MA/PR/Hispanic Applicants Forum

[Rawlberto]

I see that there are a lot of us on TLS, and none of us have gotten any clear answers to questions as LSN profiles for MA/PR/Hispanic are very limited. So a space to share concerns, tips, strategies, etc. should be helpful.

164, 3.33, 2yr WE, Weak softs

Looking to get into a T14, which my gut tells me will take an ED on my part. People seem to say that URM cycles are "unpredictable" so just ride it out, but the limited information I have seen seem to suggest MA/PR/Hispanic cycles tend to be closer to Caucasian cycles to than to AA cycles. Thoughts?

[horrorbusiness]

i'm not gonna even try and speak to the MA boost because i have no idea. but i'll post how my cycle turns out.

3.37/167, MA. mediocre softs and no WE. looking at t14-ish, mostly cornell, usc, ucla, gtown, UT.. i don't know if it's even worth applying to MVP...

[Rickjames11]

I have read that MA/PR get +5 on the LSAT. That is what I have read on other threads, which I believe is based on
LSN. However I fully agree with you, there isn't alot of information out there for us (MA/PR). Best I have been able to find is pretty much what you have found, urm = unpredictable cycles. Which I doesn't help my neurosis, and im sure yours.

I have similar numbers. 165, 3.4 @ top public. Although I do have atleast one strong soft: Marine Corps Officer Candidates School and I ranked 3rd/231. Im going to retake and blanket the t14, even though i'm only really interested in ca schools. UCLA is my top pick and im going to ED but they typically take higher GPAs. UC Davis and Hastings are much more likely for me but im still going to take shots at the t14 regardless.

[horrorbusiness]

hey rickjames, i'm gonna ED at ucla too. best of luck to us. TBH, you might be selling yourself short by dipping down to hastings/davis if you don't get UCLA. anecdotally, the MA boost "goes further" on the east coast (california does have the highest number of hispanic people in the US, after all), so you might get dinged at UCLA but have a shot at gtown/cornell.

and you can include those in your cycle and still ED UCLA too, since cornell only has non-binding EA, and gtown has a much later ED deadline than UCLA, so you can totally ED gtown later on if UCLA rejects/defers you. just my thoughts!

[MAapplicant]

3.5/160 MA here. Will let ya know how cycle turns out!

[StrongSofts]

3.45 163 PR hoping for Fordham, W&M, BC, or W&L. I think that some of you guys might be shooting a little high, but I don't know PR and MA cycles are near non-existent from what I can see. I think I might blanket the T14 just in a throw it all at the wall and see what sticks kinda deal, with the LSAC fee waiver it will only cost me what like $100 to blanket the T14? If I get in that's great, if not oh well.

[Rickjames11]

Perhaps we are shooting high, but it is worth a shot. I have seen a few URMs on LSN that broke the t14 with similar numbers. I'd like to think my softs and PS/DS will make the difference. Also, I am retaking and shooting for a 170. An MA with a 170 is sure to crack the t14 easy...

[Rickjames11]

Also, shouldn't california law schools give MAs an increased bump, not a smaller one, to reflect the state's population? After all, isn't that why URMs get a bump at all, to reflect the population? I understand it is to reflect the national population. But you would think that the states themselves would try to reflect their populations locally. Hmmm..

[DWinter18]

Hey Guys,

Mexican-American here, 3.38 from a top 20 University, pretty good recs (the professors I asked loved me), work experience. Just got a 169 on the October test and wondering if I should ED UVA or Georgetown... I really want to get into a T14, though UCLA would be sweet also. What do you guys think? UVA replies to an ED in 15 days so it's low risk. I don't think I really have a shot at anything higher than that...

Would either of those schools look down on my retake? I got a 162 first time, then this 169. I hope that doesn't hurt me.

Good luck to everyone regardless!

[LaCumparsita]

Hey guys! I'm 170/4.06/South American. I really have no idea if I'm going to get a boost... HYSC would be awesome though

[TrojanHopeful]

Hello everyone. Thought I'd chime in. MA, 167 (October), 3.11 lsdas (3.9 ugpa). Strong upward gpa trend. I'm still deciding on whether to retake to try for the 170+. I am also thinking of ED'ing to UCLA.

Good luck to all. Let's keep each other updated.

[Revolver066]

lol, all us MA applicants seem to have thought about EDing to UCLA

[franklyscarlet]

Hi "other Hispanics" (don't you love that term on the apps?) I'm 168/3.5 south American, hoping it gives me a tiny boost since I have less than stellar numbers... Or at least that being Hispanic and TFA might help a little.

Should add: Texas resident, EDing NU and reaching for duke, UT, Vandy, and Cornell.

[DoubleChecks]

curious -- do "other hispanics" // non-PR and MA get any URM boost/counted as URM for law school admissions? i keep hearing different things

[howlery]

curious -- do "other hispanics" // non-PR and MA get any URM boost/counted as URM for law school admissions? i keep hearing different things

I'd like to know this, too. Especially for an "other hispanic" who identifies with more than one race (white+black, not necessarily African-American, for instance).

[Strange]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=250

Howlery, Double and frankly check out the above thread We are having a discussion in there, and there's lots of stuff from the previous cycle as well.

[StarLightSpectre]

Hey Guys,

My GPA is 3.75 which is fine but I f'd up my LSAT and scored a 160 which while ok, was under my average and is going to make getting into the very top schools a bit difficult. However, I agree that there really isn't enough information on MA/PR applicants so I guess I'll do my part and post my results on here in addition to creating a profile on LSN.

Btw my approach to applications equates to using a shotgun, I'm applying to almost all of the t14 and to about 12 schools that rank between 15-55.

[vulpixie]

I have read that MA/PR get +5 on the LSAT.

No. The MA boost is around +5 or +7 (it's been shrinking for the past couple of years). PR, however, is much larger. More like +10 or +12, according to Anna Ivey. "Other Hispanics" get no bump.

[etizzle]

Are you sure about the PR boost? I thought Ivey was very vague and only discussed AA getting as high as a 10 point boost

[vulpixie]

It is often better than AA (this makes sense since PRs on average score considerably lower than AAs), but less predictable since there are so few PRs in America. For instance, if a school hasn't had enough qualified PR applicants to fill its quota, it would dip down much lower than it ever would for AA applicants to accept them. There was a PR on this forum a couple years ago who had 164/163 and a 3.4 and was accepted at Harvard with no remarkable softs. An AA in that situation wouldn't have stood a chance.

[bigtexmex]

Mexican American right here, yo!
3.6 UGPA from U of Texas
Waiting to retake the LSAT (took it three years ago with a substandard score), but if PTs are indicative, I expect a 165+.
Masters Degree, with 2.5 year Teaching Assistant position
Completed a Masters Thesis on the legal recognition and indigenous identities of a local tribe
Immigrant parents with no education and grew up in an impoverished, gang filled neighborhood

Somehow, I tied all that into my PS pretty well, so hopefully it does give me a boost.

[LaCumparsita]

Got into Harvard! 170/4.06/non-URM Hispanic (1/2 South American)

[POSERmyLOVE]

Other hispanic, Salvadoran American although I am very Mexicanized (long story) I am hoping to get into the 160s this saturday and with my gpa of 3.72 get into a good school on the east coast if not into any here in cali.....it all depends on this saturday, my old lsat score was a 151 -__-! Best of luck to all my people!

[DportIA]

162 3.55. I was accepted at Iowa, Ohio St, Creighton, and Nebraska already. I am more interested in scholarship money than shear admissions, however. Other schools I am really interested in include Wisconsin, Illinois, WUSTL, SMU, and Tulane.