Top Law Schools

Hi All, I am a 24 year old African American male with a pretty diverse background (Was born in Mali, raised partly in Western Europe, but grew up in NYC since the age of 6) My Undergraduate GPA was not spectacular during the last year of schooling (I started my undergrad career with a 3.3 and slowly went down to a 2.92 (This was due in part to the fact that senior year my grandfather died and I was busy aiding the family with estate arrangements and grieving). I have been out of school now for almost 2 years working in Commercial Real Estate Development in New York, and realized with my background in International Studies, and minors in both French and Japanese (Speak both languages near fluent) and keen interest on international corporate law, Columbia law School would be the best option for me. Especially since I hope to eventully hope to practice international law between Japan and the U.S. In addition to being an active leader in several community organizations, and Gay alliances & sports in New York, I'm wondering with my LSAT score of 177 how my chances fair with Columbia Law? Should I even bother with the school? Should I go ED? Many thanks for all your input!

Adoumbia wrote:Hi All, I am a 24 year old African American male with a pretty diverse background (Was born in Mali, raised partly in Western Europe, but grew up in NYC since the age of 6) My Undergraduate GPA was not spectacular during the last year of schooling (I started my undergrad career with a 3.3 and slowly went down to a 2.92 (This was due in part to the fact that senior year my grandfather died and I was busy aiding the family with estate arrangements and grieving). I have been out of school now for almost 2 years working in Commercial Real Estate Development in New York, and realized with my background in International Studies, and minors in both French and Japanese (Speak both languages near fluent) and keen interest on international corporate law, Columbia law School would be the best option for me. Especially since I hope to eventully hope to practice international law between Japan and the U.S. In addition to being an active leader in several community organizations, and Gay alliances & sports in New York, I'm wondering with my LSAT score of 177 how my chances fair with Columbia Law? Should I even bother with the school? Should I go ED? Many thanks for all your input!

Yes.

In a thread I read earlier today, several posters seemed to agree that only about 50-100 African Americans get an LSAT score higher than 170. I find that exceptionally difficult to believe, but if it is true, I'd have to think your 177 puts in you in some very elite company (even without considering the URM status) and gives you a good shot at Columbia. Not to mention, the rest of your personal description sounds pretty compelling. You're no shoo-in, but I'd say it's definitely worth a shot.

I think you have a better chance at harvard, if you want to go there. It seems that if your lsat passes 172, harvard all of a sudden becomes a lot easier to get into than Columbia (for urms). Who knows? You have a shot at both.

Adoumbia wrote:Hi All, I am a 24 year old African American male with a pretty diverse background (Was born in Mali, raised partly in Western Europe, but grew up in NYC since the age of 6) My Undergraduate GPA was not spectacular during the last year of schooling (I started my undergrad career with a 3.3 and slowly went down to a 2.92 (This was due in part to the fact that senior year my grandfather died and I was busy aiding the family with estate arrangements and grieving). I have been out of school now for almost 2 years working in Commercial Real Estate Development in New York, and realized with my background in International Studies, and minors in both French and Japanese (Speak both languages near fluent) and keen interest on international corporate law, Columbia law School would be the best option for me. Especially since I hope to eventully hope to practice international law between Japan and the U.S. In addition to being an active leader in several community organizations, and Gay alliances & sports in New York, I'm wondering with my LSAT score of 177 how my chances fair with Columbia Law? Should I even bother with the school? Should I go ED? Many thanks for all your input!

Forget about Columbia and enjoy HYS!

try harvard yale and stanford too

It's hard to tell, simply because splitters with 175+, sub 3.0 GPAs are rare, and coupled with URM status, no one will be able to give you a definitive answer. With a 177 LSAT, however, you should definitely apply to Harvard and Columbia, and I wouldn't ED at Columbia if I were you. Write a convincing addendum about your GPA, and put together a strong application. These schools are far from guaranteed, but you never know.

AA Male, 2 years WE, involved in GLBT community, speaks two languages fluently (including Japanese), and was born and partially raised outside of the country. 1st post. No one else sees the flame?

EDIT: Not sure if it's a flame. If not, you have just about everything imaginable going for you minus Olympic Gold in Vancouver this year and a good GPA. Apply to all of the top schools.

MPMP wrote:AA Male, 2 years WE, involved in GLBT community, speaks two languages fluently (including Japanese), and was born and partially raised outside of the country. 1st post. No one else sees the flame?

EDIT: Not sure if it's a flame. If not, you have just about everything imaginable going for you minus Olympic Gold in Vancouver this year and a good GPA. Apply to all of the top schools.

If it's a flame, it's not really a good one. Pretty tame.

If this is true have fun at Yale or Harvard its your pick.

Joga Bonito wrote:If this is true have fun at Yale or Harvard its your pick.

With a sub-3.0, Yale isn't his "pick" even if potential flamer is a URM.