Top Law Schools

lakerfanimal wrote:I've looked at all the calculators and LSN, just asking for some opinions
Only applying in the fall of 2010 (next cycle). I have 2 LSAT scores, 166 and a 172 on the re-take.

Softs: various leadership all through college, two internships (one at a legal department), community service working in the juvenile dependency system while being a mentor figure, a year of working experience entering law school (ideally doing LSAT prep instruction, and also doing some non-paid work at a local law firm), and phi beta kappa. 2 decent/good academic letters of Rec and 1 professional from one of the internships (and another academic letter of rec I'm saving for waitlists). I'm dedicating most of the next 3 months to creating a good personal statement, and I'll have my apps in by the earliest date to mid october fwiw. My top three are basically Stanford/Berkeley and NYU. Applying to all of these schools, what are my chances please:

Stanford--Out
Berkeley--WL, Out
NYU--In
Harvard--Out
Columbia--WL, could go either way.
Chicago--Maybe In, kinda on the bubble here
Michigan--In, $
Penn--In
UVA--Normally I would say In, but I got WL'd
Duke--In, $$
Northwestern--Probably In.
Cornell--In, $$
Georgetown--In, $$
UCLA--In, $$
USC--In, $$
Texas--In, $$
Vanderbilt--Probably In, I got WL'd
WUSTL--In, $$

Thanks a bunch!

lakerfanimal wrote:I've looked at all the calculators and LSN, just asking for some opinions
Only applying in the fall of 2010 (next cycle). I have 2 LSAT scores, 166 and a 172 on the re-take.

Softs: various leadership all through college, two internships (one at a legal department), community service working in the juvenile dependency system while being a mentor figure, a year of working experience entering law school (ideally doing LSAT prep instruction, and also doing some non-paid work at a local law firm), and phi beta kappa. 2 decent/good academic letters of Rec and 1 professional from one of the internships (and another academic letter of rec I'm saving for waitlists). I'm dedicating most of the next 3 months to creating a good personal statement, and I'll have my apps in by the earliest date to mid october fwiw. My top three are basically Stanford/Berkeley and NYU. Applying to all of these schools, what are my chances please:

NYU- IN
Harvard- OUT
Columbia- HOLD
Chicago- IN
Michigan- WL
Penn- IN
UVA
Duke- IN
Cornell- IN
Georgetown- IN


Thanks a bunch!

lakerfanimal wrote:I've looked at all the calculators and LSN, just asking for some opinions
Only applying in the fall of 2010 (next cycle). I have 2 LSAT scores, 166 and a 172 on the re-take.

Softs: various leadership all through college, two internships (one at a legal department), community service working in the juvenile dependency system while being a mentor figure, a year of working experience entering law school (ideally doing LSAT prep instruction, and also doing some non-paid work at a local law firm), and phi beta kappa. 2 decent/good academic letters of Rec and 1 professional from one of the internships (and another academic letter of rec I'm saving for waitlists). I'm dedicating most of the next 3 months to creating a good personal statement, and I'll have my apps in by the earliest date to mid october fwiw. My top three are basically Stanford/Berkeley and NYU. Applying to all of these schools, what are my chances please:

Stanford - OUT
Berkeley - WL/IN
NYU - IN
Harvard - OUT
Columbia - IN
Chicago - IN
Michigan - IN
Penn - IN
UVA - IN
Duke - IN
Northwestern - IN
Cornell - IN
Georgetown - IN


Thanks a bunch!

lakerfanimal wrote:Thanks toolshed, and hopefullaw I hope so dude!

Also, I'm graduating with honors in econ, and I have a poli sci double major with a 3.9 in both majors if that matters any. I'm also visiting USC, Stanford, and Berkeley within the next 2 months and will be tailoring my personal statement for Berkeley towards Berkeley (haven't visited yet, but from everything I've heard I feel I'd be extremely happy there so it's basically my top choice maybe slightly ahead of Stanford).

Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

toolshed wrote:

lakerfanimal wrote:Thanks toolshed, and hopefullaw I hope so dude!

Also, I'm graduating with honors in econ, and I have a poli sci double major with a 3.9 in both majors if that matters any. I'm also visiting USC, Stanford, and Berkeley within the next 2 months and will be tailoring my personal statement for Berkeley towards Berkeley (haven't visited yet, but from everything I've heard I feel I'd be extremely happy there so it's basically my top choice maybe slightly ahead of Stanford).

Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

Double major probably doesn't do much. 3.9 in your major helps, but the school still has to use the 3.78.

Do all the work you can for Berk if you really want it (visit, optional essays, apply the first day the app is available, etc). 3.78 is a good GPA, but Berkeley loves them higher. You are on the cusp for them this year, and who knows what will happen next year? Also, your two LSATs throw a little bit of a wrench in it as well.

I just don't see Harvard or Stanford happening. I could be wrong, but I think you would need a few more LSAT points, especially with multiple takes.

Either way, you should be in at most of the rest of the T14, so you shouldn't have to worry too much. Good luck.

im_blue wrote:In everywhere except Stanford, Harvard, and possibly Columbia.

im_blue wrote:In everywhere except Stanford, Harvard, and possibly Columbia.

lakerfanimal wrote:Hmm gotcha, thanks for the feedback. I'm hoping an upward grade trend helps at Boalt, but yeah the reality is they will use my 3.78