Top Law Schools

just got december results 168 with 3.9 gpa what are my chances at t14?

Unlikely at HYS, some chance at CCN, looking good at Berkeley on down

Congrats on the good score!

wjnahill wrote:Unlikely at HYS, some chance at CCN, looking good at Berkeley on down

Sounds about right, barring any surprises (positive or negative) in your application. Also, it might be worthwhile to check out Law School Predictor for your approximated statistical chances at various law schools, and LSN for applicants with similar numbers to yours at your target schools.

You should go to Cardozo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It also matters where you went to undergrad! If it was already one of the top you have a better chance. Heard it from a UChicago admissions rep

chanchito wrote:It also matters astonishingly little where you went to undergrad!

fixed that for you

I'm going to be the pessimist and say out at CCN. However, strong at Berkeley with that high GPA, if you can write a really solid PS (Berkeley is all about high GPAs and the really well-written PS), and a good chance at MVP.

If you're eager to start school this fall, you can apply ED to UVA and they'll probably take you with that GPA. ED means you'll get a reply within 15 days, so you'll know pretty quickly if you're going to UVA next fall or not.

Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern (with WE), Berkeley, Michigan
small shot at NYU, Virginia, Penn, and Duke
no shot at HYSCC

Thanx for the replies.

Would retaking and raising my score by a point or 2 make a huge difference? Im pretty sure I can pull that off.

If you got a 169 you would have a much better chance at NYU!

I had the exact same stats. applied much earlier than you though. you can look at my LSN profile (link is in my profile here) and see how things are turning out for me.

Cardozo?

If you are a hustler and good looking it doesnt matter where you go!

Should I retake or not? My point is im pretty sure I can pull off at least a 169 maybe higher will that make a difference or should I just apply now and hope for the best?
Pretty good softs. Nice personal statement. Overcame some adversity I guess you could say. It matters if your good looking or not?

Dont retake unless u want to wait another year to apply

Huluba23 wrote:Should I retake or not? My point is im pretty sure I can pull off at least a 169 maybe higher will that make a difference or should I just apply now and hope for the best?
Pretty good softs. Nice personal statement. Overcame some adversity I guess you could say. It matters if your good looking or not?

If you're willing to wait for the next cycle and applying early in September 2010, getting a higher LSAT score can certainly help, not only as far as chances at admission at the top law schools, but also in getting some scholarship money from slightly lower-ranked schools.

Good looks are of no consequence in the law school application process, since you don't submit photos. But they certainly don't hurt in getting a job down the road.

I've got the same exact numbers as you and I'm holding off from applying this cycle. I'm going to take the LSAT again, probably in October, and see if I can improve on the 168. I feel like if you were consistently preptesting at 170+, it would be really worth it to raise the score a bit. Even if you don't get into HYSCC with the new score, you would be getting scholarship consideration at top schools instead of being on their borderline. I know it's hard to decide to retake a perfectly good score, and I've been struggling a bit with the decision (especially since I want to go to law school at either NYU or HYS, so for me, a higher score would only benefit me by locking in NYU or else it would have to be so high as to get me into HYS in spite of their averaging policies). So you should look at the schools you want to go to and think about the benefits to a retake. But if you're open to most of the T14, I think it would be pretty damn beneficial.

zimbadimp wrote:Dont retake unless u want to wait another year to apply

+1

however, as a cautionary tale, i retook and got a 168 the second time too. this was after prepping in the low 170's pretty consistently.

tintin wrote:

zimbadimp wrote:Dont retake unless u want to wait another year to apply

+1

however, as a cautionary tale, i retook and got a 168 the second time too. this was after prepping in the low 170's pretty consistently.

tintin, according to your LSN profile, you've been doing pretty well (congrats on NYU!!) in spite of the 2 168s. So do you think that a non-improvement (or a cancellation) on a retake would negatively affect an application?

oh_dear wrote:
tintin, according to your LSN profile, you've been doing pretty well (congrats on NYU!!) in spite of the 2 168s. So do you think that a non-improvement (or a cancellation) on a retake would negatively affect an application?

in my experience, no. I don't think it has made any difference. I don't see why it would be a negative factor, though obviously it won't help. However, if you do score lower that would probably not be very good-if you think there is a significant chance of that happening you would def want to consider that risk I think....

zimbadimp wrote:If you are a hustler and good looking it doesnt matter where you go!

Post of the month

Nice!!! I got post of the month! Huluba23, want to trade me for your LSAT score?

Quick put 'Post of the Month' on your application

I know where you can put it......

I have a 169, 3.9 (with a 161 also on my record). You can see my TLS profile or LSN to see how I've done this cycle. Like tintin, I applied in September/October.

With a carefully crafted application and strong supporting materials (softs, PS, LORs, etc.), 168/169, 3.9 can take you almost anywhere. Honestly I think as a non-URM, the only schools that are almost definite dings with those numbers are Harvard and Columbia (I hesitate to include Yale in that group because not only do I still hold out hope for myself, but I also think a 169, 3.9 with strong softs, etc. stands a better chance at Yale than at Harvard or Columbia).