Top Law Schools

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the forum.

I'm going to be graduating from the University of Chicago (ranked #8 by USNWR) with a 3.4GPA.

I haven't taken the LSAT yet but plan on spending the summer studying and then taking the exam in the fall.

I would love to be accepted to UIllinois.

However, I am terrified that my GPA will keep me out, regardless of whatever LSAT score I may get. That said, it isn't by any means considered a "bad" GPA at my school.

Will the fact that I went to the University of Chicago help my case? What kind of LSAT score would I be needing?

In addition, I can get very strong recs from top profs at my school.

Thanks, everyone!

eleutheria wrote:Hi, everyone. I'm new to the forum.

I'm going to be graduating from the University of Chicago (ranked #8 by USNWR) with a 3.4GPA.

I haven't taken the LSAT yet but plan on spending the summer studying and then taking the exam in the fall.

I would love to be accepted to UIllinois.

However, I am terrified that my GPA will keep me out, regardless of whatever LSAT score I may get. That said, it isn't by any means considered a "bad" GPA at my school.

Will the fact that I went to the University of Chicago help my case? What kind of LSAT score would I be needing?

In addition, I can get very strong recs from top profs at my school.

Thanks, everyone!

167-168 should get you there.

http://illinois.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats

A 3.4 is a respectable GPA. By no means will you be locked out of of UIUC with that GPA. In fact, the only schools you will probably be locked out of with that GPA is Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. With a high enough LSAT, schools from Columbia on down could be possibilities. Focus your energy on the LSAT, and after you get your score you will have a better idea of what schools you should be shooting for. For a better idea of what LSAT scores are necessary for certain schools based on your GPA, take a look at http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com and http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com. Good luck!

eleutheria wrote:Hi, everyone. I'm new to the forum.

I'm going to be graduating from the University of Chicago (ranked #8 by USNWR) with a 3.4GPA.

I haven't taken the LSAT yet but plan on spending the summer studying and then taking the exam in the fall.

I would love to be accepted to UIllinois.

However, I am terrified that my GPA will keep me out, regardless of whatever LSAT score I may get. That said, it isn't by any means considered a "bad" GPA at my school.

Will the fact that I went to the University of Chicago help my case? What kind of LSAT score would I be needing?

In addition, I can get very strong recs from top profs at my school.

Thanks, everyone!

the school you went to for undergrad isn't really going to matter. it just depends on your lsdas gpa and lsat score. for UIUC it would be hard to get in there with anything less than a 166. with your gpa and a 166, it would be considered a target school (a little more than 50/50 shot). with a 167/168 or more, you could consider it to be a strong target ~75% chance of being admitted.

Excellent. Thanks, everyone. Looks like I am really going to need to focus on getting a good LSAT score.

I got accepted to Illinois with a 3.26 UGPA and a 171 LSAT, with a generous scholarship. I think if your LSAT is good, then 3.4 is definitely competitive.

cardinalandgold wrote:A 3.4 is a respectable GPA. By no means will you be locked out of of UIUC with that GPA. In fact, the only schools you will probably be locked out of with that GPA is Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. With a high enough LSAT, schools from Columbia on down could be possibilities. Focus your energy on the LSAT, and after you get your score you will have a better idea of what schools you should be shooting for. For a better idea of what LSAT scores are necessary for certain schools based on your GPA, take a look at http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com and http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com. Good luck!

There are a couple of other schools in the T14 that aren't very friendly to sub-3.5 GPAs. Boalt comes to mind.

TCS wrote:

cardinalandgold wrote:A 3.4 is a respectable GPA. By no means will you be locked out of of UIUC with that GPA. In fact, the only schools you will probably be locked out of with that GPA is Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. With a high enough LSAT, schools from Columbia on down could be possibilities. Focus your energy on the LSAT, and after you get your score you will have a better idea of what schools you should be shooting for. For a better idea of what LSAT scores are necessary for certain schools based on your GPA, take a look at http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com and http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com. Good luck!

There are a couple of other schools in the T14 that aren't very friendly to sub-3.5 GPAs. Boalt comes to mind.

It's true that Boalt likes high GPA's, but with a high enough LSAT score I don't think the OP's GPA would preclude them from Boalt like it would at HYS. Boalt is more of a black box when it comes to admission, and given a great LSAT score it would definitely be worth the app fee to see if Boalt will bite.

I have like a 2.6x and I'm aiming for UIUC as one of my potential schools. They'll take almost anyone with a 170+ and with a 3.4 you're probably good to go with a 167. They are one of the most splitter friendly schools in the nation.

You should get into Illinois with a 166-167 LSAT.

FuManChusco wrote:I have like a 2.6x and I'm aiming for UIUC as one of my potential schools. They'll take almost anyone with a 170+ and with a 3.4 you're probably good to go with a 167. They are one of the most splitter friendly schools in the nation.

QFT. I had a 3.1 but with a 169 I got a really nice scholarship and even a sweet 4GB stainless steel thumb drive.

A UofC (and any prestigious) undergrad degree is definitely seen as a soft plus factor in the admissions process, and I think adcomms know about the harsh grading scale in hyde park. Just kill the LSAT and you'll be fine, even if you want to stay at UofC or go to Northwestern.

tallboone wrote:A UofC (and any prestigious) undergrad degree is definitely seen as a soft plus factor in the admissions process, and I think adcomms know about the harsh grading scale in hyde park. Just kill the LSAT and you'll be fine, even if you want to stay at UofC or go to Northwestern.

Chicago's grade deflation is a pervasive myth - their average GPA was a 3.35 in 2006, which is comparable to or slightly lower than other elite privates, and higher than almost all publics. They probably got that reputation from the 2.5 avg GPA back in the 1960s...
http://www.gradeinflation.com/chicago.html

Okay, so basically I just have to kill the LSAT. Hopefully that will help.

I know a lot of people at my school with drastically lower GPAs than mine, and the ones with higher GPAs tend to have "fluffier" majors. Maybe it just depends on one's major. Most people don't talk about it, though.

im_blue wrote:

tallboone wrote:A UofC (and any prestigious) undergrad degree is definitely seen as a soft plus factor in the admissions process, and I think adcomms know about the harsh grading scale in hyde park. Just kill the LSAT and you'll be fine, even if you want to stay at UofC or go to Northwestern.

Chicago's grade deflation is a pervasive myth - their average GPA was a 3.35 in 2006, which is comparable to or slightly lower than other elite privates, and higher than almost all publics. They probably got that reputation from the 2.5 avg GPA back in the 1960s...
http://www.gradeinflation.com/chicago.html

my school's gpa average is a 3.0. that my friends is what you call a harsh grading scale.