28 yo AA female and TFA corp member, What's my chance? Forum

[fundip86]

I'm a 28 year old TFA corp member. I have an undergrad GPA of 3.5. I want to know what my chances are of getting into a T14 law school. I know my grades are low but, what LSAT score should I have to get into a top school? If I reach my goal of getting a 172 on the LSAT. Do you think I will be able to get into a T14?
My dream schools are Harvard, Yale and Virginia. What are the odds?

[BasilHallward]

With a 172 and your URM status, any of those schools are realistic possibilities. Your GPA is low for these schools, but focus on the LSAT at this point.

[sanfran221]

Have you began studying for the LSAT? Would you mind sharing what you're scoring at the moment?

As an AA female with a 3.5 and work experience, an LSAT score above 164 or so would give you a good shot a Virginia. A score above 168 would give you a good shot at Harvard. Anything over 170 would probably result in some sort of scholarship at Virginia and would give you a good shot at Yale.

These numbers are just benchmarks, though. There are AAs who have gotten into Harvard with LSAT scores well below 168 (though at least above 160).

All of this is essentially to say that while you should shoot for a 172, a score of 172 may not be necessary to get into Harvard, Yale or Virginia.

[BruceWayne]

The above poster is correct. However, I will say that from the anecdotes of other AA's who have applied to Yale I don't think there's an LSAT score that would get you in (I guess maybe a 180). They seem to be pretty obsessed with GPA. Not really a big deal though and just my opinion on the matter. You'll essentially be in a great place with a 165 or higher score.

[DetroitRed]

I'm a 28 year old TFA corp member. I have an undergrad GPA of 3.5. I want to know what my chances are of getting into a T14 law school. I know my grades are low but, what LSAT score should I have to get into a top school? If I reach my goal of getting a 172 on the LSAT. Do you think I will be able to get into a T14?
My dream schools are Harvard, Yale and Virginia. What are the odds?

Also, I don't think being TFA really helps. It's such a common credential at this point that it's equivalent to most other solid WE.

(I'm a current CM and performed almost exactly as my numbers would suggest.)

[fundip86]

I just really started to study and my first practice was a 159. I'm thinking about doing either a Power Score course or Kaplan.

[OhBoyOhBortles]

Don't do Kaplan. If you get the powerscore bibles and self-study you can do very well!

[jumbocolumbo]

I just really started to study and my first practice was a 159. I'm thinking about doing either a Power Score course or Kaplan.

You should definitely check out the LSAT Prep forum on here. TLSer's are extremely helpful and there is a wealth information from experienced test takers to help guide you (including prep guides). Many top scorers do not take a class at all, fwiw. Self-study is definitely the way to go imho. Thats a strong starting diagnostic too. Good luck!

[BSmoove15]

I'm AA and have numbers similar to those you are shooting for. I was able to get one of HYS (and a WL at one more), plus great scholarship money at DMVP - and I applied in mid-Feb. If you can crack 170, you will have a great cycle.

[RunnerRunner]

Hit your goal and you'll have it made.

[Nomo]

Self study is normally the way to go.

I'm not sure why your dream schools would be Harvard, Yale, and UVA. Those three don't make a lot of sense as a group. The key is to figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and then figure out which schools will be best for achieving those goals - and at what price they make sense.

[fundip86]

Self study is normally the way to go.

I'm not sure why your dream schools would be Harvard, Yale, and UVA. Those three don't make a lot of sense as a group. The key is to figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and then figure out which schools will be best for achieving those goals - and at what price they make sense.

I'm really interested in law as social justice. Yale has the Capital Punishment Clinic. UVA has the Innocence Project. Harvard has the Criminal Justice institute. Am I thinking about it in the wrong way?

[stoopkid13]

Self study is normally the way to go.

I'm not sure why your dream schools would be Harvard, Yale, and UVA. Those three don't make a lot of sense as a group. The key is to figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and then figure out which schools will be best for achieving those goals - and at what price they make sense.

I'm really interested in law as social justice. Yale has the Capital Punishment Clinic. UVA has the Innocence Project. Harvard has the Criminal Justice institute. Am I thinking about it in the wrong way?

I think just about every law school has some sort of public service/social justice program. Boalt has the Henderson Center. CLS has a bunch of Social Justice Initiatives. NYU's Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship is arguably the top PI program around. If there are specific faculty or programs you want to work with, you might be able to narrow down to Harvard, Yale, UVA. But otherwise I would urge you to look into other schools.

[MrLawMan]

Self study is normally the way to go.

I'm not sure why your dream schools would be Harvard, Yale, and UVA. Those three don't make a lot of sense as a group. The key is to figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and then figure out which schools will be best for achieving those goals - and at what price they make sense.

I'm really interested in law as social justice. Yale has the Capital Punishment Clinic. UVA has the Innocence Project. Harvard has the Criminal Justice institute. Am I thinking about it in the wrong way?

Those are good reasons but there are other schools with great public interest programs and clinics. NYU an Stanford are two notable ones; someone else listed others. I think NYU has stronger programs than Columbia (only two I'm familiar with) but definitely don't keep any top schools off your list.

Additionally, admission at higher-ranked schools than one you're intending to attend means scholarships. Show you can (and have) gotten into Stanford, and UVA is that much more likely to give you a fat scholarship or even a free ride.

Agree with others to do Powerscore or Testmasters. Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc. are geared toward people wanting to get in the 160s. The two better (and more expensive) programs get you as close as you can get to 180 provided you put in the effort and learn to game the strategies.