Top Law Schools

Long time lurker, first time poster.. I need some opinions on if I should just let this one go or not. UCLA is my absolute dream school and I have some strange circumstances.

UG- relatively unknown state school, F, OOS, not URM.

My freshman year I had some personal issues (nothing horribly tragic), I took 5 W's and left school for the semester and enrolled on CC classes at home - all A's with one F because I was misadvised and dropped passed the deadline. I am in the process of meeting with admin of the CC to get it changed to a W since I was advised incorrectly and retook the class for an A when I returned to my university, but I'm not holding my breath. Without the F, UG GPA is 3.66. With the F, 3.51.

Aside from the complete term withdrawal, I have only 1 extra W in SPN 102 (ha). Very involved in on-campus organizations and also very heavily community-service oriented. Internship with DA. I attended a summer institute at UCLA that cemented both my desire to attend law school, as well as my love for the institution.

Took the LSAT stone cold and scored ~155. Will be studying for it full time all summer and taking in Sept.

Planning on applying ED for Fall '17. Any shot?

No shot currently. You'll need a pretty good LSAT score since the good CA schools are GPA whores.

Rigo wrote:No shot currently. You'll need a pretty good LSAT score since the good CA schools are GPA whores.

I know I would never get in with a 155- that's why I emphasized that was cold, never even having seen the format of the test before. Hoping to raise it by >10 points with full time studying.

We can't give you your odds though without your retake score.
Study hard and do the best you can, then ask us again in October.

aes13 wrote:

Rigo wrote:No shot currently. You'll need a pretty good LSAT score since the good CA schools are GPA whores.

I know I would never get in with a 155- that's why I emphasized that was cold, never even having seen the format of the test before. Hoping to raise it by >10 points with full time studying.

No one cares about your diagnostic. Just go ahead and study for the LSAT already.

Rigo wrote:We can't give you your odds though without your retake score.
Study hard and do the best you can, then ask us again in October.

Okay, understandable. What do you think I would likely need in order to be safe/competitive with the information I've given (let's do worst case and say UGPA 3.51, ED)?

aes13 wrote:

Rigo wrote:We can't give you your odds though without your retake score.
Study hard and do the best you can, then ask us again in October.

Okay, understandable. What do you think I would likely need in order to be safe/competitive with the information I've given (let's do worst case and say UGPA 3.51, ED)?

Well they are going to judge you by the 3.51 unfortunately.
3.51 is right at their 25th percentile. You need at least median (166) to be competitive. Every point over median, the better it looks. However, the higher you go, the less UCLA makes sense.

ED'ing isn't a good move for 99% of applicants because you're stuck paying sticker.

A diagnostic of 155 is good and you certainly have the potential to hit 170. I would also apply RD and apply to a couple schools.

aes13 wrote:Long time lurker, first time poster.. I need some opinions on if I should just let this one go or not. UCLA is my absolute dream school and I have some strange circumstances.

UG- relatively unknown state school, F, OOS, not URM.

My freshman year I had some personal issues (nothing horribly tragic), I took 5 W's and left school for the semester and enrolled on CC classes at home - all A's with one F because I was misadvised and dropped passed the deadline. I am in the process of meeting with admin of the CC to get it changed to a W since I was advised incorrectly and retook the class for an A when I returned to my university, but I'm not holding my breath. Without the F, UG GPA is 3.66. With the F, 3.51.

Aside from the complete term withdrawal, I have only 1 extra W in SPN 102 (ha). Very involved in on-campus organizations and also very heavily community-service oriented. Internship with DA. I attended a summer institute at UCLA that cemented both my desire to attend law school, as well as my love for the institution.

Took the LSAT stone cold and scored ~155. Will be studying for it full time all summer and taking in Sept.

Planning on applying ED for Fall '17. Any shot?

Dont apply ED. No benefit to apply ED. Does your school have grade forgiveness? Usually schools let you replace a class or 2 with an improved grade. Do that if you have it. I had a 3.65 and got in UCLA. Your LSAT needs to be at least 166 to have a shot. Since it sounds like you are K-JD, you will want closer to 170 for a reasonable shot.

One semester may be enough for LSAT prep... just depends on how efficient you are and how much you commit. I would focus on your GPA more right now since you can always work for a year and study the LSAT. Your GPA is locked when you get your degree.

Disabuse yourself of the notion that you have a dream law school. There's no such thing. If you absolutely NEED to be in LA, at the very least you should be trying to play UCLA and USC off of each other.

But first follow Rigo's advice. But be aware that there's no LSAT score possible that makes ed>UCLA a good idea.

UnicornHunter wrote:Disabuse yourself of the notion that you have a dream law school. There's no such thing. If you absolutely NEED to be in LA, at the very least you should be trying to play UCLA and USC off of each other.

But first follow Rigo's advice. But be aware that there's no LSAT score possible that makes ed>UCLA a good idea.

Agree with all this. My dream school was originally OSU and I scaled studying for the LSAT to score within that range. I discovered TLS and now I'm going to Michigan after a retake. It's as opposite as you can get. Don't go into the process thinking about just getting to one school. Getting into a school is one thing. Getting said school to give you a scholarship that makes it even worth going is another.

87mm wrote:

aes13 wrote:Long time lurker, first time poster.. I need some opinions on if I should just let this one go or not. UCLA is my absolute dream school and I have some strange circumstances.

UG- relatively unknown state school, F, OOS, not URM.

My freshman year I had some personal issues (nothing horribly tragic), I took 5 W's and left school for the semester and enrolled on CC classes at home - all A's with one F because I was misadvised and dropped passed the deadline. I am in the process of meeting with admin of the CC to get it changed to a W since I was advised incorrectly and retook the class for an A when I returned to my university, but I'm not holding my breath. Without the F, UG GPA is 3.66. With the F, 3.51.

Aside from the complete term withdrawal, I have only 1 extra W in SPN 102 (ha). Very involved in on-campus organizations and also very heavily community-service oriented. Internship with DA. I attended a summer institute at UCLA that cemented both my desire to attend law school, as well as my love for the institution.

Took the LSAT stone cold and scored ~155. Will be studying for it full time all summer and taking in Sept.

Planning on applying ED for Fall '17. Any shot?

Dont apply ED. No benefit to apply ED. Does your school have grade forgiveness? Usually schools let you replace a class or 2 with an improved grade. Do that if you have it. I had a 3.65 and got in UCLA. Your LSAT needs to be at least 166 to have a shot. Since it sounds like you are K-JD, you will want closer to 170 for a reasonable shot.

One semester may be enough for LSAT prep... just depends on how efficient you are and how much you commit. I would focus on your GPA more right now since you can always work for a year and study the LSAT. Your GPA is locked when you get your degree.

There's grade forgiveness in the sense that they would replace it in GPA calculation, but it would still be on the transcript, aka included in the LSAC recalculation.

I say UCLA because I really want to get into Sports/Entertainment Law.

Get back to us when you increase that score and then we will be able to tell you your chances. Check lsn as well. Also, don't ED, just apply as a regular applicant and see what you get. No one wants to be stuck paying sticker

aes13 wrote:

87mm wrote:

aes13 wrote:Long time lurker, first time poster.. I need some opinions on if I should just let this one go or not. UCLA is my absolute dream school and I have some strange circumstances.

UG- relatively unknown state school, F, OOS, not URM.

My freshman year I had some personal issues (nothing horribly tragic), I took 5 W's and left school for the semester and enrolled on CC classes at home - all A's with one F because I was misadvised and dropped passed the deadline. I am in the process of meeting with admin of the CC to get it changed to a W since I was advised incorrectly and retook the class for an A when I returned to my university, but I'm not holding my breath. Without the F, UG GPA is 3.66. With the F, 3.51.

Aside from the complete term withdrawal, I have only 1 extra W in SPN 102 (ha). Very involved in on-campus organizations and also very heavily community-service oriented. Internship with DA. I attended a summer institute at UCLA that cemented both my desire to attend law school, as well as my love for the institution.

Took the LSAT stone cold and scored ~155. Will be studying for it full time all summer and taking in Sept.

Planning on applying ED for Fall '17. Any shot?

Dont apply ED. No benefit to apply ED. Does your school have grade forgiveness? Usually schools let you replace a class or 2 with an improved grade. Do that if you have it. I had a 3.65 and got in UCLA. Your LSAT needs to be at least 166 to have a shot. Since it sounds like you are K-JD, you will want closer to 170 for a reasonable shot.

One semester may be enough for LSAT prep... just depends on how efficient you are and how much you commit. I would focus on your GPA more right now since you can always work for a year and study the LSAT. Your GPA is locked when you get your degree.

There's grade forgiveness in the sense that they would replace it in GPA calculation, but it would still be on the transcript, aka included in the LSAC recalculation.

I say UCLA because I really want to get into Sports/Entertainment Law.

Oh that's lame. I think mine would flat out replace the grade as if you never got the F. Either way, you need to nail your courses.

I'm only a 0L but from what i gather, everyone wants to do sports/entertainment law but there are few jobs in it. Best bet is to focus on GPA and LSAT now. Worry about which school you go to once you are accepted and have to make a choice. UCLA can be a dream school but sometimes other schools end up being a better option.