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Hello everyone!

I wanted some input on my application.

LSAT: 160 (took 3 times...not doing it again)
GPA: 3.6


Possibly softs?:
Puerto Rican
First generation college student/graduate
LGBT
1 year of work experience (probably not a soft)


My question is...should I just apply based on what Mylsn tells I have a shot at without including the URM checkbox? There are hardly any Puerto Ricans with a range of my numbers on LSN to give me any sort of good gauge if it actually is a boost.

I want to eventually work for the local government or corporate law (if I can swing it, I'm 100% ok if not) in NYC/DC/Philly/Baltimore (i'd really be okay with anywhere on the east coast)

My school list is currently:

UMD
AU
Fordham
BC
Wake Forest
Temple
Villanova

Are these schools good targets with my numbers and background?

Thanks!

Please don't quote

I recommend sending in apps for Georgetown and George Washington while you're at it. Diversity is big for GT.

I have a first generation, KJD Cuban friend (female) who got into Wake Forest with an 85% scholarship. She had a lower GPA than you and a 162 in her third take in February (but I think she was accepted before that and the scholarship might've been the only thing affected by the 162).

I like LSN as a general reference point, but sometimes I feel like the results there are skewed because of the type of people (overachievers) who go on these forums! One of my best friends was accepted to NYU off the waitlist with a 160 on her first take/158 her second take, ~3.3/.4 (don't remember), not URM, not first gen.

38981928 wrote:I have a first generation, KJD Cuban friend (female) who got into Wake Forest with an 85% scholarship. She had a lower GPA than you and a 162 in her third take in February (but I think she was accepted before that and the scholarship might've been the only thing affected by the 162).

I like LSN as a general reference point, but sometimes I feel like the results there are skewed because of the type of people (overachievers) who go on these forums! One of my best friends was accepted to NYU off the waitlist with a 160 on her first take/158 her second take, ~3.3/.4 (don't remember), not URM, not first gen.

Wat. This is shocking to me

181plz wrote:

38981928 wrote:I have a first generation, KJD Cuban friend (female) who got into Wake Forest with an 85% scholarship. She had a lower GPA than you and a 162 in her third take in February (but I think she was accepted before that and the scholarship might've been the only thing affected by the 162).

I like LSN as a general reference point, but sometimes I feel like the results there are skewed because of the type of people (overachievers) who go on these forums! One of my best friends was accepted to NYU off the waitlist with a 160 on her first take/158 her second take, ~3.3/.4 (don't remember), not URM, not first gen.

Wat. This is shocking to me

Lol I know. My now-2L NYU friend had a literal public breakdown when she saw her second LSAT score. She got in the waitlist suuuuuuuuper late from what I can recall. She was very involved in school (student body president and all that), but not Fulbright or anything, and we didn’t go to an Ivy League school or whatever (top 50 national university). I was freaking out about my applications a few days ago but she reassured me that things will work out and that I need to stop reading forums and comparing myself to people who are getting accepted already

Not sure if white Cubans are counted by Harvard as URM, but I also know a girl from my undergrad who got a 167/ anywhere from 3.5-.7ish (she kept telling people she’s a “dean’s lister” and that would be the range for it where we went) and is now attending Harvard. Not sure if off the waitlist or not, also not crazy softs but she was president of her sorority and homecoming queen. Both her parents are professionals (doctor and attorney I think) so she’s def not first gen. There really is hope for us mere mortals I think haha

These anecdotes are poison.

I also have a waitlist story from a colleague at my firm. She got off the waitlist (also super late) at a top10 school with a pretty crazily bad LSAT score, but with a lot of other amazing things to bring to the table. Sometimes a spot opens up suddenly at the last minute and you can wind up being the 'right fit' despite not being perfect on paper.

All of that said, you should never ever assume it will happen. But if you can get waivers and have the $35 to apply to some dream schools, why not go for it.

I would also apply from like UT down to about #20ish just to be safe. Really should retake, though.

Bush v. Gorgeous wrote:All of that said, you should never ever assume it will happen. But if you can get waivers and have the $35 to apply to some dream schools, why not go for it.

^^ Agree 100%! The people I mentioned had a lot of money to spare because their parents were paying for their apps, so it wasn't an issue for them to shoot for the stars and apply to a lot of reach schools. They were also all incredibly charismatic people who made a great impression when you meet them and who really knew how to hustle (in a good way) and work with people, so I'm sure they had fantastic LORs and interviews/school visits.

I just thought I'd share seeing as it's so much harder for a URM and a first gen student to just base their decisions off a very small, unrepresentative, and mostly numbers-based sample when they might be looking at other things for you. I certainly wouldn't recommend bankrupting yourself to apply to unrealistic schools, but I don't think it's bad to dream and apply to one or two reach schools.

there's a lot wrong with the OP but the most wrong is applying to American.

pancakes3 wrote:there's a lot wrong with the OP but the most wrong is applying to American.

What exactly is wrong with my original post?