Applying to UVA & Penn Law! Forum

Share experiences and seek insight regarding your experience as an underrepresented minority within the legal community.
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about bar exam prep. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
tamoki

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:24 am

Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by tamoki » Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:37 am

Hi there,
Hope you all are well and happy new year! I'm wondering if someone can help me decide whether applying early with a lower 150 LSAT score from 5 years ago is wiser than retaking the LSAT on the last acceptable date in February to achieve a higher score. UVA and Penn Law have both notified me that they would accept either score but I am still unsure about applying later in the cycle even if I have a higher score. Being a DMV native, UVA Law is my top choice but if anyone recommends that I head back to Philly because Penn is ranked one spot higher than UVA, I'll happily consider moving.

DISCLAIMER: Here's a bit about my background that may help. I graduated from Penn undergrad in 2012, completed the Teach For America corps in Detroit, MI and worked on TFA staff for a couple of years after that. I then went through the law school application process during 2015 for the first time and got the 150 on the LSAT that same year. On a personal note, I was illegally placed on medication that prevented me from doing my best on the test. Despite this, I got a full ride to Detroit Mercy's law school.I unfortunately dropped out and had to flee Michigan because I was in an abusive relationship. After that, I lucklily began my Master's at GW in International Education and worked in Paris briefly as a UNESCO fellow. I graduated in May 2019 but am waiting for my degree to be conferred because I worked on my thesis after graduating. GPA at Penn was 3.38 and at GW is 3.85. Please share any helpful advice and thanks in advance :)

nixy

Gold
Posts: 4446
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:58 am

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by nixy » Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:09 am

Respectfully, you’re not getting into either Penn or UVA with a 3.38/150. You need to retake the LSAT for a much higher score.

tamoki

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:24 am

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by tamoki » Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:12 am

nixy wrote:Respectfully, you’re not getting into either Penn or UVA with a 3.38/150. You need to retake the LSAT for a much higher score.
Thanks for your quick response! Also a female and underrepresented minority here. Wondering if having the Master's degree and an addendum will help at all. Also forgot to highlight that I attended UPenn for undergrad and that I lived in VA for a year, which would likely help with in state tuition. Speaking to my pre-law advisor from Penn soon and visited UVA last summer. Had great convo with UVA Law admissions yesterday so fingers crossed! Will register for Feb LSAT and aim for higher score though. Appreciate you support!

User avatar
cavalier1138

Moderator
Posts: 8007
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 8:01 pm

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by cavalier1138 » Fri Jan 03, 2020 1:27 pm

Even as a URM, those numbers are way too low. You need to retake (and while you're at it, broaden your application pool).

As a side note, this raises a bit of a red flag:
tamoki wrote:illegally placed on medication that prevented me from doing my best on the test.
If the underlying issue that led to this might implicate C&F, best to get prepared for that now.

tamoki

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:24 am

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by tamoki » Fri Jan 03, 2020 1:45 pm

cavalier1138 wrote:Even as a URM, those numbers are way too low. You need to retake (and while you're at it, broaden your application pool).

As a side note, this raises a bit of a red flag:
tamoki wrote:illegally placed on medication that prevented me from doing my best on the test.
If the underlying issue that led to this might implicate C&F, best to get prepared for that now.
Thanks so much for your reply-- Will broaden pool to include GW (75% tuition discount bc my SO works for the university full time and I'm his domestic partner) as well as Georgetown. Registered to retake LSAT on February 22nd. In the process of submitting accommodation request this time around due to the underlying issues. Seeking Category 2 accommodations (time & a half + breaks in between sections) which will likely help with Logic Games. Please share any other helpful advice and thanks again!

jimmythecatdied6

Bronze
Posts: 206
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:42 am

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by jimmythecatdied6 » Fri Jan 03, 2020 2:46 pm

tamoki wrote:
nixy wrote:Respectfully, you’re not getting into either Penn or UVA with a 3.38/150. You need to retake the LSAT for a much higher score.
Thanks for your quick response! Also a female and underrepresented minority here. Wondering if having the Master's degree and an addendum will help at all. Also forgot to highlight that I attended UPenn for undergrad and that I lived in VA for a year, which would likely help with in state tuition. Speaking to my pre-law advisor from Penn soon and visited UVA last summer. Had great convo with UVA Law admissions yesterday so fingers crossed! Will register for Feb LSAT and aim for higher score though. Appreciate you support!
No, you will not get into UVA law with that LSAT score. You should retake.

tamoki

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:24 am

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by tamoki » Fri Jan 03, 2020 4:11 pm

Gotcha! I'll go ahead and aim for a 170+ on the February LSAT. I think I can make it happen bc due to my previous experience and with supporting documentation, I'm eligible for accommodations (usually time + a half for the test). Thanks for your help! :)

User avatar
LSATWiz.com

Silver
Posts: 983
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:37 pm

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by LSATWiz.com » Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:44 pm

tamoki wrote:Hi there,
Hope you all are well and happy new year! I'm wondering if someone can help me decide whether applying early with a lower 150 LSAT score from 5 years ago is wiser than retaking the LSAT on the last acceptable date in February to achieve a higher score. UVA and Penn Law have both notified me that they would accept either score but I am still unsure about applying later in the cycle even if I have a higher score. Being a DMV native, UVA Law is my top choice but if anyone recommends that I head back to Philly because Penn is ranked one spot higher than UVA, I'll happily consider moving.

DISCLAIMER: Here's a bit about my background that may help. I graduated from Penn undergrad in 2012, completed the Teach For America corps in Detroit, MI and worked on TFA staff for a couple of years after that. I then went through the law school application process during 2015 for the first time and got the 150 on the LSAT that same year. On a personal note, I was illegally placed on medication that prevented me from doing my best on the test. Despite this, I got a full ride to Detroit Mercy's law school.I unfortunately dropped out and had to flee Michigan because I was in an abusive relationship. After that, I lucklily began my Master's at GW in International Education and worked in Paris briefly as a UNESCO fellow. I graduated in May 2019 but am waiting for my degree to be conferred because I worked on my thesis after graduating. GPA at Penn was 3.38 and at GW is 3.85. Please share any helpful advice and thanks in advance :)
The problem is that you seem to be thinking about this as though you have these special things to offer outside of the #'s that will dictate your cycle - like that you did TFA, went to an Ivy, did a masters, etc. The TFA and Ivy league background are soft factors that may make some difference, but only at the margins. The reality (and this may seem dehumanizing) is that all you really have to offer a school is that you are a racial minority. To make the most of this boost, you need one of your #'s to hit a median.

The 3.38 UGPA won't. Your graduate GPA is irrelevant so you need a better LSAT. I wouldn't list your medication or abusive relationship because the reality is that the LSAT is something you can always retake so from a school's perspective, if a bad relationship and medication impacted your LSAT score 5 years ago, it's odd why you wouldn't take it again in the past 5 years. If you had a 160 then an addendum explaining what happened 5 years ago makes sense. Now, I'd see it as disingenuous because I'd be asking myself why you didn't retake the test in 5 years if that's true.

The full ride to Mercy isn't really relevant, because you're speaking about some of the most competitive schools in the country as compared to one of the least competitive. I'd retake and not rush the process. I've released free guides on here for many LR q types that you can use to help you study.

It is good that you're receptive to criticism, but I'd urge you to feel special inside your heart but go into the application process with the idea that you are just numbers because for better or worse, that's how many schools see every applicant. You can complain that is dehumanizing or accept it for what it is, and succeed under the circumstances.

2020alum

New
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:59 pm

Re: Applying to UVA & Penn Law!

Post by 2020alum » Wed Feb 12, 2020 8:15 pm

FWIW, I was waitlisted at Penn with a higher GPA and a 170 LSAT as an AA male, I feel like sub 160 is an auto reject at Penn, URM or not.

Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Underrepresented Law Students”