Top Law Schools

INFO:
156 lsat
3.4lsac gpa
deans list, akd honors, pad, sap honors
working at a law firm for 2 years
volunteer for LA superior court and NLS
letter of rec from a professor, joint letter from partners of the firm i work for, and a letter from one of the first female distiguished UCLA alum.
many other clubs and extra cir. activities....
WHERE I STAND:
UCLA-rejected
USC-rejected
Loyola-rejected
St. John's-waitlist
Southwestern-waitlist
Calwestern-waitlist
Chapman-waitlist
USF-waitlist
Pepperdine-heard nothing yet

THIS IS NOT A GOOD CYCLE

WOW. You are in purgatory.
I would imagine it is your lsat keeping you out of places, since your GPA is pretty decent. However, your lsat isnt that low, not low enough to warrant the kind of cycle you are having.
I can understand why the T1 rejected you, but that many WL from T3 schools???
PSHH.
Maybe you should have targeted more T2?

Also, focus on your WL and decide which ones you would MOST like to be at, and bust your ass trying to get in.

Tell me about it! In retrospect I wish I would have applied to more schools...namely T2. When I look at some on the schools that waitlisted me, the words yield protection pop into my head

did you prep the LSAT hardcore? If this cycle doesn't work out, a move to 160+ would make a world of difference.

philo-sophia wrote:did you prep the LSAT hardcore? If this cycle doesn't work out, a move to 160+ would make a world of difference.

I agree. The T3 WL were probably YP but the T2 could really open up for you with a 160+ LSAT. My gpa is lower than yours but my LSAT is 160+ and the T2 loves me lol. The T1...meh. But def the T2.

i dont know about cal-western, but SW, chapman, and usf were pretty much expected to be waitlists. not because of your stats, but because of the loopy rise and fall in the rankings that are going on in those schools. for SW and USF, their drop in the rankings has thrown their admissions into a tailspin: look on LSN and you see that auto-admits are getting flat out waitlisted. Chapman has also been doing the same. These 3 have the most yield protect i've seen of all cali schools, at least according to LSN. So hang in there. I agree with SJ: Pick the school you want to go to of those w/l, send in a LOCI to the one you really want to go to, and let them know that you're willing to attend if they let you in. I'm sure a spot will open in no time. But...

If you have it in you to do another cycle, and you don't want to settle for what you got (be it no scholly or you want a better school), retake the LSAT again. With the right prep, 3 points will make a difference. However...

Next year's cycle will probably be really competitive. My prediction is that there will be a record amount of increases in applicants because of the economy (compared to 2003, which you can find here --LinkRemoved-- ). With that in mind, there's no guarantee that a 160 will have the same value next year as it did this year. Weigh your options carefully with your goals. Good luck!

also, deloggio just stated that applicants are down .6% and applications are up 2.8%. no wonder why this cycle is so crazy...

--LinkRemoved--

Thanks for all the encouraging words! I am trying to keep my chin up about it...Would you suggest I wait a while(end of May) before I send a letter or should I do it now?

Bill2k wrote:Thanks for all the encouraging words! I am trying to keep my chin up about it...Would you suggest I wait a while(end of May) before I send a letter or should I do it now?

Now is fine. I dont see any reason why you should wait.

Bill2k wrote:INFO:
156 lsat
3.4lsac gpa
deans list, akd honors, pad, sap honors
working at a law firm for 2 years
volunteer for LA superior court and NLS
letter of rec from a professor, joint letter from partners of the firm i work for, and a letter from one of the first female distiguished UCLA alum.
many other clubs and extra cir. activities....
WHERE I STAND:
UCLA-rejected
USC-rejected
Loyola-rejected
St. John's-waitlist
Southwestern-waitlist
Calwestern-waitlist
Chapman-waitlist
USF-waitlist
Pepperdine-heard nothing yet

THIS IS NOT A GOOD CYCLE

omg, I feel so bad. I'm sure some of the ones you haven't heard from yet will give you good news. A lot of those schools are really good schools, so it is really hard to get in without having high 160s and a GPA around 3.6

I am in the EXACT same position that you are in, well maybe with fewer compelling soft factors. I am torn between attending the on campus event for Chapman this Saturday and the Southwestern event that is also mysteriously scheduled for the same time this Saturday. I feel that if I choose one over the other, the other school will heartbroken that I philandered with the other school. Any suggestions?

Well, is Southwestern going to feed you? I know you get a free lunch at Chapman's open house... I mean, let's get our priorities straight, haha.