethnicity.

https://officialguide.lsac.org/release/ ... fault.aspx for the number of Hispanic students at each law school.

Edit: Wow -- the LSAC just updated its Official Guide and no longer records Hispanics by nationality. It now just says "All Hispanics." Perhaps law schools are ending the distinction between different Hispanics.

futurelawstudent1 wrote:I counted more than 240 non-PR/Mx Hispanic students at T14 schools, so the average LSAT of Hispanics at T14 schools can be no higher than 166.

That doesn't mean they didn't have above median GPAs to compensate for below median LSATs.

bk187 wrote:
That doesn't mean they didn't have above median GPAs to compensate for below median LSATs.

True, but Hispanics and other minorities tend to have much lower college GPAs than whites and Asians. A 3.6 is very high for a minority (probably equal to at least a 3.7 for a non-minority).

futurelawstudent1 wrote:True, but Hispanics and other minorities tend to have much lower college GPAs than whites and Asians. A 3.6 is very high for a minority (probably equal to at least a 3.7 for a non-minority).

There are significant number of them such that enough of them probably have a high enough GPA to fill that 240 number.

bk187 wrote:

futurelawstudent1 wrote:True, but Hispanics and other minorities tend to have much lower college GPAs than whites and Asians. A 3.6 is very high for a minority (probably equal to at least a 3.7 for a non-minority).

There are significant number of them such that enough of them probably have a high enough GPA to fill that 240 number.

There are a significant number of Hispanic students with 3.6 GPAs or higher. But there are significantly fewer Hispanic students with a 3.6 GPA or higher and an LSAT score above 160 (which is quite rare for Hispanics).

Regardless, a 166 is in the 98th percentile for Hispanics; a 3.6 is a solid GPA for anyone. The OP has good chances at getting into a T14 school.

futurelawstudent1 wrote:Regardless, a 166 is in the 98th percentile for Hispanics;

Yes.

futurelawstudent1 wrote:a 3.6 is a solid GPA for anyone.

Yes.

futurelawstudent1 wrote:The OP has good chances at getting into a T14 school.

No.

Your chances are actually very high. I mean, political correctness is not going down anytime soon. You can always count on that. No offense. I am just telling the truth. Good luck!

Is OP resident? Does residency status make any difference?