Top Law Schools

Hi everyone,

I'm relatively new to the forum, so if there is a related thread that I simply missed, please let me know.

Anyway, I just graduated from UCSB with a BA in Philosophy 3.68 GPA, have held a 20hr/wk job all 4 years and hold leadership positions in the Volunteer Student Government. I already have a job to be a Paralegal at a mid size law firm in LA. I plan to stay at this job for 2 years to gain experience/travel to foreign countries. I'm currently enrolled in a Kaplan LSAT prep course and am consistently hitting 172 on my LSAT tests and will probably stay there unless I take more time to study.

My dream school is Stanford, but my numbers don't feel strong enough to attend. Given my 2 years of relevant work experience, hard work in Undergrad, and high LSAT score, do I have a shot at Stanford?

If any of your answers are yes, how good are the odds? If not, how far off am I/what can I do in my 2 years until I apply to strengthen my overall application and make myself a strong candidate.

Just to be clear, I have not YET taken the LSAT officially.

Thanks!

Your GPA is likely too low for Stanford.
http://stanford.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1011/

Are you an URM? If so, you have a chance. If not, you don't really have a chance due to the GPA.

I am 1/2 Mexican, 1/2 Euro Caucasian. My father was an illegal immigrant until Clinton granted amnesty and he received citizenship. So from what I understand this makes me an URM.

The GPA is pretty low, I was hoping the LSAT would counter that. I do have the option of putting off taking the LSAT for another year and studying until i get a higher score; though working full time as a paralegal might make this difficult.

sjgonzalez3 wrote:Euro Caucasian

chimp wrote:

sjgonzalez3 wrote:Euro Caucasian

Ah yes, the important part of the thread. Thanks for the input.

sjgonzalez3 wrote:I am 1/2 Mexican, 1/2 Euro Caucasian. My father was an illegal immigrant until Clinton granted amnesty and he received citizenship. So from what I understand this makes me an URM.

The GPA is pretty low, I was hoping the LSAT would counter that. I do have the option of putting off taking the LSAT for another year and studying until i get a higher score; though working full time as a paralegal might make this difficult.

Cool, so as a URM you definitely have a shot. There isn't a whole lot of data for URMs with your numbers applying to Stanford. I only found two on Law School Numbers, but both of them got in, so that's a good sign. The GPA is low for Stanford, but they're more forgiving for URM applicants. Focus on getting a good LSAT score.

aekea wrote:

sjgonzalez3 wrote:I am 1/2 Mexican, 1/2 Euro Caucasian. My father was an illegal immigrant until Clinton granted amnesty and he received citizenship. So from what I understand this makes me an URM.

The GPA is pretty low, I was hoping the LSAT would counter that. I do have the option of putting off taking the LSAT for another year and studying until i get a higher score; though working full time as a paralegal might make this difficult.

Cool, so as a URM you definitely have a shot. There isn't a whole lot of data for URMs with your numbers applying to Stanford. I only found two on Law School Numbers, but both of them got in, so that's a good sign. The GPA is low for Stanford, but they're more forgiving for URM applicants. Focus on getting a good LSAT score.

Nice! Thanks for the help, I can hold on to my dream school after all.

sjgonzalez3 wrote:

chimp wrote:

sjgonzalez3 wrote:Euro Caucasian

Ah yes, the important part of the thread. Thanks for the input.

Any time, champ.

Getting in here before TLS tries to completely shoot down someone with 3.68 GPA and hitting 172 on PTs. Glad to see Jags Guy ITT.

Just do Berkeley, bro.