Top Law Schools

UIUC is one of my top choices and I am applying this fall. My LSAC GPA is 3.25 and am waiting on my lsat score. I've looked at LSN, but I would appreciate any feedback particularly from those who are familiar with the school or have applied there before regarding the following:

1) What lsat score do I need to get to have a pretty decent shot of getting in?
2) With what score (or lower) would it be wise for me to consider applying early decision?

Thanks!

Take a look at this:

http://illinois.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/

Seems like a 168 would be appropriate for your GPA.

Good luck!

Yeah, I've studied this chart before. I thought it may be wise though to get some opinions from people who are familiar with the school or have applied there before. Thanks though.

gdane5 wrote:Take a look at this:

http://illinois.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/

Seems like a 168 would be appropriate for your GPA.

Good luck!

I have to laugh at schools whose numbers look like you have to hit a certain number, and you're probably in. Minnesota is the same as Illinois with needing a ~167/8.

nphsbuckeye wrote:

gdane5 wrote:Take a look at this:

http://illinois.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/

Seems like a 168 would be appropriate for your GPA.

Good luck!

I have to laugh at schools whose numbers look like you have to hit a certain number, and you're probably in. Minnesota is the same as Illinois with needing a ~167/8.

Yea I know. LSN is very self selecting. I would reckon that a 168 isnt necessary at all. My guess is that a 165 would be a comfortable place to be.

gdane5 wrote:

nphsbuckeye wrote:I have to laugh at schools whose numbers look like you have to hit a certain number, and you're probably in. Minnesota is the same as Illinois with needing a ~167/8.

Yea I know. LSN is very self selecting. I would reckon that a 168 isnt necessary at all. My guess is that a 165 would be a comfortable place to be.

That gives me hope. I would love to get a 170+ by June and ED to UM or UVA, but if I don't I would really like attend Indiana or Ohio State (or one of other Big Ten schools not named Michigan, Northwestern, or Chicago - they're in the Academic Big Ten, the CIC, after all), and the self-selecting factor makes me happy. Although there's a good jump from OSU to UM.

Dont worry so much about it. A 165 is good enough to get you into a lot of good schools. Put together a really great personal statement/supplementary documens and you'll be fine.

Good luck!

If I were you I'd retake a sub-170.

1) 167+
2) 166

If you're not in the 165-167 range, retake. Keep in mind that Illinois has showed some love for reverse splitters in the past. Even if you don't break 165, you should still consider applying. I was waitlisted with a 159/3.74/interesting softs last cycle. Minnesota also accepted me with $$. Good luck!

gdane5 wrote:

nphsbuckeye wrote:

gdane5 wrote:Take a look at this:

http://illinois.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/

Seems like a 168 would be appropriate for your GPA.

Good luck!

I have to laugh at schools whose numbers look like you have to hit a certain number, and you're probably in. Minnesota is the same as Illinois with needing a ~167/8.

Yea I know. LSN is very self selecting. I would reckon that a 168 isnt necessary at all. My guess is that a 165 would be a comfortable place to be.

If you want to see a sharp cutoff, check out WUSTL. there are literally zero reported rejections past 167: http://washu.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/

JOThompson wrote:If you're not in the 165-167 range, retake. Keep in mind that Illinois has showed some love for reverse splitters in the past. Even if you don't break 165, you should still consider applying. I was waitlisted with a 159/3.74/interesting softs last cycle. Minnesota also accepted me with $$. Good luck!

OP has a 3.2 and did not mention he was an urm. Not trying to be mean, but you're probably not a good comparison.

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:

JOThompson wrote:If you're not in the 165-167 range, retake. Keep in mind that Illinois has showed some love for reverse splitters in the past. Even if you don't break 165, you should still consider applying. I was waitlisted with a 159/3.74/interesting softs last cycle. Minnesota also accepted me with $$. Good luck!

OP has a 3.2 and did not mention he was an urm. Not trying to be mean, but you're probably not a good comparison.

My bad, I misread the GPA. UIUC seems to take a wholistic approach but that's an uphill battle without a good LSAT.

I was an undergrad at Illinois last year. I personally met with Dean Pless a couple of times (once for an iLeap interview) and attended many of his informational pre-law sessions. He stresses that they are interested in alot of factors besides numbers. I was the least qualified (numbers wise) of all of the finalists in the iLeap program, but was still granted an interview because I kicked ass on the essay, resume, and PS portion. I would encourage you to apply even if your numbers are below average.. Just show them what else you are capable of!

I'd expect you to be in at 166+. I've never had a discussion about specific LSAT scores with people here, but the consensus seems to be that Illinois paid for high numbers but was willing to look at other aspects of the application to ensure a well-rounded and interesting class. I like my classmates, so I'm certainly willing to say that the admissions department succeeded!

For what it's worth, I had the same GPA and a 167 LSAT and, while I'm not going to say exactly what my scholarship is, it is well over two/thirds of the out of state tuition.

If you have any more questions about Illinois, feel free to message me!