2.94/180, upward trend and time off. Size me up. Forum

[Miracle]

according to LSN "eseedril" GPA 2.79 LSAT 173

Accepted-Northwester with 60,000 scholarship

and he applied after january 1st-considered late by many

[Encyclopedia Brown]

according to LSN "eseedril" GPA 2.79 LSAT 173

Accepted-Northwester with 60,000 scholarship

and he applied after january 1st-considered late by many

And he's also a URM, so whoop-de-doo for him, but that's not really representative of the admissions chances of folks with those numbers.

[Woozy]

I was in a very similar situation - 180/2.98. Here are some of my thoughts:

If you are willing to strike out this cycle and try again next year, ED to NYU/Columbia (NYU probably a little more likely to accept.) There is a good chance you will end up riding the waitlist anyway, but the ED may make them slightly more likely to let you in if they need your LSAT bump down the road, and will make the LOCI where you claim you will attend if accepted more credible.

If you want to go this year, it is up to you to decide if that plan is too risky. You undoubtedly have much better T14 chances with an ED to UVA. Regarding NU, I would like to see the NU experts here weigh in on your work experience. If I read correctly, you will have approx. 1 year at a non-profit at the time of matriculation to law school. In my understanding they prefer ~2+ years of work experience after undergrad. This is perhaps a point in favor of swinging for the fences this year and ED-ing at NU next cycle if you strike out.

You are receiving conflicting advice about your addendum. In my view this demonstrates a general misunderstanding about the proper role of the GPA addendum in an application. You must confront your GPA issue head-on! Don't pretend that they won't notice or will weigh your GPA less if you don't bring it up. A wise person once told me that there are two reasons why a school hesitates to admit a splitter: 1) They may be unable to take the GPA hit and 2) They may think your GPA reflects an inability to succeed in law school. You have no control over the first, but you must argue against the second. That's right, argue. Too many people fall into the trap of making excuses or refusing to accept responsibility for their poor performance. Instead of sounding whiny, take the evidence you have - upward trend, different circumstances, maturity level, etc. - and construct a persuasive argument that the evidence points toward academic success in law school. Imagine you are writing as an impartial observer, take an objective tone, state what happened, why it won't happen again, and supply evidence.

Best of luck to you, but please know that your odds are very slim at NYU/Columbia even if you do everything right.

[autarkh]

I was in a very similar situation - 180/2.98. Here are some of my thoughts:

If you are willing to strike out this cycle and try again next year, ED to NYU/Columbia (NYU probably a little more likely to accept.) There is a good chance you will end up riding the waitlist anyway, but the ED may make them slightly more likely to let you in if they need your LSAT bump down the road, and will make the LOCI where you claim you will attend if accepted more credible.

If you want to go this year, it is up to you to decide if that plan is too risky. You undoubtedly have much better T14 chances with an ED to UVA. Regarding NU, I would like to see the NU experts here weigh in on your work experience. If I read correctly, you will have approx. 1 year at a non-profit at the time of matriculation to law school. In my understanding they prefer ~2+ years of work experience after undergrad. This is perhaps a point in favor of swinging for the fences this year and ED-ing at NU next cycle if you strike out.

You are receiving conflicting advice about your addendum. In my view this demonstrates a general misunderstanding about the proper role of the GPA addendum in an application. You must confront your GPA issue head-on! Don't pretend that they won't notice or will weigh your GPA less if you don't bring it up. A wise person once told me that there are two reasons why a school hesitates to admit a splitter: 1) They may be unable to take the GPA hit and 2) They may think your GPA reflects an inability to succeed in law school. You have no control over the first, but you must argue against the second. That's right, argue. Too many people fall into the trap of making excuses or refusing to accept responsibility for their poor performance. Instead of sounding whiny, take the evidence you have - upward trend, different circumstances, maturity level, etc. - and construct a persuasive argument that the evidence points toward academic success in law school. Imagine you are writing as an impartial observer, take an objective tone, state what happened, why it won't happen again, and supply evidence.

Best of luck to you, but please know that your odds are very slim at NYU/Columbia even if you do everything right.

This.

+1

[09042014]

I didn't address my GPA, but I had no excuse. I had constant shit grades, and my last semester was the worst. I say avoid the GPA, but use other factors to show you can handle the work.

[theLastZion]

I would write an addendum, but keep in mind that less is often more with those things. Adcomms won't really care about why you sucked at school freshman year unless you were extremely ill, had surgery mid-semester, etc. If you write a brief addendum focusing on the positive (drastic upward trend), it will be much better.

Second, I'm not an expert on this, but I wouldn't waste my ED anywhere below NYU with a 180. You only get one ED. You stand a good shot at NU also with WE.

[d34d9823]

Second, I'm not an expert on this, but I wouldn't waste my ED anywhere below NYU with a 180. You only get one ED. You stand a good shot at NU also with WE.

The bolded is only true if your EDs include NU. Otherwise, one ED at a time is the rule.