Top Law Schools

So this is my first post on TLS. After reading around, I'm near positive that this is going to get decried as a flame, etc. but whatevs.

I did very well on the LSAT this past December on my first try (so no other scores) and graduated earlier last year with a BA majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a GPA of 3.93. My softs are decent, but will be much better when I end up applying in two years (as of right now, I am waiting to be shipped off in the Peace Corps. I will be applying to and attending law school after in 2012 or 2013).

Now, I know my numbers are great and should, in themselves, be a strong case for admission almost anywhere. But my question is this: For both personal and financial reasons, I went to a large, public university for undergrad--not a bad school, but certainly not an Ivy. Let me put it this way: we're near the bottom of Top 50 in USN rankings. How much will HYS care when looking at my app? Will they asterisk my GPA 'cause I didn't go to a difficult school and therefore my high GPA wasn't "earned" in the same way?

Thanks in advance for your responses. Cheers.

just stop. please stop.

enjoy HYS.

illumination wrote:So this is my first post on TLS. After reading around, I'm near positive that this is going to get decried as a flame, etc. but whatevs.

I did very well on the LSAT this past December on my first try (so no other scores) and graduated earlier last year with a BA majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a GPA of 3.93. My softs are decent, but will be much better when I end up applying in two years (as of right now, I am waiting to be shipped off in the Peace Corps. I will be applying to and attending law school after in 2012 or 2013).

Now, I know my numbers are great and should, in themselves, be a strong case for admission almost anywhere. But my question is this: For both personal and financial reasons, I went to a large, public university for undergrad--not a bad school, but certainly not an Ivy. Let me put it this way: we're near the bottom of Top 50 in USN rankings. How much will HYS care when looking at my app? Will they asterisk my GPA 'cause I didn't go to a difficult school and therefore my high GPA wasn't "earned" in the same way?

Thanks in advance for your responses. Cheers.

I don't think it will really hurt you... good luck!

You should be into ANY school with those numbers, regardless of where you did your UG.

It really doesn't matter at all. Enjoy Harvard And wherever you're shipping off to.

Let me get this straight....

you are asking your chance of admission to HYS with essentially a perfect LSAT and GPA? If someone on TLS said that your UG institution mattered would you not apply to these schools?

How do you major in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics? Did you graduate in 4, 8, or 12 years?

no, one of the top fifty universities in the country does not equal iffy undergrad reputation and therefore an unearned GPA.

edit: i just checked USN. you know schools like UofGeorgia, Fordham, Syracuse, UofMinnesota, Rutgers, etc. are below you, right? these are all places that --just like your undergrad-- send each and every one of their 175+s and 3.9+s to HYS. i should mention that i have no proof of this, but it would be super-sad if it wasn't true.

H seems to autoadmit 75+/75+.

Y and S are more subjective and aren't a shoe-in, but you are obviously competitive.

So enjoy H at a minimum. Apply to T14 for chances at schollys + safety schools.

@GATORTIM

No, I would still apply to the ones I would like to attend. I'm just wondering how much my UG would knock down my app.

@Veovis

In 4 years. With a lot of finagling, overloading, and careful course/schedule planning. And relatively easy requirements.

Thanks for all the responses, guys. I appreciate'em.

You'll be stuck going to Georgetown.

I'm guessing from your major you went to a Claremont college. Those are great schools. I don't know why you are worried AT ALL or asking this question.

EDIT: whoops, obv. didn't read the public part. Sorry.

rx3r wrote:I'm guessing from your major you went to a Claremont college. Those are great schools. I don't know why you are worried AT ALL or asking this question.

claremont's not a large public university. but UofFlorida is!

sven wrote:

rx3r wrote:I'm guessing from your major you went to a Claremont college. Those are great schools. I don't know why you are worried AT ALL or asking this question.

claremont's not a large public university. but UofFlorida is!

so is Penn State

sven wrote:

rx3r wrote:I'm guessing from your major you went to a Claremont college. Those are great schools. I don't know why you are worried AT ALL or asking this question.

claremont's not a large public university. but UofFlorida is!

You'll note my edit.

GATORTIM wrote:

sven wrote:

rx3r wrote:I'm guessing from your major you went to a Claremont college. Those are great schools. I don't know why you are worried AT ALL or asking this question.

claremont's not a large public university. but UofFlorida is!

so is Penn State

hahaha. i know. it would have been cool if i was right though. hell, i may be right. who knows/cares?

Desert Fox wrote:You'll be stuck going to Georgetown.

titcr

Sigh...the poster you are looking for is managamy...just PM him

Oli wrote:Sigh...the poster you are looking for is managamy...just PM him

illumination wrote:So this is my first post on TLS. After reading around, I'm near positive that this is going to get decried as a flame, etc. but whatevs.

I did very well on the LSAT this past December on my first try (so no other scores) and graduated earlier last year with a BA majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a GPA of 3.93. My softs are decent, but will be much better when I end up applying in two years (as of right now, I am waiting to be shipped off in the Peace Corps. I will be applying to and attending law school after in 2012 or 2013).

Now, I know my numbers are great and should, in themselves, be a strong case for admission almost anywhere. But my question is this: For both personal and financial reasons, I went to a large, public university for undergrad--not a bad school, but certainly not an Ivy. Let me put it this way: we're near the bottom of Top 50 in USN rankings. How much will HYS care when looking at my app? Will they asterisk my GPA 'cause I didn't go to a difficult school and therefore my high GPA wasn't "earned" in the same way?

Thanks in advance for your responses. Cheers.

They'll probably take your application and wipe their ass with it and then vomit all over it...


...and then promptly admit you!

Good luck buddy! Enjoy wherever you end up!

Yale has students from the following undergrads, none of which are T50 schools.
Arkansas State University
Birmingham Southern College
Florida A&M University
Furman University
Gettysburg College
Lehman College, CUNY
Loyola Marymount University
Millsaps College
Montclair State University
Morgan State University
Taylor University
The City College, CUNY
University of Alberta
University of Cape Town
University of Georgia - Athens
University of Kansas
University of Mary Washington
University of Munster
University of Oregon
University of Portland
University of Redlands
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Whitman College

Your UG institution won't have any bearing on your success this cycle. Congrats on the LSAT and GPA.

illumination wrote:So this is my first post on TLS. After reading around, I'm near positive that this is going to get decried as a flame, etc. but whatevs.

I did very well on the LSAT this past December on my first try (so no other scores) and graduated earlier last year with a BA majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a GPA of 3.93. My softs are decent, but will be much better when I end up applying in two years (as of right now, I am waiting to be shipped off in the Peace Corps. I will be applying to and attending law school after in 2012 or 2013).

Now, I know my numbers are great and should, in themselves, be a strong case for admission almost anywhere. But my question is this: For both personal and financial reasons, I went to a large, public university for undergrad--not a bad school, but certainly not an Ivy. Let me put it this way: we're near the bottom of Top 50 in USN rankings. How much will HYS care when looking at my app? Will they asterisk my GPA 'cause I didn't go to a difficult school and therefore my high GPA wasn't "earned" in the same way?

Thanks in advance for your responses. Cheers.

You should write a mediocre-UG-addendum. Take responsibility for the choices you've made; acknowledge that you chose to go to a school which was not ranked in the top 10. Say that it was an immature decision born out of the rashness of your newly acquired freedom, and that as a brash young high schooler choosing his UG you didn't fully appreciate the value of education and were still developing the drive to succeed.

In your addendum, you should also approach it from a different angle: play up your school as much as possible. US News rankings aren't the only ones, you know. You should look into alternative rankings and see if your school places higher in any of them. If so, include that information. You could also argue that rankings have little meaning, although it might be detrimental to use both of these strategies at the same time.

Were you accepted into any better UGs than the one you ended up going to? Make sure you list them. A UF grad who could've attended Harvard is a lot more desirable than one who couldn't have. Also list your high school GPA and SAT/ACT scores, if they're good, and send along a high school transcript. This is to prove that you had what it took to attend a better UG than you did.

Best of luck! I wouldn't rule HYS out yet!

By the way, if anyone ever digs up this post, you should know that I was joking.