Top Law Schools

Hey all!

I currently have a 3.5 and I want to get into the top five law school (Harvard, Columbia, UVA, etc) except Yale. I've got pretty good softs. I created a club, studied abroad, great internships, I speak several languages, etc. What LSAT score should I shoot for this September?

Thanks guys!

180.

scooped on my edit.

.

173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

Teoeo wrote:173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

According to myLSN, 171 should cut it for NYU. Chicago, on the other hand, is a different story.

Perhaps, I just looked at lawschoolpredictor ^_^

Biglaw1990 wrote:

Teoeo wrote:173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

According to myLSN, 171 should cut it for NYU. Chicago, on the other hand, is a different story.

OP asked for Top 5, not Top 6. GTFO with NYU.

.

Its different depending on what type of urm you are. Go to mylsn.info and see what lsat score gives you a good chance for the schools you want mixed with your gpa. If you're African-American, you'll need to score in the 160s at least. With a 3.5, probably mid to high 160s for top 6. Realistically, you should try to score above each schools lsat medians-that combined with your urm status and decent gpa will give you a sure shot at each school imo. If scoring above medians doesn't work out, apply early and have a good application that tells a story about yourself. Even if you score high relative to other African-Americans (maybe hispanic) law schools wont have an incentive to admit you if you don't boost their medians so you'll have to stand out and sell yourself.

Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

lymenheimer wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

That's fine, but it's not a big assumption to believe that the OP is really wondering what kind of score he's going to need to be competitive at his targeted schools. Answering 180 doesn't help him. He knows what a perfect score is.

fliptrip wrote:

lymenheimer wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

That's fine, but it's not a big assumption to believe that the OP is really wondering what kind of score he's going to need to be competitive at his targeted schools. Answering 180 doesn't help him. He knows what a perfect score is.

Yes everyone should aim for a 180. But nobody NEEDS a 180 to get into any law school. It would be better to tell OP, if we assume you are an AA, with a 3.5 GPA it would probably go something like 159=T14, 162+=T10, 165=probably T6. And then you could say, "however, you want to aim for a 180 to maximize scholarships" hell, I guarantee there are plenty of non-URM kids that attend a T14 and have below median GPA or LSAT. So nobody needs a perfect anything for any school. Including Yale

xspider wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

lymenheimer wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

That's fine, but it's not a big assumption to believe that the OP is really wondering what kind of score he's going to need to be competitive at his targeted schools. Answering 180 doesn't help him. He knows what a perfect score is.

Yes everyone should aim for a 180. But nobody NEEDS a 180 to get into any law school. It would be better to tell OP, if we assume you are an AA, with a 3.5 GPA it would probably go something like 159=T14, 162+=T10, 165=probably T6. And then you could say, "however, you want to aim for a 180 to maximize scholarships" hell, I guarantee there are plenty of non-URM kids that attend a T14 and have below median GPA or LSAT. So nobody needs a perfect anything for any school. Including Yale

Thank you all for your answers and clarifications! So what I've gleaned from your responses is that I should always shoot for the highest score, but getting a 165-167 gives me a good shot at T-6, which is what I'm aiming for.

bowsandbells wrote:

xspider wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

lymenheimer wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

That's fine, but it's not a big assumption to believe that the OP is really wondering what kind of score he's going to need to be competitive at his targeted schools. Answering 180 doesn't help him. He knows what a perfect score is.

Yes everyone should aim for a 180. But nobody NEEDS a 180 to get into any law school. It would be better to tell OP, if we assume you are an AA, with a 3.5 GPA it would probably go something like 159=T14, 162+=T10, 165=probably T6. And then you could say, "however, you want to aim for a 180 to maximize scholarships" hell, I guarantee there are plenty of non-URM kids that attend a T14 and have below median GPA or LSAT. So nobody needs a perfect anything for any school. Including Yale

Thank you all for your answers and clarifications! So what I've gleaned from your responses is that I should always shoot for the highest score, but getting a 165-167 gives me a good shot at T-6, which is what I'm aiming for.

Always shoot for your best in life, period. But in reality, sometimes your best (or the best score) is not necessary. And in your case, depending on your URM type, a 160 will get you in a T14 with money possibly. But do try your best and reap the results of your effort.

xspider wrote:

bowsandbells wrote:

xspider wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

lymenheimer wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

xspider wrote:Are most posters here just throwing out random answers? If OP is an AA, he definitely has a shot at Columbia with a 165. Hell it is even possible to get Harvard with a 3.5 165 if they are an AA.

OP, look at some of the previous years admissions data on the URM forum for further assistance.

+1000 on this one. Everything that came before Afrocentric Asian's advice is some of the worst I've ever seen given on TLS.

Why would anybody shoot for less than a 180? Nobody said he needed to get a 180, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt shoot for it, regardless.

That's fine, but it's not a big assumption to believe that the OP is really wondering what kind of score he's going to need to be competitive at his targeted schools. Answering 180 doesn't help him. He knows what a perfect score is.

Yes everyone should aim for a 180. But nobody NEEDS a 180 to get into any law school. It would be better to tell OP, if we assume you are an AA, with a 3.5 GPA it would probably go something like 159=T14, 162+=T10, 165=probably T6. And then you could say, "however, you want to aim for a 180 to maximize scholarships" hell, I guarantee there are plenty of non-URM kids that attend a T14 and have below median GPA or LSAT. So nobody needs a perfect anything for any school. Including Yale

Thank you all for your answers and clarifications! So what I've gleaned from your responses is that I should always shoot for the highest score, but getting a 165-167 gives me a good shot at T-6, which is what I'm aiming for.

Always shoot for your best in life, period. But in reality, sometimes your best (or the best score) is not necessary. And in your case, depending on your URM type, a 160 will get you in a T14 with money possibly. But do try your best and reap the results of your effort.

So I'm a AA. Does that make a big difference?

Teoeo wrote:173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

What kind of nonsense is this. OP is URM. 165 is enough for Columbia/Chicago. 167+ is enough for Harvard/Stanford.

PeanutsNJam wrote:

Teoeo wrote:173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

What kind of nonsense is this. OP is URM. 165 is enough for Columbia/Chicago. 167+ is enough for Harvard/Stanford.

Enough to give you a shot. As a 3.5 165 or 167 AA you can't bank on Columbia/Chicago or Harvard Stanford. Same with 167/169. Will they take a quick look and throw it in the reject pile? No, but AAs with these stats get rejected or waitlisted from these schools. I would try to shoot more for 169 for CCN (NYU maybe a little less so) and 171 for Harvard/Stanford if you want to be more secure.

PeanutsNJam wrote:

Teoeo wrote:173 is probably the lowest score where you have realistic chances of getting into Chicago/NYU, probably need 174 to be considered seriously at Columbia, and probably need 176 to have any chance at all at Harvard/Stanford.

What kind of nonsense is this. OP is URM. 165 is enough for Columbia/Chicago. 167+ is enough for Harvard/Stanford.

I didn't know OP was a URM...

This is posted in the URM forum.

I didn't notice that when I first answered. I just replied off the front page. Sorry for the confusion.

Teoeo wrote:I didn't notice that when I first answered. I just replied off the front page. Sorry for the confusion.

We still love you man. No worries