3.28/176 Splitter, details inside
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:23 am
I'm a splitter. I've gone through a lot of resource (LSP, LSN & myLSN.info, LSAC, hourMD calculators, the TLS guide for splitters etc), so I have some ideas on the schools I should realistically apply to. I'd appreciate TLSers' inputs on them.
Schools to which I feel I have a decent chance and plan on applying:
Columbia
New York
Uni of Michigan
Northwestern (questionable b/c of no work experience)
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
UCLA
USC
WUSL
(these schools are a list made from polished knowledge of predictors and going through LSN profiles on splitters similar to me)
LSDAS not calculated yet, but I'm expecting 3.28 (down from UGPA's 3.53)
LSAT: 168, 176
Finished BS in Neuroscience in Summer 2012 - will have been out of school for a year when application starts. Took 5 years and a summer to finish what's normally a 4-year major.
No exceptional softs - some college leadership positions (some didn't end so well) and volunteer work but nothing outstanding
No work experience. I've done house remodeling for my family, so I did work, but nothing I can officially call work experience.
Addenda
GPA: I had 2 quarters of low GPA: 1.6 and 1.9 - excluding them my gpa would've been 3.637. I was overwhelmed and fell into depression, for which I have some documentation. Also I had a D and a W in a community college when I was 12, for which I know my reasons. I plan on writing an addenda. I don't plan to say I was in a special situation or anything like that. I do want to point out 3.28 isn't an accurate representation of my academic ability.
Letters
I have a letter from a professor from my university who is also the chair of my major department.
I'm getting a 2nd letter from a community college professor (with JD) I had this year in Business law.
I don't think either will be exceptionally good or bad.
Why X
I'm hoping to finish most of my application by September and visiting many of listed schools. I plan on writing a Why X essay for ones I like from this + online research
Plan for time until law school
I want to get some internship or work experience. I'm applying for internship positions at law firms. I also have some chance of working at a friend's start-up company.
I won't be indebted for going to law school. All I care about is getting into a solid position to start a career in litigation in a firm or working in government office.
Specific questions
1. What do you think about my chances at the schools listed, specifically UCLA? I've seen some people with better numbers than me get WL or rejected from UCLA, and UCLA is the one school I know I'd be happy with if I put rankings out of consideration.
2. Is it appropriate to mention my working for my family on house remodeling in the resume somewhere to somewhat patch the glaring work experience gap?
3. Do you have special suggestions for what I should do this year that would strengthen my application?
4. If I ultimately want to end up working in Cali, specifically LA, which is a better choice: Columbia/New York or UCLA/USC?
5. Honestly, apply or not to Harvard/Cal? I'm 90% certain I shouldn't. But LSAC's giving me 2-12% in those schools tempts me to apply & try. My PS's content is historically relevant to Harvard, and I would ED H if I had a chance.
6. Retake? 176 is the lowest score of my satisfactory performance. But to comfortably get 178+ I'd want to put 2+ months solely into studying, which means I'd have to take December or Feb. With those times, I'm 90% certain I'll get 176 or higher (10% for anomalies like a pattern game or an esp hard RC passage). But I plan on submitting apps before November at the latest. Is retake even worth it on this timeline & the miniscule increase when it's higher than 75% median already anyways?
7. Should I write an addenda for 168 to 176? I planned on it if I jumped more than 8 points, but I'm not sure with exactly 8 point-jump.
8. Should I write an addenda for taking 5 years and a summer to complete my BS degree when normally it takes 4 years? I ended up not attending 3 quarters, so it's technically 4 years but it's still spread out over 5 years+.
9. Some of the clubs I was involved in in a leadership position fared badly. Should I just not even mention them? If I don't, my resume will be significantly cut down. Is it acceptable (=not negative) to acknowledge that some things I've done haven't succeeded/failed and I've learned from them?
Schools to which I feel I have a decent chance and plan on applying:
Columbia
New York
Uni of Michigan
Northwestern (questionable b/c of no work experience)
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
UCLA
USC
WUSL
(these schools are a list made from polished knowledge of predictors and going through LSN profiles on splitters similar to me)
LSDAS not calculated yet, but I'm expecting 3.28 (down from UGPA's 3.53)
LSAT: 168, 176
Finished BS in Neuroscience in Summer 2012 - will have been out of school for a year when application starts. Took 5 years and a summer to finish what's normally a 4-year major.
No exceptional softs - some college leadership positions (some didn't end so well) and volunteer work but nothing outstanding
No work experience. I've done house remodeling for my family, so I did work, but nothing I can officially call work experience.
Addenda
GPA: I had 2 quarters of low GPA: 1.6 and 1.9 - excluding them my gpa would've been 3.637. I was overwhelmed and fell into depression, for which I have some documentation. Also I had a D and a W in a community college when I was 12, for which I know my reasons. I plan on writing an addenda. I don't plan to say I was in a special situation or anything like that. I do want to point out 3.28 isn't an accurate representation of my academic ability.
Letters
I have a letter from a professor from my university who is also the chair of my major department.
I'm getting a 2nd letter from a community college professor (with JD) I had this year in Business law.
I don't think either will be exceptionally good or bad.
Why X
I'm hoping to finish most of my application by September and visiting many of listed schools. I plan on writing a Why X essay for ones I like from this + online research
Plan for time until law school
I want to get some internship or work experience. I'm applying for internship positions at law firms. I also have some chance of working at a friend's start-up company.
I won't be indebted for going to law school. All I care about is getting into a solid position to start a career in litigation in a firm or working in government office.
Specific questions
1. What do you think about my chances at the schools listed, specifically UCLA? I've seen some people with better numbers than me get WL or rejected from UCLA, and UCLA is the one school I know I'd be happy with if I put rankings out of consideration.
2. Is it appropriate to mention my working for my family on house remodeling in the resume somewhere to somewhat patch the glaring work experience gap?
3. Do you have special suggestions for what I should do this year that would strengthen my application?
4. If I ultimately want to end up working in Cali, specifically LA, which is a better choice: Columbia/New York or UCLA/USC?
5. Honestly, apply or not to Harvard/Cal? I'm 90% certain I shouldn't. But LSAC's giving me 2-12% in those schools tempts me to apply & try. My PS's content is historically relevant to Harvard, and I would ED H if I had a chance.
6. Retake? 176 is the lowest score of my satisfactory performance. But to comfortably get 178+ I'd want to put 2+ months solely into studying, which means I'd have to take December or Feb. With those times, I'm 90% certain I'll get 176 or higher (10% for anomalies like a pattern game or an esp hard RC passage). But I plan on submitting apps before November at the latest. Is retake even worth it on this timeline & the miniscule increase when it's higher than 75% median already anyways?
7. Should I write an addenda for 168 to 176? I planned on it if I jumped more than 8 points, but I'm not sure with exactly 8 point-jump.
8. Should I write an addenda for taking 5 years and a summer to complete my BS degree when normally it takes 4 years? I ended up not attending 3 quarters, so it's technically 4 years but it's still spread out over 5 years+.
9. Some of the clubs I was involved in in a leadership position fared badly. Should I just not even mention them? If I don't, my resume will be significantly cut down. Is it acceptable (=not negative) to acknowledge that some things I've done haven't succeeded/failed and I've learned from them?