What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International Forum

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faziletcaglayan

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What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by faziletcaglayan » Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:04 pm

Hi everyone! So I am an international applicant, I have European Law LLB and Globalisation and Law LLM. I want to apply to T14-T20 this cycle but my LSAT score, 161, concerns me. I have a great legal background and three recommendations, but I know numbers matter more. I will take January LSAT in two weeks, but I am not sure it will be more than 165. Do you think I have a chance at Upenn, NYU, Columbia or Georgetown?

crazywafflez

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by crazywafflez » Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:12 pm

I'll be upfront and frank with you. You won't be getting in at T14 schools nor T20 schools with your GPA/LSAT unless you have an ace up your sleeve (i.e. URM or Olympic Athlete). If you have something like this, there may be an outside shot at Gtown, but you'd be paying full price. Your softs are in line with most T14-T1 students who are fulbrights, authors, athletes, lawyers in foreign countries (sometimes), military, etc.; If you can get up to a 165-67 I think Gtown and T20 would be in play, not the others. Is your GPA from an American/Canadian school? I just think this will be an uphill battle for you. You've got the scores for a T1 school, not a T20. Regardless, even from a T20, you'll possibly be in substantial debt and schools like WashU or Vandy don't guarantee you biglaw the same way Penn does, and you'll need biglaw to get the visa. I know that is tough to hear, and I hope your retake goes well or application cycle goes well on the whole, but I think this is going to be a long shot at best.

ESQ92

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by ESQ92 » Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:06 pm

What are your career goals? The advice you'll get will vary depending on why you want to go to law school.
Do you just need an J.D. for some international job in your home country you already have lined up?
Are you independently wealthy and want a U.S. law degree for the experience and perceived status?
Or are you are trying to actually work in the U.S. as a lawyer and support yourself?

faziletcaglayan

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by faziletcaglayan » Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:21 pm

crazywafflez wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:12 pm
I'll be upfront and frank with you. You won't be getting in at T14 schools nor T20 schools with your GPA/LSAT unless you have an ace up your sleeve (i.e. URM or Olympic Athlete). If you have something like this, there may be an outside shot at Gtown, but you'd be paying full price. Your softs are in line with most T14-T1 students who are fulbrights, authors, athletes, lawyers in foreign countries (sometimes), military, etc.; If you can get up to a 165-67 I think Gtown and T20 would be in play, not the others. Is your GPA from an American/Canadian school? I just think this will be an uphill battle for you. You've got the scores for a T1 school, not a T20. Regardless, even from a T20, you'll possibly be in substantial debt and schools like WashU or Vandy don't guarantee you biglaw the same way Penn does, and you'll need biglaw to get the visa. I know that is tough to hear, and I hope your retake goes well or application cycle goes well on the whole, but I think this is going to be a long shot at best.
My GPA is actually European, 7.58 /10, I tried to convert it. Thank you for your honesty!

faziletcaglayan

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by faziletcaglayan » Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:23 pm

ESQ92 wrote:
Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:06 pm
What are your career goals? The advice you'll get will vary depending on why you want to go to law school.
Do you just need an J.D. for some international job in your home country you already have lined up?
Are you independently wealthy and want a U.S. law degree for the experience and perceived status?
Or are you are trying to actually work in the U.S. as a lawyer and support yourself?
I am trying to work in the US and become a qualified lawyer here, I already have the greencard so I figured out having a JD would be the best option for me if I want to settle here :)

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crazywafflez

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by crazywafflez » Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:40 pm

So if you have a greencard the necessity of getting biglaw to sponsor a visa goes out the window. But, if you still want biglaw, you're in the same place. If you're fine working at a local shop or doing DA/PD/govt work; going to a T1 on a scholarship is a possibility- you'd pick the state you want to practice in and go to the state flagship U. Say you want to practice in Mississippi, you'll go to Ole Miss; Arizona, U of A or ASU; and you'll just go to the state U that is the cheapest (I wouldn't go to any of these though without really good/substantial scholarships though- i.e. Ole Miss for free, ASU for 60-80k total debt, etc., you'll have to make the calculations once you hear back though). You'll want to check out LST and see how each school does and where they send their grads. Don't go in expecting to snag biglaw though from a T1 or being top of the class.
Def still retake though, even if you don't drastically improve your score each point will garner you a better scholarship at whatever school you attend.

nixy

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by nixy » Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:46 pm

Re: GPA - the number won’t really matter. LSAC will convert your number to a qualitative ranking. The top 2 ranks are (I think) superior and above average, though I don’t know what comes below that. The significance of this is that it doesn’t count for law school rankings, which means that admcomms will weight LSAT even more heavily. So I agree that T14-20 is unlikely, and that at the moment your best bet is probably to try to get money from a T50 in a region where you want to practice.

Clease

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by Clease » Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:50 am

Don’t let anyone discourage you from applying anywhere. I made it into Georgetown with a 161 and a 3.87 from a top public university. I also received 28,000 a year in merit, I just asked if I could be considered for aid and received an email a few days later, I was shocked but very grateful. I have a unique background but I am not a minority. A 161 does not automatically shut you out of money or the t14, I can’t speak to your GPA though. And no I’m not an Olympian or a rich kid and I don’t have any crazy talents. I wrote a strong essay about my life, had strong recs and zero experience. You never know what the Dean of any one school is looking for. While I do have a strong GPA, I’m proof that a 161 will not be the only factor measured.

Clease

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by Clease » Mon Feb 01, 2021 4:01 am

Oh and one essential detail to add, I applied ED. Probably gave me a huge leg up in the admissions process. Sorry I left that out! I don’t normally post on here so I hope this gets added below my other reply so it all makes sense! Also if you’re interested in public service, GT has an amazing loan forgiveness program. Good luck whatever you choose.

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Maxcol95

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by Maxcol95 » Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:30 pm

I wouldn't let anyone discourage you, i also have European LLB and i'm applying to T14s and T20s, i got a 164 URM, also don't worry about your GPA since grades from international schools (non USA or Canada) don't count for schools so they will not even take it into account.
Best of luck.

P.S. If i was you i would only apply to the lower ranked T14s, anything above NU looks like a very big reach but maybe you have good chances at GT and Cornell. Vandy, UT or WUSTL?

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GFox345

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by GFox345 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:54 pm

LOL Telling someone frankly that they have no chance at the T-14 is not "discouraging them from applying." It's a chance-me thread. I personally know two applicants with 3.7x GPAs and high-160s LSAT scores that were shut out of the T-14 entirely this year, given the huge uptick in applications. OP could get in on fluke, but it's highly unlikely. Retake and reapply next cycle if you want a good chance at the T14. /thread

TTTTorbust

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by TTTTorbust » Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:24 am

Clease wrote:
Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:50 am
Don’t let anyone discourage you from applying anywhere. I made it into Georgetown with a 161 and a 3.87 from a top public university. I also received 28,000 a year in merit, I just asked if I could be considered for aid and received an email a few days later, I was shocked but very grateful. I have a unique background but I am not a minority. A 161 does not automatically shut you out of money or the t14, I can’t speak to your GPA though. And no I’m not an Olympian or a rich kid and I don’t have any crazy talents. I wrote a strong essay about my life, had strong recs and zero experience. You never know what the Dean of any one school is looking for. While I do have a strong GPA, I’m proof that a 161 will not be the only factor measured.
For anyone reading this and trying to draw anything from it, it is true that a 161 "doesn't shut you out of the T14" when you're GPA is above the median for that school (As it is for this poster). Splitters and reverse splitters can and do find success. 161 isn't going to be enough to prop up a poor GPA, or in the case of OP, a generally meaningless (To the University in question) international GPA. Unless you have something else going for you (As mentioned earlier in this thread) 161 and a poor/international GPA isn't giving you a good chance at all at a T-14 school.

barexaminee1

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Re: What are my chances? LSAT 161, GPA 3.57 -International

Post by barexaminee1 » Mon May 23, 2022 6:20 pm

crazywafflez wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:40 pm
So if you have a greencard the necessity of getting biglaw to sponsor a visa goes out the window. But, if you still want biglaw, you're in the same place. If you're fine working at a local shop or doing DA/PD/govt work; going to a T1 on a scholarship is a possibility- you'd pick the state you want to practice in and go to the state flagship U. Say you want to practice in Mississippi, you'll go to Ole Miss; Arizona, U of A or ASU; and you'll just go to the state U that is the cheapest (I wouldn't go to any of these though without really good/substantial scholarships though- i.e. Ole Miss for free, ASU for 60-80k total debt, etc., you'll have to make the calculations once you hear back though). You'll want to check out LST and see how each school does and where they send their grads. Don't go in expecting to snag biglaw though from a T1 or being top of the class.
Def still retake though, even if you don't drastically improve your score each point will garner you a better scholarship at whatever school you attend.
That's pretty good - you could make it into T14

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