50th GPA and 75th LSAT Forum

[prilaw2020]

I was just wondering if I should be worried about getting into the school I want with these stats. It's Brooklyn Law School in NYC. I have 75th LSAT and 50th GPA. I know that for T-20 schools this doesn't mean a guarantee admission or anything. However, I was just wondering that if these were my stats for Brooklyn would I get in. Also, if I have 75th LSAT and 25th GPA for Villanova will I get in their most likely or no?

[cavalier1138]

You have a good shot at both, but if you want to be a practicing lawyer, you should attend neither.

[zeglo]

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[Ferrisjso]

You have a good shot at both, but if you want to be a practicing lawyer, you should attend neither.

Really, you think if OP goes to either Brooklyn or Villanova he/she won't be a "practicing lawyer"? Those are both fine regional schools! According to the latest employment stats that just came out, over 18% of Brooklyn grads got BigLaw, and almost 22% got either that or a Fed Clerkship! That's not including the people who did other types of law! Brooklyn's not a TTTT!

[cavalier1138]

You have a good shot at both, but if you want to be a practicing lawyer, you should attend neither.

Really, you think if OP goes to either Brooklyn or Villanova he/she won't be a "practicing lawyer"? Those are both fine regional schools! According to the latest employment stats that just came out, over 18% of Brooklyn grads got BigLaw, and almost 22% got either that or a Fed Clerkship! That's not including the people who did other types of law! Brooklyn's not a TTTT!

Between 1/3 and 1/2 of the graduating class at both schools did not have jobs as practicing lawyers.

I'm also not sure where you're getting your numbers for Brooklyn. According to their ABA reports from 2015, only 15% of their students worked in firms with more than 250 lawyers (generally, 100-250 person firms do not count for biglaw, with some exceptions). And they placed 3.5% of their class in federal clerkships. Even taking your more generous assessment, that means that you have a 22% chance at a biglaw/fedclerk outcome from Brooklyn, which is lower than your 35% chance of not even working as a lawyer once you're out of school. Not chances I'd be willing to take, but to each their own...

[Ferrisjso]

I plugged the 509 numbers into an Excel pie chart. I originally thought Big Law only meant firms with 500+ attorneys then people told me it was 100(which is what I was counting) . Now you're telling me it's 250, so I'm not sure if there's an official definition of what constitutes Big Law because people tend to have different views on that. OP could also get good money from Brooklyn with his current numbers, it's not like he'd be going for sticker. I would also advise OP to apply to the three year program rather than the two year program if he's going to apply to Brooklyn(if you want to know more about that, PM me OP). Not knowledgeable about Villanova(I didn't apply there because I'm simply not interested in practicing in PA) but I'm under the impression the schools are more or less the same.

[cavalier1138]

I plugged the 509 numbers into an Excel pie chart. I originally thought Big Law only meant firms with 500+ attorneys then people told me it was 100(which is what I was counting) . Now you're telling me it's 250, so I'm not sure if there's an official definition of what constitutes Big Law because people tend to have different views on that. OP could also get good money from Brooklyn with his current numbers, it's not like he'd be going for sticker. I would also advise OP to apply to the three year program rather than the two year program if he's going to apply to Brooklyn(if you want to know more about that, PM me OP). Not knowledgeable about Villanova(I didn't apply there because I'm simply not interested in practicing in PA) but I'm under the impression the schools are more or less the same.

No, Villanova is not the same as Brooklyn, in the sense that you have an even lower chance at being a practicing attorney and miserable chances at being in biglaw or federal clerkship positions (if those are your goals).

Tell me, would you spend any money on a game where you had a 35-50% chance of losing it all and less than a 20% chance of being able to get the result you wanted?

[Ferrisjso]

I plugged the 509 numbers into an Excel pie chart. I originally thought Big Law only meant firms with 500+ attorneys then people told me it was 100(which is what I was counting) . Now you're telling me it's 250, so I'm not sure if there's an official definition of what constitutes Big Law because people tend to have different views on that. OP could also get good money from Brooklyn with his current numbers, it's not like he'd be going for sticker. I would also advise OP to apply to the three year program rather than the two year program if he's going to apply to Brooklyn(if you want to know more about that, PM me OP). Not knowledgeable about Villanova(I didn't apply there because I'm simply not interested in practicing in PA) but I'm under the impression the schools are more or less the same.

No, Villanova is not the same as Brooklyn, in the sense that you have an even lower chance at being a practicing attorney and miserable chances at being in biglaw or federal clerkship positions (if those are your goals).

Tell me, would you spend any money on a game where you had a 35-50% chance of losing it all and less than a 20% chance of being able to get the result you wanted?

OP doesn't say he wants Big Law so he would probably have more than a 20% of getting a good outcome;) Again, OP probably will get a good scholarship with his numbers that would make it worth it.

[prilaw2020]

Thanks for the comments guys. Do schools also "cap" admissions. By this I mean do schools stop accepting applicants when they reach a certain number of students who matriculate?

[cavalier1138]

Thanks for the comments guys. Do schools also "cap" admissions. By this I mean do schools stop accepting applicants when they reach a certain number of students who matriculate?

If your numbers are good enough, some schools (especially schools like Brooklyn and Villanova) will admit you very late in the game. But yes, there is a point in the year when you simply will not be considered for the current cycle in order to keep class sizes halfway reasonable.

[bmathers]

Villanova seems to place alot of weight in GPA, FWIW. More than law schools typically do. I have a GPA above their 25th and a LSAT around their 75th and was WL'd this cycle. Last year, with the same stats and a worse PS, they offered me a 35k/yr ship. This cycle, a WL - maybe I ticked them of not accepting last cycle? Who knows, but it seems a bit unpredictable.