Top Law Schools

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 4:24 pm**

Hi. I have a 3.0 from the University of Washington undergrad, but both my in major gpas are 3.5/3.4. Furthermore, those stronger grades are both in my last two years (i switched majors). I have a 171 LSAT. What are my chances at these schools (which are the ones I have been considering):

Columbia (Early Admissions)
Cornell
Northwestern
UCLA
Georgetown
GWU
Boston University
Boston College
Fordham
University of illinois
American
UC Hastings
University of Washington

I am having a hard time knowing whether I have a shot at these schools or not, and so whether I should apply or not.
I also have 1 year of work experience after undergrad.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 4:31 pm**

For a very simple, straightforward assessment, try "lawschoolpredictor.com". Are you an electrical engineering, chemical eng. or aerospace eng. major ? Also the predictor will not account for your work experience.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 4:51 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:Hi. I have a 3.0 from the University of Washington undergrad, but both my in major gpas are 3.5/3.4. Furthermore, those stronger grades are both in my last two years (i switched majors). I have a 171 LSAT. What are my chances at these schools (which are the ones I have been considering):

Columbia (Early Admissions) don't waste your ED
Cornell OUT
Northwestern WL -> IN
UCLA WL -> OUT
Georgetown WL -> OUT
GWU WL -> IN
Boston University WL -> OUT
Boston College WL -> OUT
Fordham WL -> IN
University of illinois IN
American IN
UC Hastings IN
University of Washington OUT

I am having a hard time knowing whether I have a shot at these schools or not, and so whether I should apply or not.
I also have 1 year of work experience after undergrad.

It's a total crapshoot for us splitters. I would ED Michigan then UVA, they both guarantee a quick response. If neither bites then ED NU. If that doesn't work then ED GULC, their deadline isn't till March and they also have a quick turnaround. Rearrange the chronology according to personal preference.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:08 pm**

I think the only GPA the admissions office will look at is 3.0. That being said I think your best shot is at UCLA and up. You might have a chance at NU ED if you have work experience or GT ED.

Have you considered WUSTL you have a pretty good shot there?

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:20 pm**

Replacing Columbia with Vanderbilt seems like a good idea. CLS is just probably not going to happen.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:31 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:Hi. I have a 3.0 from the University of Washington undergrad, but both my in major gpas are 3.5/3.4. Furthermore, those stronger grades are both in my last two years (i switched majors). I have a 171 LSAT. What are my chances at these schools (which are the ones I have been considering):

[strike]Columbia (Early Admissions)[/strike] Don't even bother.
Cornell- low chances but apply
Northwestern - In if you ED.
UCLA - low
Georgetown - decent shot
GWU -decent shot
Boston University - low
Boston College - low
Fordham - very low
University of illinois - pretty good
American - pretty good
UC Hastings - pretty good
University of Washington -iffy, alumni might push you over, but who knows

I am having a hard time knowing whether I have a shot at these schools or not, and so whether I should apply or not.
I also have 1 year of work experience after undergrad.

If I were you, ED at UVA, or Northwestern.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:42 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:Hi. I have a 3.0 from the University of Washington undergrad, but both my in major gpas are 3.5/3.4. Furthermore, those stronger grades are both in my last two years (i switched majors). I have a 171 LSAT. What are my chances at these schools (which are the ones I have been considering):

Columbia (Early Admissions)
Cornell -
Northwestern
UCLA -
Georgetown -
GWU -
Boston University -
Boston College -
Fordham -
University of illinois -
American -
UC Hastings -
University of Washington -

I am having a hard time knowing whether I have a shot at these schools or not, and so whether I should apply or not.
I also have 1 year of work experience after undergrad.

Columbia (Early Admissions) - Out
Cornell - In
Northwestern - WL
UCLA - In/WL
Georgetown - WL
GWU -In
Boston University - In
Boston College - In
Fordham - In
University of illinois -In
American -In
UC Hastings - In
University of Washington -In

T20? Most of these schools are not in the T20. T20 is defined as the top 20 schools per the US News and World Reports Rankings. http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html

You have a very good LSAT that can give you a good shot at several T20s. Check out Wash U, USC, and Vandy in particular. Your GPA in major will not really matter much to the AdComs because they just care about what they can report. If your GPA were more around 3.6, you'd be able to go T10.

Also, check out lawschoolnumbers.com, lawschoolpredictor.com.

Continue reading these forums and posting questions because the TLS forums are a gold mine for info. Good luck!

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:48 pm**

Desert Fox wrote:If I were you, ED at UVA THEN Northwestern.

FTFY, in the event of a rejection at UVA.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:49 pm**

fwiw, looking at Vandy on LSN, he's not a safe admit there at all.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:56 pm**

delBarco wrote:fwiw, looking at Vandy on LSN, he's not a safe admit there at all.

You're right. The 3.0 GPA is really a killer for that 171 LSAT. Is the OP a URM?

Vandy may not be ideal anyway for the OP if he desires to stay on the West Coast.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 5:58 pm**

cendien wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:If I were you, ED at UVA THEN Northwestern.
FTFY, in the event of a rejection at UVA.

He has NU on his list, and didn't have UVA. Since he has Columbia on there, I'm guessing he isn't really into UVA.

NU and UVA place the same in the job market. No reason he should ED to UVA.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 6:07 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:Hi. I have a 3.0 from the University of Washington undergrad, but both my in major gpas are 3.5/3.4. Furthermore, those stronger grades are both in my last two years (i switched majors). I have a 171 LSAT. What are my chances at these schools (which are the ones I have been considering):

Columbia (Early Admissions)
Cornell
Northwestern
UCLA
Georgetown
GWU
Boston University
Boston College
Fordham
University of illinois
American
UC Hastings
University of Washington

I am having a hard time knowing whether I have a shot at these schools or not, and so whether I should apply or not.
I also have 1 year of work experience after undergrad.

I applied in January/February to Washington, GWU, and UIUC with a 3.3/171 and only got accepted at UIUC. WL'd at GWU and Washington. You need to apply early in the cycle if you want to do better. You might have a shot ED'ing at Northwestern or GULC. I would have considered that I thought my wife stood a reasonable shot at getting into those schools as well. Cornell and esp. Columbia are probably out. Everything else on your list is possible given you apply early, don't flub the app, and have a little luck.

Posted: **Sat May 22, 2010 9:57 pm**

cendien wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:If I were you, ED at UVA THEN Northwestern.
FTFY, in the event of a rejection at UVA.

NU does not allow you to ED at anywhere other than NU in any given cycle.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 12:29 pm**

what about Michigan? Is that out of reach? Also I thought if you ED somewhere you can't ED anywhere else (or can you if they reject/defer you early in the cycle?)

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 1:34 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:what about Michigan? Is that out of reach? Also I thought if you ED somewhere you can't ED anywhere else (or can you if they reject/defer you early in the cycle?)

You can't ED to two places simultaneously, but if a school WLs or rejects your ED app then that voids the ED contract, meaning you can then try to ED somewhere else.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 2:22 pm**

Another question I have is whether or not just to go to the best ranked school like taking Northwestern over GWU if I got into both, but i'd rather live and practice in DC. Should I just take the NU since they are higher or what?

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 3:56 pm**

Columbia (Early Admissions): Reject
Cornell: Waitlist
Northwestern: Reject
UCLA: Waitlist
Georgetown: Waitlist
GWU: Waitlist
Boston University: In
Boston College: Waitlist
Fordham: In
University of illinois: In
American: In
UC Hastings: In
University of Washington: Waitlist

My predictions- not to be taken incredibly seriously.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 7:05 pm**

Would you recommend removing my application to Columbia and replacing it with ED UVA or Michigan?

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 7:35 pm**

lawbuddha22 wrote:Would you recommend removing my application to Columbia and replacing it with ED UVA or Michigan?

If I were you I'd ED Michigan first (unless you prefer UVA, NU, or GULC). They have a quick turnaround time but AFAIK their deadline is earlier than UVA or GULC. You're not getting into Columbia.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 7:40 pm**

beef wellington wrote:
lawbuddha22 wrote:Would you recommend removing my application to Columbia and replacing it with ED UVA or Michigan?
If I were you I'd ED Michigan first (unless you prefer UVA, NU, or GULC). They have a quick turnaround time but AFAIK their deadline is earlier than UVA or GULC. You're not getting into Columbia.

Michigan doesn't deliver the results until Dec 15, after other schools ED deadline. UVA is the one with a 15 day turn around.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 7:54 pm**

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the language of the NW ED contract forbidding anyone from EDing elsewhere if rejected from NW, or from applying ED to NW if they had already been rejected ED elsewhere. I just saw this in a thread a few days ago. Maybe DF can shed some light?

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 7:56 pm**

OP: Where do you want to practice? Most of those schools are not T20s, and thus they don't have much national reach. Think about where you want to practice, because a school like University of Washington is a much better choice for Washington than University of Illinois, despite the lower ranking. Geographic considerations are very important.

And American is a bad idea no matter where you want to practice, so take it off your list.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 8:16 pm**

Desert Fox wrote:
beef wellington wrote:
lawbuddha22 wrote:Would you recommend removing my application to Columbia and replacing it with ED UVA or Michigan?
If I were you I'd ED Michigan first (unless you prefer UVA, NU, or GULC). They have a quick turnaround time but AFAIK their deadline is earlier than UVA or GULC. You're not getting into Columbia.
Michigan doesn't deliver the results until Dec 15, after other schools ED deadline. UVA is the one with a 15 day turn around.

Yeah you're right. For some reason I thought they were both doing the fast turnaround.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 8:43 pm**

romothesavior wrote:I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the language of the NW ED contract forbidding anyone from EDing elsewhere if rejected from NW, or from applying ED to NW if they had already been rejected ED elsewhere. I just saw this in a thread a few days ago. Maybe DF can shed some light?

This is the wording of the NU ED contract. I contacted the adcomms to clarify and they verified this.

Posted: **Sun May 23, 2010 9:05 pm**

not totally sure about practice area but was hoping to be in a major city, probably LA, SF, NY, DC, Boston, Seattle and Chicago would be ok but not top priority I'm from Seattle, looking to branch out a little.

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