Why are top 25 schools contacting me, a 155 LSAT?
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:30 pm
I scored a 155 (64th percentile) on the LSAT, yet I received and am still receiving emails from out of state schools in the 20-25 range saying that I am (A) a competitive applicant and often (B) that they will wave my application fee.
If they weren't waving the fees I would just think they were after my $70 or so dollars, but as it stands, their reasoning escapes me. Do they just want more applications to deny in order to reduce their percent of admits, thus making themselves appear more selective? (Possibly paranoid, I know, but I'm a poor kid from a toxic community. Low self-esteem, etc.)
Things the schools know about me through LSAC:
1) 3.70 UGPA (BA in history from Tier 3, California public school)
2) 3.97 GGPA (MA in liberal studies from Tier 3, California public school)
3) Dean and Honors list
Things the schools couldn't (I think) know about me, but might explain interest (i.e. softs):
1) Two time writing scholarship winner
2) Military experience, honorable discharge, documented disabled veteran (PTSD)
3) Possible URM (Roma. I look white and based on American notions of race/ethnicity, if spotted on the street most would say I am not a URM. In my LSAC profile I left my race as unidentified.)
4) Dyslexic (purposely undocumented) with a history of only slightly above mean test scores (SAT-59th percentile, GRE-65th percentile) (That said, on the ASVAB/AFQT and a formally administered Stanford-Binet IQ test I scored in the 99.9th percentile)
5) 2 years of work experience in PR/Advertising/Healthcare
As long as it's free I figure I’ll apply to the schools that have contacted me. But still, I am wondering if anyone might know (or have any good guesses) why these schools might want me to apply in the first place. My LSAT is well below the mean and even the 25th percentile for most. Should I apply to other schools in the 20-25 range that haven’t contacted me, or higher or lower ranked schools?
I appreciate your input.
If they weren't waving the fees I would just think they were after my $70 or so dollars, but as it stands, their reasoning escapes me. Do they just want more applications to deny in order to reduce their percent of admits, thus making themselves appear more selective? (Possibly paranoid, I know, but I'm a poor kid from a toxic community. Low self-esteem, etc.)
Things the schools know about me through LSAC:
1) 3.70 UGPA (BA in history from Tier 3, California public school)
2) 3.97 GGPA (MA in liberal studies from Tier 3, California public school)
3) Dean and Honors list
Things the schools couldn't (I think) know about me, but might explain interest (i.e. softs):
1) Two time writing scholarship winner
2) Military experience, honorable discharge, documented disabled veteran (PTSD)
3) Possible URM (Roma. I look white and based on American notions of race/ethnicity, if spotted on the street most would say I am not a URM. In my LSAC profile I left my race as unidentified.)
4) Dyslexic (purposely undocumented) with a history of only slightly above mean test scores (SAT-59th percentile, GRE-65th percentile) (That said, on the ASVAB/AFQT and a formally administered Stanford-Binet IQ test I scored in the 99.9th percentile)
5) 2 years of work experience in PR/Advertising/Healthcare
As long as it's free I figure I’ll apply to the schools that have contacted me. But still, I am wondering if anyone might know (or have any good guesses) why these schools might want me to apply in the first place. My LSAT is well below the mean and even the 25th percentile for most. Should I apply to other schools in the 20-25 range that haven’t contacted me, or higher or lower ranked schools?
I appreciate your input.
