Top Law Schools

GPA 3.97 @ top non-ivy university
GPA 3.94 @ prestigious public policy master's program
One-year overseas research fellowship
4 years of work experience in think tank
LSAT: 169 (did not prepare as diligently as advocated on this forum, and so could prob score higher with more study; any advice on re-takes would be appreciated as well)
Mixed Russian/Asian heritage, so no URM status.

Applying during 2010/11 cycle to:
- Boalt
- Stanford
- USC
- UCLA
- Chicago
- Columbia
- NYU
- Harvard
- Duke
- UVA
- Georgetown


Ideally, I’d like to go to school on the West Coast so Sanford & Boalt are top choices.

Thanks in advance.

Unless you want Harvard or maybe Columbia, I really like your chances at the other schools with your current credentials. 172 would probably leave you all set across the board.

- Boalt - in
- Stanford - w/l
- USC - in
- UCLA - in
- Chicago - w/l
- Columbia - w/l
- NYU - w/l
- Harvard - out
- Duke - in
- UVA - in
- Georgetown - in

retake and get a 170 and I feel more confident about being in at Duke and UVA. Get a 172 or higher and you are possible everywhere with that GPA.

Sauer Grapes wrote:- Boalt - in
- Stanford - w/l
- USC - in
- UCLA - in
- Chicago - w/l
- Columbia - w/l
- NYU - w/l
- Harvard - out
- Duke - in
- UVA - in
- Georgetown - in

retake and get a 170 and I feel more confident about being in at Duke and UVA. Get a 172 or higher and you are possible everywhere with that GPA.

I think OP's chance of waitlist at U of C or NYU is near zero right now, to be honest.

GeePee wrote:

Sauer Grapes wrote:- Boalt - in
- Stanford - w/l
- USC - in
- UCLA - in
- Chicago - w/l
- Columbia - w/l
- NYU - w/l
- Harvard - out
- Duke - in
- UVA - in
- Georgetown - in

retake and get a 170 and I feel more confident about being in at Duke and UVA. Get a 172 or higher and you are possible everywhere with that GPA.

I think OP's chance of waitlist at U of C or NYU is near zero right now, to be honest.

Meaning you think he is definitely in?

you're set at boalt and i'd put you at like 60 (in)- 40 (deny) at stanford. so honestly, unless you have time to study again, just apply and hope for the best. i have two friends that got into stanford with GPAs in the 3.9s and 169s on their LSATs. and their softs weren't any better than yours. oh, and one of those also applied to nyu got into that, too.

Provided that OP is actually from a top UG (which Chicago weights fairly heavily) and knows how to write (which all schools weight heavily, yes.

GeePee wrote:Provided that OP is actually from a top UG (which Chicago weights fairly heavily) and knows how to write (which all schools weight heavily, yes.

Very well. I'd take your advice over mine, so I'll buy it.

3.9+ and 168+ has been good for NYU provided you apply early; 3.9+, 169+ good for Chicago and (in a couple of cases) Columbia.

I'd say everything but Boalt, Stanford, Columbia and Harvard are better than 50%; and I'd be more surprised than not if you were shut out of all four of those with your current scores.

My numbers put us at almost identical percentages on lawschoolpredictor, and you can see how my cycle has gone on LSN. Get your apps in early.

I would strongly recommend a retake. Your numbers are great, but the difference between a 169/3.97 and a 170/3.97 is far larger than it should be in terms of admissions prospects. A 172 or 173 would make you as close to a lock at Harvard as is possible.

Otherwise, basically what others said.

If you really want Stanford, it may be worth a retake. I applied with similar numbers (slightly lower GPA +170 LSAT), retook this February, scored significantly higher, and they let me in promptly after seeing the new score.

I was also flat-out rejected by Boalt (prior to receiving the second score), so be wary of thinking that you're an auto-admit there.

Thanks everyone for the rapid responses. I suspected that a re-take might be needed for Stanford and form what i see here, I should prob sign up for the June or Oct test.

Agree with everyone on the suggestion to re-take for Stanford.

OdiEtAmo wrote:Thanks everyone for the rapid responses. I suspected that a re-take might be needed for Stanford and form what i see here, I should prob sign up for the June or Oct test.

Do it in June if there is nothing more pressing on your schedule. That way you can spend the summer writing essays, and like Kretzy said - get your apps out ASAP. You should be in good shape!