Top Law Schools

URM AA Male
3.80 Ugpa
163 LSAT (retake is not an option)

Softs: Ivy Master’s, AmeriCorps, significant w/e

Chances for: YHS?

No chance at Yale, limited chance at Harvard and Stanford (becuase you're below their GPA medians).

Excellent chance at Columbia and NYU, if it matters.

Ugh

modernoblomov wrote:Ugh

MyLSN shows you having a 88% chance of getting into Harvard. The data on Yale is limited, as there was only one applicant with your stats that applied to Yale in the past several cycles and they were waitlisted. You appear to have a decent shot at Stanford as-is. With a higher LSAT score, you could get full-rides from mid-lower T13 schools, but as it stands you'll probably get $$-$$$.

modernoblomov wrote:Ugh

Why Ugh? Your other posts talk about working in a firm. If that's your goal it can be achieved in the lower T14 without placing you at a huge disadvantage.

You might still need to bump that LSAT a little. Three or four points may be worth over $100,000. With interest on a Grad Plus loan, maybe over $150,000. You'll probably never find something to spend time and effort on that has as big an ROI.

If the economy goes into a significant recession, look for a big uptick in the number of folk going to law school. More applicants may mean more competitive admissions.

Why is retake not an option? JW

Good chances at most T4-14 (except, for whatever reason, Penn and UVA); scholarship at lower t14; agreed with WC that Yale is out and Harvard/Stanford are <50%. Also agree with posters saying you should retake for even a 5-point increase.

decimalsanddollars wrote:Good chances at most T4-14 (except, for whatever reason, Penn and UVA); scholarship at lower t14; agreed with WC that Yale is out and Harvard/Stanford are <50%. Also agree with posters saying you should retake for even a 5-point increase.

I suspect Penn and UVA may be because those schools place strong emphasis on a "Why X" statement. Otherwise, I can't see any reason why Penn and UVA specifically would be less likely.

QContinuum wrote:

decimalsanddollars wrote:Good chances at most T4-14 (except, for whatever reason, Penn and UVA); scholarship at lower t14; agreed with WC that Yale is out and Harvard/Stanford are <50%. Also agree with posters saying you should retake for even a 5-point increase.

I suspect Penn and UVA may be because those schools place strong emphasis on a "Why X" statement. Otherwise, I can't see any reason why Penn and UVA specifically would be less likely.

Bear with me a bit, I'm just curious: Assuming Y's out and I get accepted into either H/S, what are we talking about in terms of aid? My financial resources are very low and I have $100k in debt from my master's. With my relatively low stats, would I pretty much expect to graduate at sticker ($300+k) from H/S?

FWIW, albanach is correct: I want to pursue big law. I'm aware of both school's LIPP/LRAP. Even though they're "generous," I'm not too thrilled carrying all that debt and I'm not interested in PI.

modernoblomov wrote:Bear with me a bit, I'm just curious: Assuming Y's out and I get accepted into either H/S, what are we talking about in terms of aid? My financial resources are very low and I have $100k in debt from my master's. With my relatively low stats, would I pretty much expect to graduate at sticker ($300+k) from H/S?

FWIW, albanach is correct: I want to pursue big law. I'm aware of both school's LIPP/LRAP. Even though they're "generous," I'm not too thrilled carrying all that debt and I'm not interested in PI.

If your target is BigLaw, you should not be targeting H/S as your ideal outcome. You should be targeting CCN on down with $$$ as your ideal outcome. No one needs H/S (or Y for that matter) to land BigLaw.

I understand you have a subjective desire to be able to say "I went to Hahvahd Law School!" but max aid at YSH - assuming you qualify for max aid, which you may not (parental income and assets get factored in up through age 29, even if your parents won't actually be contributing a dime) - will still run you something like $150k (IIRC - may be higher now). I'd think long and hard about whether you want to pay $150k for a HLS diploma over a CCN diploma just for the bragging rights.

objctnyrhnr wrote:Why is retake not an option? JW

Time's the main factor. I took about 6 months to study for the LSAT after work and managed a few family emergencies in that time. I'm up there in age (30ish) and the notion of doing that again is pretty unappetizing. I think I can be internally okay with settling for non-HYS.

modernoblomov wrote:
Time's the main factor. I took about 6 months to study for the LSAT after work and managed a few family emergencies in that time. I'm up there in age (30ish) and the notion of doing that again is pretty unappetizing. I think I can be internally okay with settling for non-HYS.

If you don't want unicorn jobs, then I'd take non-HYS $$$ over HYS any day of the week. You should have some great options.

Wild Card wrote:No chance at Yale, limited chance at Harvard and Stanford (becuase you're below their GPA medians).

Excellent chance at Columbia and NYU, if it matters.

Yeah. This guy is wrong. I've been watching this game for over a decade. I've seen some wild outcomes for URM cycles. ESPECIALLY AA males. Throw an app that way.