Top Law Schools

I'll start this post by stating that I know I'm being a snob, and I apologize in advance for that--certainly not out to offend anyone.

I am not necessarily looking to practice law, but I do recognize that certain parts of law school can be invaluable preparation for careers in the non-profit sector, government, policy, etc. Since I'm not entirely committed to law school anyway, I am really only looking for input about chances for Yale or Harvard.

Here's a short version of the story:

Graduated from college in 2008. Graduated with a low GPA (3.25) with some pretty solid explanations--loss of a parent during freshman/sophomore year and then travelling the country due to a national leadership position during most of junior/senior year. (Yes, the dean was absolutely right that I should have just taken a year off for my job, but instead I was dumb enough to do an optional thesis and take extra classes.)

Took the LSAT once in the winter of 2010. Scored 177.

Unique and very strong extracurriculars during college. Since college, I've worked in the non-profit world, now holding a leadership position at a new urban charter school (directing operations, development, managing staff, etc.).

The question is whether top schools will be willing to overlook a GPA from 5 years ago given everything else in an application being strong. Any advice?

unfortunately no. your gpa is just too low for H/Y

Solid chance at a lot of T14, but not HYS, imho. The game is just too numbers driven, and your GPA is just too low.

http://myLSN.info/ahruj0

It's unlikely they'll overlook your GPA.

Is there a timeframe after which GPA means less (given that, once you're in the bottom quartile, it doesn't really hurt their numbers)?

Let schools figure out why you can't go there. Don't make their job easy by not applying. H/Y/S are a pretty big reach but you never know.

To answer your question though. I don't think there's every a point where GPA matters less, its just that you have other things going on that make you interesting.

You asked "Any advice?". Yes. Apply to Penn, Northwestern, Duke & any other non-HYS T-14 law school that is of interest to you. Restricting your applications to just Harvard & Yale is foolish based on your GPA. You really should research the rest of the T-14 law schools since you'll be investing a lot of time & money for a professional degree that you plan to use in another profession. Duke Law, for example, offers many dual degree options that may better suit your long-term goals.

You shouldn't go to law school if you're "not necessarily looking to practice law" and "recognize [read: wrongly believe] that certain parts of law school can be invaluable preparation for careers in the non-profit sector, government, policy, etc."