Waitlist to 1L stardom... Forum

[Slimpee]

I'm sitting on a WL where my LSAT is below the median but above the 25th percentile.

Have any of you gone from the WL to top-30% or better?

[star3]

Yes - I have! I got into my school (top 20 school) last year in late June off of the WL (after fighting for my seat of course). On the LSAT I scored 7 points before the median score, which put my score 2 points below the 25th percentile for LSAT. After my first year I am at least in the top 7 percent of the class!

A lot of my friends who are at the top of the class as well actually got in off of the waitlist - LSAT is no predictor of your ability to excel in law school - I actually think those who get in off the waitlist work harder and therefore do better!

Good luck!!

[Hamilton]

Looking at the Dean's List (roughly top 10%) at my T25 law school, a good half of the people on the list got in off of the waitlist (that i know of).

[Tree]

Rumors are floating that 2/3 book awards each semester for my section went to the same WL god

[vanwinkle]

Looking at the Dean's List (roughly top 10%) at my T25 law school, a good half of the people on the list got in off of the waitlist (that i know of).

This doesn't surprise me too much. Law school requires much more self-direction than undergrad; those who get in off the WL probably feel the need to work harder to "prove" they belong there, and behave like self-starters much more than kids who got in easily and coasted in out of UG. Putting in all that extra work leads to those kind of results, at least for some people.

[snappleapple]

(this is not my usual screenname I made this one for some anonymity)

I got off WL at my top choice T-10--I'm in the top 10% and just found out I won one of only a few 1L writing prizes for performance in the required year-long legal writing/research class.

Once you get in everyone is relatively on the same level of general intelligence. The ones who succeed (in my opinion) are the ones who work smart (not just hard), keep really on top of reading/assignments and stay engaged. Having a good work ethic and not letting the stress burn you out will also set you apart come exam time more than a few points on the LSAT, IMO.

[Hamilton]

I think it's obvious who are the actual good students and who's here because they crammed for the LSAT.

Edit: Nothing against high LSAT splitters. All I'm trying to say is that I know a few individuals who were accepted outright with a high LSAT and then didn't put forth the effort to do well as a 1L. I think that LSAT aside, everyone accepted has the smarts to do well, and those who work smart, are efficient, and put forth the effort find their way to the top half of the class.

[Slimpee]

Word...thanks for the replies! I'm currently deposited at Iowa and on MN and WM WL's, for the record

[snappleapple]

I think it's obvious who are the actual good students and who's here because they crammed for the LSAT.

I'd like someone to see what the correlation is between LSAT-GPA and 1L GPA, especially with regard to extreme splitters. My hunch is that those who split heavy high GPA do better than those who split heavy LSAT overall. <<don't kill me LSAT splitters, just an untested theory>>

[megaTTTron]

Last minute waitlister, below 25th percentile LSAT. Top 10%.

[vanwinkle]

I'd like someone to see what the correlation is between LSAT-GPA and 1L GPA, especially with regard to extreme splitters. My hunch is that those who split heavy high GPA do better than those who split heavy LSAT overall. <<don't kill me LSAT splitters, just an untested theory>>

I split high LSAT and I'm doing well enough for myself. LSAT and UG GPA are great statistical predictors, as in they predict likelihood on the whole of how a group will do, but they're nowhere near practically useful for predicting individual success.

[megaTTTron]

I'd like someone to see what the correlation is between LSAT-GPA and 1L GPA, especially with regard to extreme splitters. My hunch is that those who split heavy high GPA do better than those who split heavy LSAT overall. <<don't kill me LSAT splitters, just an untested theory>>

I split high LSAT and I'm doing well enough for myself. LSAT and UG GPA are great statistical predictors, as in they predict likelihood on the whole of how a group will do, but they're nowhere near practically useful for predicting individual success.

this.

[vamedic03]

I'd like someone to see what the correlation is between LSAT-GPA and 1L GPA, especially with regard to extreme splitters. My hunch is that those who split heavy high GPA do better than those who split heavy LSAT overall. <<don't kill me LSAT splitters, just an untested theory>>

I split high LSAT and I'm doing well enough for myself. LSAT and UG GPA are great statistical predictors, as in they predict likelihood on the whole of how a group will do, but they're nowhere near practically useful for predicting individual success.

I concur with vanwinkle on this. I was an extreme high LSAT, low GPA splitter and I'm doing very well. Honestly, I'd argue that work experience + high LSAT is a good predictor.

[Bankhead]

Waitlist at T30, finished 1L top 10-15%.

To be fair, I was just waitlisted because I applied really late. I know people who got waitlisted because their numbers were low however and they got top 3-10%.

You don't have to be brilliant, or have gotten really good grades in the past to do well 1L.