URM Splitter Guide
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:37 am
URM Splitter Guide
Hi all, I’m new here, but I’ve been lurking the site for over a year now. I read a great splitter guide, and a great URM guide, and both of those admitted that URM splitters are the most unpredictable. I’ve compiled data of URM splitters from the past nine cycles – 2003-04 until 2011-12. Read on.
Methodology
Using lawschoolnumbers.com (LSN), I was able to get data on URM splitters (URMS) from the past 9 cycles. I only studied traditional splitters, which was defined as an LSAT from 165 and above, with a GPA from 3.5 and below. I only studied URMS that applied to T-14 schools. Some would say – 165 is too low to be considered a “splitter” at a T-14 school, but in the URM context, 165 might as well be a 170.
Unfortunately, the sample size was painfully small for the 03-04 cycle – only nine URMS, but it gets bigger each cycle, because I’m assuming that LNS has gotten immensely more popular over the past nine years. As a result, the sample sizes per cycle range from nine applicants to 34.
The Results
The Six Best
1. NYU
NYU received 81 applications over nine cycles from URMS on LSN. They accepted 50.6% of them.
2. Georgetown
Georgetown received 128 applications over the nine cycles, making it the most popular choice for URM splitters. Georgetown accepted 49% of those applicants. This isn’t surprising; Georgetown loves splitters minorities or not, so I suppose being an URM is an extra plus.
3. Northwestern
I was shocked to see Northwestern in this spot. They received just 61 applications over nine cycles from LSN URMS, but accepted 49%. I suppose that Northwestern, like Georgetown would be ideal for URM splitters because both schools have a trend of taking splitters. Even better, Northwestern emphasizes WE, so I’m guessing that many of the URMS from LSN being accepted here have 2+ years of WE.
4. Cornell
Cornell received 65 apps over 9 cycles, and accepted 46% of those, making Cornell a viable option for many URM splitters.
5. Michigan
Given the state’s opposition to affirmative action and the bad press from Grutter v. Bolinger, I didn’t expect to see Michigan here. But Michigan received 85 apps – and accepted 43.5% of those.
6. Virginia
Virginia received a whopping 90 applications, and accepted 34% of them.
The Worst
1. Yale
Yale made my blood boil as I compiled the data. Yale received a miserable 32 applications from URM splitters on LSN over the last nine years, no doubt a result over Yale’s obsession with GPA. Yale accepted just two of these applicants. The part that made my blood boil? A Yale undergrad with a 3.4 and a 175 was waitlisted at YLS.
2. Berkeley
While a little better than Yale, Berkeley is just as obsessed with GPA, and in California where affirmative action is almost nonexistent, I would waste an app here. They received 67 apps from LSN URMS and accepted 12.
3. Stanford
Like Yale, Stanford made some admissions calls that made my blood boil. There have been several URMS with 3.0+ GPAs and 175+ LSATs that Stanford has passed on. SLS received 56 apps over nine cycles, and accepted just eleven.
The Second Guess?
1. Columbia
One of the more popular schools for URMS. It received 104 apps, and accepted 20% of them.
2. Penn/Duke
Both schools had a 23% acceptance rate for URM splitters, receiving 70 and 57 apps, respectively.
3. Chicago
Chicago accepted 29% of the 66 apps it got from URM splitters on LSN over the past nine years, which seems promising – but not as reassuring as G-Town.
4. Harvard
There’s always some shot for a URM getting into Harvard, especially considering that Harvard is much more forgiving of GPA than its Yale/Stanford colleagues. H accepted a fifth of the 77 apps from URM splitters on LSN.
Conclusion
This “study” is not perfect at all. The sample size is smaller than I would like, and there are other things that go into admissions that I couldn’t measure – such as when these URM’s applied during the cycle or what their softs were. I did this because there are a LOT of URM splitters, and the advice to so many URM splitters (e.g. 3.0/169) is “Blanket the T-14!” or “Enjoy Harvard.” But it’s not that black and white. I hope this helps someone, and at the very least, gives a picture of LSN competition!
Hi all, I’m new here, but I’ve been lurking the site for over a year now. I read a great splitter guide, and a great URM guide, and both of those admitted that URM splitters are the most unpredictable. I’ve compiled data of URM splitters from the past nine cycles – 2003-04 until 2011-12. Read on.
Methodology
Using lawschoolnumbers.com (LSN), I was able to get data on URM splitters (URMS) from the past 9 cycles. I only studied traditional splitters, which was defined as an LSAT from 165 and above, with a GPA from 3.5 and below. I only studied URMS that applied to T-14 schools. Some would say – 165 is too low to be considered a “splitter” at a T-14 school, but in the URM context, 165 might as well be a 170.
Unfortunately, the sample size was painfully small for the 03-04 cycle – only nine URMS, but it gets bigger each cycle, because I’m assuming that LNS has gotten immensely more popular over the past nine years. As a result, the sample sizes per cycle range from nine applicants to 34.
The Results
The Six Best
1. NYU
NYU received 81 applications over nine cycles from URMS on LSN. They accepted 50.6% of them.
2. Georgetown
Georgetown received 128 applications over the nine cycles, making it the most popular choice for URM splitters. Georgetown accepted 49% of those applicants. This isn’t surprising; Georgetown loves splitters minorities or not, so I suppose being an URM is an extra plus.
3. Northwestern
I was shocked to see Northwestern in this spot. They received just 61 applications over nine cycles from LSN URMS, but accepted 49%. I suppose that Northwestern, like Georgetown would be ideal for URM splitters because both schools have a trend of taking splitters. Even better, Northwestern emphasizes WE, so I’m guessing that many of the URMS from LSN being accepted here have 2+ years of WE.
4. Cornell
Cornell received 65 apps over 9 cycles, and accepted 46% of those, making Cornell a viable option for many URM splitters.
5. Michigan
Given the state’s opposition to affirmative action and the bad press from Grutter v. Bolinger, I didn’t expect to see Michigan here. But Michigan received 85 apps – and accepted 43.5% of those.
6. Virginia
Virginia received a whopping 90 applications, and accepted 34% of them.
The Worst
1. Yale
Yale made my blood boil as I compiled the data. Yale received a miserable 32 applications from URM splitters on LSN over the last nine years, no doubt a result over Yale’s obsession with GPA. Yale accepted just two of these applicants. The part that made my blood boil? A Yale undergrad with a 3.4 and a 175 was waitlisted at YLS.
2. Berkeley
While a little better than Yale, Berkeley is just as obsessed with GPA, and in California where affirmative action is almost nonexistent, I would waste an app here. They received 67 apps from LSN URMS and accepted 12.
3. Stanford
Like Yale, Stanford made some admissions calls that made my blood boil. There have been several URMS with 3.0+ GPAs and 175+ LSATs that Stanford has passed on. SLS received 56 apps over nine cycles, and accepted just eleven.
The Second Guess?
1. Columbia
One of the more popular schools for URMS. It received 104 apps, and accepted 20% of them.
2. Penn/Duke
Both schools had a 23% acceptance rate for URM splitters, receiving 70 and 57 apps, respectively.
3. Chicago
Chicago accepted 29% of the 66 apps it got from URM splitters on LSN over the past nine years, which seems promising – but not as reassuring as G-Town.
4. Harvard
There’s always some shot for a URM getting into Harvard, especially considering that Harvard is much more forgiving of GPA than its Yale/Stanford colleagues. H accepted a fifth of the 77 apps from URM splitters on LSN.
Conclusion
This “study” is not perfect at all. The sample size is smaller than I would like, and there are other things that go into admissions that I couldn’t measure – such as when these URM’s applied during the cycle or what their softs were. I did this because there are a LOT of URM splitters, and the advice to so many URM splitters (e.g. 3.0/169) is “Blanket the T-14!” or “Enjoy Harvard.” But it’s not that black and white. I hope this helps someone, and at the very least, gives a picture of LSN competition!
