Top Law Schools

Hi Everyone first time poster!

AA male here applying next cycle

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major: History and Legal studies
GPA: 3.5
LSAT 170

Top choice: Harvard Law and Yale Law

Internships/Extracurriculars

Private equity internship (Rising Sophomore)
Investment banking internship ( Rising Junior)
Planning on doing a compliance internship (Rising Senior)

Leadership position:

Business Law club
Renewable energy club
Editor Undergrad Law Journal

Personal Statement: Business Law focus very personal story
LOR: 2 professors and Internship Mentor

My main concerns are I am planning on applying next cycle and want to go into law school right after undergrad will that reflect negatively on me? Also I had a very bad fist semester freshman year in which I got an F in a course - my dad died. I retook the course and got a B, but it is still on my transcript. Very strong upward trend in my grades otherwise. But will this be a deal breaker?

Thanks!

I'm applying same cycle as you, and TLDR: you're good. Check out page 11 (on document, page 21 overall): https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam ... eckdam.pdf

you're rare with that 170. We both are KJD's, and it sounds like you'll definitely want to keep that GPA above a 3.45 or so for HYS, as they (apparently, based on LSN and hours of reading through anecdotes) have hard floors. Good luck next year! I'd be down to help each other out when we get more into applications next year

You're in great shape. The unfortunate reality is that there are very few AA males with 170+ LSAT scores throughout the country. With everything in order, you are competitive at every law school in the country. You're likely to see full scholarship offers at every school with an LSAT median of a 170 or lower as you give them an AA URM boost without harming their LSAT median.

It would be nice to boost your GPA as much as possible if you'd like Yale, Harvard or Stanford. If you just want to work in business law, I'd recommend the best school that gives you a full ride instead of pushing for HYS as, as long as you get around median grades in law school, you're a shoe in for most of the top law firms.

If you have any interest in tutoring the LSAT for a competitive rate, feel free to PM me.