medians, 25th percentiles etc... Forum

[primusux]

I probably have not been as involved in the 'process' of getting into school as most on this site have so I apologize if this is a topic that everyone already understands.

All of the rankings and school websites talk about medians, 25th percentiles etc. Yet here on TLS (and understandably people here want to go to a T10/T14) I get the feeling like those numbers don't actually matter and that you always have to be over the median to even stand a chance. It's as though the schools don't actually admit anyone in those lower ranges.

Is that actually true or do people get accepted in those 25th percentiles/below without being a URM, having had daddy write a large donation etc. ? If they do actually let people in below these numbers and without the above, is there some magic formula that applicants must have to get in? I'm not looking for something I can add to increase my chances as I've already submitted; I'm genuinely curious about the numbers game/process.

Thanks for any insight.

[MURPH]

People who get in below the 25th percentiles include URMs and legacies/donors children. They also include splitters who are above the 75th in one number and below 25th in another. They also include people with a good story or who interviewed well or who managed to stand out in some way. It is rare for someone below the 25th in both categories to get in.

[mrm2083]

Ya I think the 25% gpa is mainly there because of the 75% LSAT and vice versa. What I really don't get is why you see so many students at the median get WL/rejected.

[im_blue]

People who get in below the 25th percentiles include URMs and legacies/donors children. They also include splitters who are above the 75th in one number and below 25th in another. They also include people with a good story or who interviewed well or who managed to stand out in some way. It is rare for someone below the 25th in both categories to get in.

Heck, it's rare enough for any non-URMs below the median in both categories to get in.

[09042014]

If you aren't above median in at least one category and you aren't a URM, or have a building named after your grandpappy forget about it.

If you are below one 25%, you generally want to be above the the 75% in the other category. But that isn't always necessary.

[Bustang]

I was dead median(gpa slightly above) at all the T40-50 schools I applied to and I received scholarships at all of them but two (dinged at Georgia and held at SMU). Don't be intimidated by numbers, but don't venture off into fantasy land, either.


As you go higher into the rankings, my example proves to be less warranted

[09042014]

I was dead median(gpa slightly above) at all the T40-50 schools I applied to and I received scholarships at all of them but two (dinged at Georgia and held at SMU). Don't be intimidated by numbers, but don't venture off into fantasy land, either.


As you go higher into the rankings, my example proves to be less warranted

Having GPA above median and LSAT at median is huge. For US news purposes you affect their rankings as much as a 4.0 180 does.

[jcl2]

For those who aren't URMs or Nobel Peace prize winners (or both) you generally need to be above median in either LSAT or GPA to have a realistic chance at most schools. The people with 25% lsats, or below median at all for that matter, generally have GPAs well above median, and the reverse is also true.

[jcl2]

I was dead median(gpa slightly above) at all the T40-50 schools I applied to and I received scholarships at all of them but two (dinged at Georgia and held at SMU). Don't be intimidated by numbers, but don't venture off into fantasy land, either.


As you go higher into the rankings, my example proves to be less warranted

Having GPA above median and LSAT at median is huge. For US news purposes you affect their rankings as much as a 4.0 180 does.

No, it would affect their ranking as much as a 4.0 and an LSAT at their median. But your point is correct that, from a rankings perspective, if a school has medians of 3.7 and 167, for example, a 3.8/168 is just as valuable to that school as a 4.0/180.

[Stringer Bell]

But your point is correct that, from a rankings perspective, if a school has medians of 3.7 and 167, for example, a 3.8/168 is just as valuable to that school as a 4.0/180.

While this is true, many schools are not going to offer the same merit aid package to both students.

[09042014]

But your point is correct that, from a rankings perspective, if a school has medians of 3.7 and 167, for example, a 3.8/168 is just as valuable to that school as a 4.0/180.

While this is true, many schools are not going to offer the same merit aid package to both students.

Because of the supply and demand issues.