Chances of Getting into Law Schools? (171/4.0) Forum

[scrantonkr]

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[cardinalandgold]

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com
http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

[SaintClarence27]

I go to the University of Scranton (it's a private Jesuit University in Pennsylvania) and I'm applying to law school. I'm an English and Theology/Religious Studies double major, a philosophy minor, and I have a concentration in Catholic Studies. I brought 27 AP credits into college with me, so I'm graduating a full year early and plan to go to law school right afterwards.


GPA: 4.0
LSAT: 171
Softs:
-I have a double major, a minor, and a concentration
-I've taken courses in calculus, business, and economics (18 credits each semester) and still have a 4.0
-Graduating a year early (motivated?)
-I'm involved in ten campus organizations and I lead one of them
-I lead a weekly bible study not affiliated with the school
-I volunteer at a Church during the summer and lead the youth program
-I've volunteered at a pro bono law service for a year (during school and summer)
-I am a Resident Assistant (which is a 20 hr + / week job)
-I've been on the Dean's List every semester
-I tutor part time during the school year, work part time during the school year, and I've worked full time during the summer for the past five years
-I'm a member of three honor societies
-I speak Spanish and Norgwegian (my father was born in Norway)
-I'm the first person in my family to go to and (assuming I graduate) graduate college

I'm planning to apply to: Notre Dame, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Northwestern, Boston College, Boston University, Cornell, Georgetown, Fordham, and St. John's (which I think is a good safety school)
---> What do you guys think my chances are? Thanks!

Flame. This is the person's other post:

Hi! I was originally planning to take the LSAT in the fall, but I recently decided that it would be better for me to take it in June. That means I have about six weeks to study. I took my first diagnostic test today without ever looking at the LSAT before, and I got a 161. I got 4 wrong on each LR section, 5 wrong on the LG, and 7 wrong on the RC. I just ordered a book of previous LSATs and a few PowerScore Bibles. How can I raise my score to at least a 171 by the June LSAT? I plan to take 12 more pracitce tests and try to work through all three of the bibles. Any other advice? Think it's possible? Thanks!

At the very least, he's lying about the LSAT.

[Kiersten1985]

I think OP just posted with the assumption that s/he will get that 171 to make the predicting easier.

[09042014]

I think OP just posted with the assumption that s/he will get that 171 to make the predicting easier.

I think that makes OP a retard.

[sundevil77]

You might be in for a surprise if you "plan" on getting a 171. My diagnostic was a 169, I studied for 3 months straight, raised my practice average to 175, and subsequently scored a 171 on test day. You're getting a little ahead of yourself if you're already trying to predict your cycle before you have an LSAT score.

....However, assuming you do get a 171/4.0, I dealt with the same numbers.

Yale- OUT
Harvard- Waitlist-->OUT
Chicago and Columbia- 50/50 either IN or Waitlist
All the rest- IN

[scrantonkr]

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[cardinalandgold]

Boy, a lot of you guys on here are very harsh. I understand you may be disgruntled, but don't take it out on me. And yes, I've been consistently testing at 175, so i'm assuming I may do a little worse on the actual test, so I'm saying 171, to be safe. And I do have a 4.0. That's not an assumption. I'm applying for schools this fall, so it will still be a 4.0 on my apps. Any productive answers?

Come back with an actual LSAT score first.

[RonArtest]

Go to Hell.

[markdiz430]

If you get a 170 minimum with that GPA, I'm sure you're set for any school you want. Just did the number on lsp...I'm jealous lol

[scrantonkr]

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[09042014]

Boy, a lot of you guys on here are very harsh. I understand you may be disgruntled, but don't take it out on me. And yes, I've been consistently testing at 175, so i'm assuming I may do a little worse on the actual test, so I'm saying 171, to be safe. And I do have a 4.0. That's not an assumption. I'm applying for schools this fall, so it will still be a 4.0 on my apps. Any productive answers?

Learn how to read a graph. Go to law school numbers.

[ConMan345]

If you get a 170 minimum with that GPA, I'm sure you're set for any school you want. Just did the number on lsp...I'm jealous lol

This isn't right, though you will have a chance at every school.

[scrantonkr]

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[09042014]

If you get a 170 minimum with that GPA, I'm sure you're set for any school you want. Just did the number on lsp...I'm jealous lol

This isn't right, though you will have a chance at every school.

Ok, so what would you say I'd have to improve? I know LSAT and GPA are most important, but is there anything i should do to improve my chances, like in terms of extra-cirriculars?

And Desert Fox .. why are you even on here? Obviously people are going to ask questions like this. Graphs give numbers, but I want to hear people's actual experiences. If you think it's stupid, don't even respond, but posting just to be rude makes me wonder why you're even on this site.

People ask about their specific case, you have a hypothetical LSAT, and thus just want general trends.

The answer is for the lulz.

[holydonkey]

Graphs give numbers, but I want to hear people's actual experiences.

This one time at band camp, I looked at a graph.

[clintonius]

If you get a 170 minimum with that GPA, I'm sure you're set for any school you want. Just did the number on lsp...I'm jealous lol

This isn't right, though you will have a chance at every school.

Ok, so what would you say I'd have to improve? I know LSAT and GPA are most important, but is there anything i should do to improve my chances, like in terms of extra-cirriculars?

Nope. Your extracurriculars are fine and won't have much bearing on your cycle, other than to reinforce that you are a hard worker. Just get the highest LSAT you can manage (obviously). I think what ConMan was saying is that 171/4.0 isn't auto-admit for all schools. If you actually squeeze out a 175 on test day I'd say you're in everywhere except Yale and very possibly there as well.

[joeshmo39]

Where is the guy who always tells people they are precious little snowflakes?

Anyhow, what we are saying is that behind those points on the graph are people who also led organizations, volunteered, won stuff, travelled, etc. Most of that stuff is going to come out in the wash ( I was abroad, you were a VP, I was in greek life, you led a bible group, whatever else). So just look at the numbers, that is pretty much the whole game.

[sundevil77]

thank you so much! i really appreciate getting an honest answer .. there's so much hatred from a lot of others haha

I did give you an honest answer, and I just finished my cycle with the same numbers. The person who told you you're in everywhere doesn't have a clue. Like I said, HYS are 95% out, CCN are 50/50, and you're most likely in at the rest. Some schools can be pretty random. For example, UVa and Michigan waitlisted a bunch of people with those stats in lieu of EDers or lower numbers. You can probably finagle a large scholarship out of a couple of lower T14s.

As far as improving your chances, any extracurriculars at this point probably wouldn't be meaningful enough to provide you with any type of tangible benefit. Everyone on here will tell you, improve your LSAT score. That is the one factor left that is completely dependent on you. The difference between a 171 and 173/4 is the difference between a likely acceptance to H and great scholarships to many of the T14.

Edit: Seriously, though, go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Everything is spelled out there.

[scrantonkr]

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[SaintClarence27]

thank you so much! i really appreciate getting an honest answer .. there's so much hatred from a lot of others haha

I did give you an honest answer, and I just finished my cycle with the same numbers. The person who told you you're in everywhere doesn't have a clue. Like I said, HYS are 95% out, CCN are 50/50, and you're most likely in at the rest. Some schools can be pretty random. For example, UVa and Michigan waitlisted a bunch of people with those stats in lieu of EDers or lower numbers. You can probably finagle a large scholarship out of a couple of lower T14s.

As far as improving your chances, any extracurriculars at this point probably wouldn't be meaningful enough to provide you with any type of tangible benefit. Everyone on here will tell you, improve your LSAT score. That is the one factor left that is completely dependent on you. The difference between a 171 and 173/4 is the difference between a likely acceptance to H and great scholarships to many of the T14.

Edit: Seriously, though, go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Everything is spelled out there.

+1 LSAT is king.

[ConMan345]

If you get a 170 minimum with that GPA, I'm sure you're set for any school you want. Just did the number on lsp...I'm jealous lol

This isn't right, though you will have a chance at every school.

Ok, so what would you say I'd have to improve? I know LSAT and GPA are most important, but is there anything i should do to improve my chances, like in terms of extra-cirriculars?

And Desert Fox .. why are you even on here? Obviously people are going to ask questions like this. Graphs give numbers, but I want to hear people's actual experiences. If you think it's stupid, don't even respond, but posting just to be rude makes me wonder why you're even on this site.

In my opinion, for the very top schools, you need to market yourself as the best of a certain type. LSAT and GPA being fairly equal, the top schools are looking for a diverse class, so you have to craft an application that has a clear, consistent message; one that says, "Hey, so I have this interest/background/whatever, and I'm one of the best you'll find with it." When someone is done reading it, they should think, "Oh yeah, this is the ______ kid," or "the kid interested in ________," "or the one who did ________." Being an academic powerhouse (a brain in a jar) only makes sense if you're ridiculously strong in that department (175+, 3.95+). In your case, a huge potential red flag is this "I'm involved in ten campus organizations" business. More power to you on a personal level, that takes a lot of work; but as far applications, I hope those have a common thread or two because otherwise you'll seem all over the place. Every piece of your application should be part of a whole cloth, not a bunch of different threads. Your personal statement should bring everything together. Mine was about how my love of a challenge, intellectual curiosity and passion for a particular cause made law school the perfect next step. Nothing fancy or schmaltzy. My resume backed it up with my record for the cause I was passionate about, my numbers were good enough, my recs were strong, and it all fell into place (minus Yale, haha).

Think of it this way: my LSAT score was the weakest part of my application, so I did everything I could to make it the least important part.

[scrantonkr]

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[scrantonkr]

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[SaintClarence27]

Oh, also there is no reason to apply to St. Johns (and likely no reason to apply to Fordham) if you DO get a 171.

Even with a 4.0/169, you'll be accepted SOMEWHERE in the top 14.