Top Law Schools

How does Law School Admissions differ from Undergrad?

My main interest is that from a statistical perspective, people with top numbers (GPA and LSAT) can approach an 80% + chance of being accepted to HLS compared to, if I remember correctly, a much lower probability for getting into Harvard college based on SATs and GPA.

The reason for the difference between HLS and Harvard UG is that the applicant pool for UG is so large whereas the applicant pool for law school is so small and HLS, with one of the biggest class sizes, can't afford to be as highly selective as Yale/Stanford (who have small class sizes) while still trying to pick people with 3.8-4.0 GPA's and 175-180 LSAT's. There just aren't enough for them to start delving into differentiating them based on softs.

Law school is so numbers based because the ABA accreditation requirements make all law schools look very similar and thus be able to have only one top ranking system (USNWR) as opposed to things like business schools where there are multiple ranking systems or undergrads where you have varying course selections/majors/colleges/etc.

Thanks for the detailed response

bk187 wrote:The reason for the difference between HLS and Harvard UG is that the applicant pool for UG is so large whereas the applicant pool for law school is so small and HLS, with one of the biggest class sizes, can't afford to be as highly selective as Yale/Stanford (who have small class sizes) while still trying to pick people with 3.8-4.0 GPA's and 175-180 LSAT's. There just aren't enough for them to start delving into differentiating them based on softs.

Law school is so numbers based because the ABA accreditation requirements make all law schools look very similar and thus be able to have only one top ranking system (USNWR) as opposed to things like business schools where there are multiple ranking systems or undergrads where you have varying course selections/majors/colleges/etc.

While ABA and USNWR do have a lot to do with it, I think another reason it's so number based compared to other grad programs is there is no prelaw background that helps. Law schools actively want law students walking in on day 1 with zero knowledge of the law.

Most other grad programs want you to have significant base knowledge, experience and/or talent.