Top Law Schools

LSAC GPA: 3.0X
LSAT: 172
Mediocre LOR
Strong Personal Statement
Compelling GPA addendum for a semester that I failed a bunch of classes. (Should I include a doctor's note??)
No work experience besides a few summer internships
Only semi-significant EC is a grant I got

Just graduated from a decent undergrad (Top 30ish). Plan to retake LSAT in October and apply ED as soon as scores come out, so late October ED to UVA. The 172 was after doing 3 practice tests. I've done quite a few more and been scoring consistently 177-180, so lets say I retake and I get a 176.

What are my chances for UVA ED for scenario 1) 3.0 GPA 172 LSAT 2) 3.0 GPA 176 LSAT?

And to maximize my chances for T14 for the upcoming cycle is this the best plan, or is there anything better (I understand I will most likely be paying sticker)? UVA ED (Late Oct) -> Penn ED (Mid Nov) -> Georgetown ED (Early Jan). Am I in at WUSTL or is that a match/reach as well?

Thanks in advance for the help.

This is my application schedule:
Late-October: apply ED at UVA, EA at Cornell, RD at Michigan and Georgetown.
If rejected at UVA mid-November, apply ED at Penn
If no acceptances by mid-December, maybe apply to WUSTL.

Couple more questions:
1) Are there any other T14s I should include? I'm not applying to HYSCCNBD because of my GPA and not applying to N because I have no work experience. If I don't get T14, I'd rather work a year or two and then apply to NW since it costs the same and job prospects are much better.
2) If I get waitlisted, what are the chances of getting accepted off the waitlist?
3) For Georgetown is it better to apply RD late-October or ED mid-December? I ask because Georgetown seems to give out decisions fairly early, around mid-December even for RD, so I might get rejected without time to ED my first two EDs fail.
4) Also should I apply to Georgetown full-time or part-time? Can I even apply part-time if I don't plan on working...?

You're pretty much a lock for UVA ED.

Cool, judging by the poll results I guess it's not as difficult as I thought it would be with my abysmal GPA... Do you guys think I can slide by just applying to UVA ED? lol

UVAhopeful wrote:Cool, judging by the poll results I guess it's not as difficult as I thought it would be with my abysmal GPA... Do you guys think I can slide by just applying to UVA ED? lol

Yeah. If you want, since the turnaround is so fast, apply ED as soon as you can and you should get accepted in time to cancel your October retake. The difference between a 172 and a 176 is negligible because both are safely above median.

Sounds like you're on the right path, but this might help: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=162680

Wow I don't even have to retake?? Does applying a month and a half early negate a 4 point LSAT jump? That would be great if I can be done with everything in September. Thanks for pointing me to the thread btw

The month and a half isn't what is doing it. The 172 already puts you over the 75% which is the sweet spot for the ED. So those 4 points, while looking good, probably don't make a huge difference.

UVAhopeful wrote:Wow I don't even have to retake?? Does applying a month and a half early negate a 4 point LSAT jump? That would be great if I can be done with everything in September. Thanks for pointing me to the thread btw

I mean, don't cancel until you hear back from UVa, but yeah, you likely won't have to retake.

Don't treat admissions like a continuum. It's more of a quantum process, with bands of advantage, if that makes any sense. Applying in September or October confers the equivalent advantage. Applying early just means getting it in before about Thanksgiving, because that's when most of the October takers will have their apps in by. (Non-TLSers often don't start their apps until after they get their scores back.) A 172 confers the same benefit as a 176, practically speaking, because both scores are at or above the 75th. There's no reporting above that (and really, only the median matters) so there's no incentive to take a 176 over a 172.

Thus, a 3.0x/172 applying in Sept is functionally equivalent to a 3.0x/176 applying in October. Good luck!

For UVA the jump isn't a jump at all, if you are over 170 they traditionally don't care.

In case the UVA ED doesn't work out, what are my chances for the other schools on my list? Penn ED, Cornell EA, Michigan RD, Georgetown RD, WUSTL RD?

Thanks again for the replies. I can enjoy my summer now

UVAhopeful wrote:In case the UVA ED doesn't work out, what are my chances for the other schools on my list? Penn ED, Cornell EA, Michigan RD, Georgetown RD, WUSTL RD?

Thanks again for the replies. I can enjoy my summer now

With a 3.0x/172 - If apps are down again next cycle, you might be able to snag Penn ED, but likely waitlisted. I am a 3.09/175 with WE and decent softs and I got waitlisted at Penn RD. Good chance at Cornell. Probably waitlist at Michigan unless you can write a good Why Michigan. Good chance at GULC. You're probably going to be looking at a lot of waitlists though. ED to UVa is far and away the closest to a sure thing in the T14. In at WUSTL with a scholarship of around $25k/yr.

If you retake to 175+ your chances at Penn might improve slightly and you might get a little more money at WUSTL. And I'd then throw an app to CLS and NYU.

Samara wrote:

UVAhopeful wrote:In case the UVA ED doesn't work out, what are my chances for the other schools on my list? Penn ED, Cornell EA, Michigan RD, Georgetown RD, WUSTL RD?

Thanks again for the replies. I can enjoy my summer now

With a 3.0x/172 - If apps are down again next cycle, you might be able to snag Penn ED, but likely waitlisted. I am a 3.09/175 with WE and decent softs and I got waitlisted at Penn RD. Good chance at Cornell. Probably waitlist at Michigan unless you can write a good Why Michigan. Good chance at GULC. You're probably going to be looking at a lot of waitlists though. ED to UVa is far and away the closest to a sure thing in the T14. In at WUSTL with a scholarship of around $25k/yr.

If you retake to 175+ your chances at Penn might improve slightly and you might get a little more money at WUSTL. And I'd then throw an app to CLS and NYU.

I doubt Penn happens no matter what, 3.0x is just a little low. And WUSTL should be 28k/year regardless. He could be 3.0/180 and it's no different to them numerically than 3.0/170.

2014 wrote:

Samara wrote:

UVAhopeful wrote:In case the UVA ED doesn't work out, what are my chances for the other schools on my list? Penn ED, Cornell EA, Michigan RD, Georgetown RD, WUSTL RD?

Thanks again for the replies. I can enjoy my summer now

With a 3.0x/172 - If apps are down again next cycle, you might be able to snag Penn ED, but likely waitlisted. I am a 3.09/175 with WE and decent softs and I got waitlisted at Penn RD. Good chance at Cornell. Probably waitlist at Michigan unless you can write a good Why Michigan. Good chance at GULC. You're probably going to be looking at a lot of waitlists though. ED to UVa is far and away the closest to a sure thing in the T14. In at WUSTL with a scholarship of around $25k/yr.

If you retake to 175+ your chances at Penn might improve slightly and you might get a little more money at WUSTL. And I'd then throw an app to CLS and NYU.

I doubt Penn happens no matter what, 3.0x is just a little low. And WUSTL should be 28k/year regardless. He could be 3.0/180 and it's no different to them numerically than 3.0/170.

Not true. 171s in that range received only $60k this year. 173+ received $84k. No data on splitters with 172s so it's hard to say.

Here are the applicants who EDed and who have LSAT ranges from 171-173 and GPA ranges from 2.5 to 3.4:
http://uva.lawschoolnumbers.com/applica ... =3&type=jd

In at UVA/GULC with ED. Out (waitlist->rejection) at Penn. Out (reserve->rejection) at Cornell.

Guess i have to pray for UVA ED, else it doesn't look good... for Georgetown do I need to ED as well? or is RD okay?