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Hey everyone, this might be a nit-picky question, but it is something that I have been curious about so I figured I'd give it a shot. How important is it to be above the 75th percentile for GPA for T-6 schools? For example, looking at Harvard data on this forum it says that a 3.95 G.P.A is the 75th percentile so is it much better if you have a 3.99 or something along those lines or does just being above the 3.95 give you as good of a chance as if you were way over? Does it make a bigger difference at certain schools? My GPA is pretty high at the moment and I just don't want to kill myself stressing over 0.01 points. Any information you can provide would be great. Thanks!

Some people will tell you that being above the 75%ile in one stat can help make up for a below-median number in the other (I'm referring to GPA/LSAT obviously). But if you're above median, that's what's really important.

Being above median tends to mean you get in.
Being above 75% tends to mean you get money.
If both LSAT and GPA are above 75% you might be in the running for a full scholly.

If you're looking at a GPA of 3.95 or above, then focus on acing the LSAT rather than eking out another 0.01 is the credited response. If you've already scored 175 or more, then focus on doing whatever it takes to get into Yale, or a free ride at Harvard.
Unless you've got a 4.15/180 and excellent softs, there's always room for improvement - but don't kill yourself either

Thank you both for your responses. I agree that not having a perfect app means there is still a lot of work to be done, I just want to put it into the area which will be most productive. I have a fear of being a reverse splitter so I've focused hard on bringing my G.P.A as high as possible to hopefully slightly compensate for a potentially lower LSAT score. I will now start focusing on nailing the LSAT so that my fear doesn't become a reality.

On a separate note, you mentioned that after scoring a 175 I should do everything possible to score acceptance at Yale or a full ride at Harvard. Being a URM, and outside of curing cancer, is there anything you would recommend that would be helpful in securing even a slight advantage at these top tier schools after the numbers are inside the range they are looking for?

jrsbaseball5 wrote:Thank you both for your responses. I agree that not having a perfect app means there is still a lot of work to be done, I just want to put it into the area which will be most productive. I have a fear of being a reverse splitter so I've focused hard on bringing my G.P.A as high as possible to hopefully slightly compensate for a potentially lower LSAT score. I will now start focusing on nailing the LSAT so that my fear doesn't become a reality.

On a separate note, you mentioned that after scoring a 175 I should do everything possible to score acceptance at Yale or a full ride at Harvard. Being a URM, and outside of curing cancer, is there anything you would recommend that would be helpful in securing even a slight advantage at these top tier schools after the numbers are inside the range they are looking for?

Being still in college it's tough to have spectacular softs, but, try and beef up your resume with the usual bullshit - school leadership positions, volunteer crap, etc. Not that those will particularly help you, just that you won't risk disqualification for lack of them.
Being a URM with a 3.95 or above is a great first step; can't say what LSAT's needed, as I have no experience with URM. Go to the URM section of this website and find Gaia, she should be able to give you far better information than most people here.

dingbat wrote:a free ride at Harvard.

u wot m8?

Being still in college it's tough to have spectacular softs, but, try and beef up your resume with the usual bullshit - school leadership positions, volunteer crap, etc. Not that those will particularly help you, just that you won't risk disqualification for lack of them.
Being a URM with a 3.95 or above is a great first step; can't say what LSAT's needed, as I have no experience with URM. Go to the URM section of this website and find Gaia, she should be able to give you far better information than most people here.[/quote]

Yep, that sounds like some good stuff to do. I have done some things which I hope will not disqualify me automatically from consideration, just need to keep plugging away at them.

heywatchitbuddy wrote:

dingbat wrote:a free ride at Harvard.

u wot m8?

What did you mean by this exactly?

heywatchitbuddy wrote:

dingbat wrote:a free ride at Harvard.

u wot m8?

He means dingbat was being silly... no such thing as a full ride to HYS based on numbers. They only give financial aid.