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I've been getting all sorts of mixed opinions on what my chances are, so I thought I'd go ahead and ask here and see where the majority of opinions lie. One LSAT instructor told that being a URM "is like an 8 point bonus on the LSAT," but then others said that T14 was likely out of my reach.

Small side notes: I have pretty good softs; I was accepted into both Teach for America and the White House Internship, but went with Teach for America (still currently doing TFA), I interned with three different organizations during undergrad, I was active in undergrad with several leadership positions in cultural, religious and service orgs, and I speak another language (not counting my broken Spanish).

My GPA is low mostly as a result of the pre-med classes I took before I switched to pre-law. My political science GPA is a 3.52, and my senior year GPA is a 3.8.

Do I have a decent shot at T14 schools, or should I be realistic and hope for top 25?

Please read this in its entirety:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=195443


You have more than a shot at T14. In fact, you're guaranteed acceptance into at least one of these schools with $$. As you're TFA, I won't be surprised if you land NYU and Penn. They seem to love TFA teachers.

Apply to all the T14s. You have a strong shot from Columbia straight down. Harvard and Stanford will be reaches unless you retake for a higher test score. Yale is likely out.

Apply now and you will be fine. If you apply before the end of the month, I would say you will pull at least one of MVP. Berkeley is also becoming less stringent on the GPA requirements from what I saw last cycle and the number of AA URMS they accepted. Cornell is a small class size, the sooner you apply the more likely you are in. Georgetown is pretty much guaranteed. Duke is similar to Cornell with the small class size, but I don;t really know much about their admission practices. Decent shot at Columbia, a handful of AA URMs with similar numbers got in. Can't really say anything else about the schools, but you are in a good position if you were to apply now.

Dmini7 wrote:Apply now and you will be fine. If you apply before the end of the month, I would say you will pull at least one of MVP. Berkeley is also becoming less stringent on the GPA requirements from what I saw last cycle and the number of AA URMS they accepted. Cornell is a small class size, the sooner you apply the more likely you are in. Georgetown is pretty much guaranteed. Duke is similar to Cornell with the small class size, but I don;t really know much about their admission practices. Decent shot at Columbia, a handful of AA URMs with similar numbers got in. Can't really say anything else about the schools, but you are in a good position if you were to apply now.

it doesn't matter when he applies, URM's don't hear back until late anyway and the bump for applying early doesn't apply to URMs

Yeah, seconding the "it doesn't matter when you apply" business. You won't hear back until late regardless.

Can you retake the LSAT in December? Every point above 164 drastically improves your chances of getting into a better school with more money.

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If your gpa was higher, you would have a great shot at a lot of the T14's. Consequently, I would retake. If you get 170, you can be a top 3 school. You could probably get into some T14's as of now, but even a 168 might mean more money. From T14 to T20, it could mean full-scholarships versus partial scholarships at some schools.

3-7 more points means HS + CCN w/ $ territory. Study hard and retake in December to apply January 5th.

We have similar numbers and we are both doing TFA. What region are you in?

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Quan292 wrote:We have similar numbers and we are both doing TFA. What region are you in?

I'm in Houston.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and feedback! I could potentially retake, tho 164 is my score after my third time taking the test. I don't think 167-68 is out of my reach since I have hit that a couple of times on practice tests and had circumstances that depressed my score the 2nd and 3rd time I took it, so we'll see. I would have to get a waiver from a school if I decided to retake before February, but I've heard that's not really an issue.

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I think LSAC reformed their policy with retake waivers a couple years ago. They're basically impossible to get now (no more school-sponsored stuff) and seem to be reserved for extenuating circumstances.

Yeah you're not getting a fourth take till your two years are up unfortunately. You will certainly get a t14 as it stands now, although I find some of these predictions a bit ambitious.

Hmm okay, that may not be a bad thing for me. I think on my best day, 2-4 points higher is a possibility, but I don't really think 164 is completely unrepresentative of how I was doing on PTs, considering I had a good number fall below that mark.

I'm fairly covered tuition-wise thanks to a parent program that covers grad school tuition completely for kids, so $$$ isn't as big as a concern, though obviously it would be nice to get scholarships.

I think I'll email LSAC just to find out where they stand. I might also take a couple of practice tests in the next couple of weeks and see where I score. If, as expected, I continue with my 165 testing average, I'll probably pass, but if I start hitting 166+ regularly, I may think of taking the LSAT a fourth time more actively. I figure it can't really hurt; I'm applying this cycle either way.

MoHendy wrote:Hmm okay, that may not be a bad thing for me. I think on my best day, 2-4 points higher is a possibility, but I don't really think 164 is completely unrepresentative of how I was doing on PTs, considering I had a good number fall below that mark.

I'm fairly covered tuition-wise thanks to a parent program that covers grad school tuition completely for kids, so $$$ isn't as big as a concern, though obviously it would be nice to get scholarships.

I think I'll email LSAC just to find out where they stand. I might also take a couple of practice tests in the next couple of weeks and see where I score. If, as expected, I continue with my 165 testing average, I'll probably pass, but if I start hitting 166+ regularly, I may think of taking the LSAT a fourth time more actively. I figure it can't really hurt; I'm applying this cycle either way.

Try talking to lsac, but it's unlikely they waive the 3 in 2 rule. Couldn't hurt to try I suppose.

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:3-7 more points means HS + CCN w/ $ territory. Study hard and retake in December to apply January 5th.

Rizzy, why do you say Jan 5th? Is that because nobody will look at it if you apply during the holiday period?

The reason I ask is that I'm planning to take December too and I had been thinking as soon as that comes out (I assume ~Dec 30) I would be ready to fire off. Of course, if I have an extra week then I'd love to have it.

-dasein- wrote:

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:3-7 more points means HS + CCN w/ $ territory. Study hard and retake in December to apply January 5th.

Rizzy, why do you say Jan 5th? Is that because nobody will look at it if you apply during the holiday period?

The reason I ask is that I'm planning to take December too and I had been thinking as soon as that comes out (I assume ~Dec 30) I would be ready to fire off. Of course, if I have an extra week then I'd love to have it.

I'm sure he's just estimating, giving about 3 weeks after the test to get your score back.

MoHendy wrote:Hmm okay, that may not be a bad thing for me. I think on my best day, 2-4 points higher is a possibility, but I don't really think 164 is completely unrepresentative of how I was doing on PTs, considering I had a good number fall below that mark.

I'm fairly covered tuition-wise thanks to a parent program that covers grad school tuition completely for kids, so $$$ isn't as big as a concern, though obviously it would be nice to get scholarships.

I think I'll email LSAC just to find out where they stand. I might also take a couple of practice tests in the next couple of weeks and see where I score. If, as expected, I continue with my 165 testing average, I'll probably pass, but if I start hitting 166+ regularly, I may think of taking the LSAT a fourth time more actively. I figure it can't really hurt; I'm applying this cycle either way.

Could you tell me about this program??

Thanks!

poorblacknstubborn wrote:

MoHendy wrote:Hmm okay, that may not be a bad thing for me. I think on my best day, 2-4 points higher is a possibility, but I don't really think 164 is completely unrepresentative of how I was doing on PTs, considering I had a good number fall below that mark.

I'm fairly covered tuition-wise thanks to a parent program that covers grad school tuition completely for kids, so $$$ isn't as big as a concern, though obviously it would be nice to get scholarships.

I think I'll email LSAC just to find out where they stand. I might also take a couple of practice tests in the next couple of weeks and see where I score. If, as expected, I continue with my 165 testing average, I'll probably pass, but if I start hitting 166+ regularly, I may think of taking the LSAT a fourth time more actively. I figure it can't really hurt; I'm applying this cycle either way.

Could you tell me about this program??

Thanks!

I'm sorry that description must've been a bit ambiguous. My parents have tuition coverage for kids as one of their employee benefits.

please retake, op

For those who were curious, my request for a 4th take was rejected. And I gave some pretty good reasons too (health issues, etc).

It worked out fine in the end tho; I got into GULC, which was one of my top choices. Obviously I'm going to wait on scholarship info and such, but grateful to have a pretty low-stress cycle from here on out!

MoHendy wrote:For those who were curious, my request for a 4th take was rejected. And I gave some pretty good reasons too (health issues, etc).

It worked out fine in the end tho; I got into GULC, which was one of my top choices. Obviously I'm going to wait on scholarship info and such, but grateful to have a pretty low-stress cycle from here on out!

Did you apply ED?

MoHendy wrote:For those who were curious, my request for a 4th take was rejected. And I gave some pretty good reasons too (health issues, etc).

It worked out fine in the end tho; I got into GULC, which was one of my top choices. Obviously I'm going to wait on scholarship info and such, but grateful to have a pretty low-stress cycle from here on out!

congrats!

3.34 & 164 here. I ended up getting in at GULC, Cornell, and NW from the t14. All with no money, and NW off the waitlist very late. I took 40k/yr and went to USC, but the point is you can break into the t14 with your stats.