Top Law Schools

If you receive a 165 on the LSAT and have a low gpa...2.3 gpa, for (circumstances related to your own health, having to care for family members and other constraints) and you have a 1-year 4.0 upward trend,

Is it possible with 165/2.3 (with above conditions, not from being lazy) that a Top 50 school or Top 35 could accept you if you blanket all those schools?

Both are possible, but you will want to apply to a very broad range of schools. See this search: http://www.mylsn.info/kbpvga

ETA: I see in your post history that you plan to graduate in May - would you consider staying in college for another year, maybe postponing graduation for another semester? With a 2.3GPA, even one semester of a 4.0 can help your GPA dramatically.

barberiolisa wrote:If you receive a 165 on the LSAT and have a low gpa...2.3 gpa, for (circumstances related to your own health, having to care for family members and other constraints) and you have a 1-year 4.0 upward trend,

Is it possible with 165/2.3 (with above conditions, not from being lazy) that a Top 50 school or Top 35 could accept you if you blanket all those schools?

probably not.

You should aim higher if you plan on debt-financing your degree.

But to do so, you'll have to gain another 7 points on the LSAT.

Your sub-3 GPA definitely hurts but I bet you could break into the T50 with your current numbers (granted, you wouldn't be getting any $).

PRgradBYU wrote:Your sub-3 GPA definitely hurts but I bet you could break into the T50 with your current numbers (granted, you wouldn't be getting any $).

Not necessarily true. I have kind of similar #'s. Higher sub 3.0 GPA, slightly lower LSAT and have gotten into several schools in the 30-50 range, with $$. From my experience, schools seem to be more holistic than I thought. I also had a huge upward grade trend.

Your chances definitely depend on how good of an application you put together. I felt my LORs, work experience, GPA addendum, and diversity statement helped overcome my low GPA.

OP, only a full ride with no stips + stipend to defray living expenses would make a "top50" to "top 35" school tolerable. Since you have a 2.3, you have to retake the LSAT if you want to go to law school at all, and get at least a 170 (which with a 165 is totally doable). If you want to cover your ass more (to the extent you can), hit a 173. If you do that, I should think splitter schools like WUSTL, Minnesota, UIUC, etc. would throw enough money at you hopefully (nearly fullride at least), to make it worth your while.

Besides those schools, if you throw a hail mary app at NW, that can't hurt. I cannot think of any other schools worth shooting at. Others, please pile on.