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Is there any truth in the reasoning that because 176 hits the 75% quartile at any school (maybe except yale??) scores 176+ hold pretty much equal weight in the admissions process?

Ok, I took the LSAT for the first time in October and got a 176. I am really, really happy with my score, and it falls right on the 75% quartile of Harvard, which is the school that I am aiming for. (Ok, I would love Yale as well but I left them out of this discussion since soft factors in much more heavily in their admissions process).

However, I am an international student (studying in a T10 UG in the US), and while nowhere on the admissions websites mention a different criteria for international students, it must affect the "holistic" decisions process somehow. With regards to LSAT scores, I see international students around me getting admitted to H only with scores significantly above the median (like 178-180). So even with my good score, I am not completely at ease...and I want to hear from people who probably know infinitely more about the admissions process than I do.

I know this all sounds incredibly douchey and I would have punched whoever said all this before my scores came out...but a man's greed knows no end...

Only if your GPA is near the GPA floor. So for you, no.

EDIT: Not many LSN data points, but your score shouldn't be a problem at Harvard:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/darkflag
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/poultry

Okay, thanks! The profiles you provided are pretty unusual though...one already has an LLM from an MVP law school and the other person got accept to H and Y but waitlisted at Chicago and Columbia?? wonder why...

It's unlikely to make a difference. Both scores will be about the same in terms of their benefit to a law school's ranking, and both show you to have a very good aptitude for the skills the LSAT measures. Keep this in mind though: if you do decide that getting something better than a 176 would be advantageous to you, and you retake the LSAT, there's always a chance that you will under perform and get below your original score. THAT would probably look bad on your application.