3.0, 168-175 Forum

[athenian]

I haven't taken the LSAT yet, but I'm registered to take it in October. I just graduted UG in May and am spending the summer clerking at a local law office and studying for the LSAT. Before I jumped into studying for the test, I took a practice test to determine where exactly I stood and the kind of work I'd have to do (I know, practice tests are no indicator of the real thing). Anyway, on my practice test, I scored a 168. In subsequent tests, I've been in the low 170s and had a high of 175 two weeks ago.

Problem is, my GPA isn't great. I spent my freshman year thinking I wanted to be a doctor and have spent the last three years digging myself out of the whole that chemistry and calculus got me into. I've had a 3.2 GPA over my last three years of college... and pulled off a 3.2 in my major coursework (I'm a double-major actually).

I was arrested on two occassions as a freshman (fake ID, underage drinking). I jumped through all the hoops and completed probation with flying colors. I even wound up taking an executive board position at the non-profit I performed my community service hours for.

I've clerked at another law firm in town before clerking here, and both will likely provide great recommendation letters.

Because I lost my scholarship after freshman year, I had to quit being a varsity student-athlete and pick up a job. I've worked a full-time job for the last three years of college.

As far as other extracurriculars, I've had leadership spots in a few organiztions and helped found a group that raised a couple thousand bucks to help alleviate poverty.

With my rap sheet and low GPA I've pretty much given up on HYPS. But are there schools in the T-25 that I do stand a chance at? Emory would be a dream come true and U Georgia feels like a reach despite the fact I did undergrad here.

[newrich]

Wow, the idea of getting arrested for having a fake id and drinking is absurd! I mean at 18, you can die for your country...But maybe a top 25..if you do 170 plus on the LSAT..the gpa really kills you

[xyzzzzzzzz]

.

[bk1]

I've given up on Princeton Law too.

[romothesavior]

I've given up on Princeton Law too.

And seriously, a 168-175 is a MASSIVE LSAT range. Come back when you have a score. Ta-ta for now.

[NoleinNY]

I've given up on Princeton Law too.

Meh, they're a TTT at best

Besides, it's obvious he meant People's College of Law...

[/snarky remarks - Man, I'm bored]

[missvik218]

If you can score at the bottom of your range (169) take a look at my lsn to give you an idea of what you can expect with a 3.0 UG GPA ... although I've never been arrested and had a high grad GPA which may have helped.

I think anything from UVA (excluding a few GPA whores) on down are possible depending; on your score, whether you're willing to ED, and how you frame your fudged up freshman year and subsequent growth.

No one can tell you anything until you take the test and have a real score though ...

No matter what apply early - UGA definitely a few others took a lot of people in December with worse numbers than people they had to WL later in the cycle because they'd already filled their class. As a splitter you NEED to have your app in order by the beginning of December at the absolute latest.

[09042014]

Get a 170 and apply ED to UVA.

[im_blue]

I've given up on Princeton Law too.

And seriously, a 168-175 is a MASSIVE LSAT range. Come back when you have a score. Ta-ta for now.

Yeah, a 3.0/168-175 could get anything from T10 to T30.

[MusicNutMeggie]

if you can hit 170, think about applying early decision to a reach. Also try looking on http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/

Nice avatar.

[03121202698008]

Wow, the idea of getting arrested for having a fake id and drinking is absurd! I mean at 18, you can die for your country...But maybe a top 25..if you do 170 plus on the LSAT..the gpa really kills you

Absurd? You do realize that many fake id's are used to support identity theft rings right? Even 18 year-olds actually in the military (actually can enlist at 16 with parents) aren't allowed to drink until 21 and will get booted from military if they do. Why would a random college student not obeying a law that everyone clearly knows about be absurd?

OP, come back when you have an actual score. 168-175 is the difference of 30-40 ranking positions with your GPA.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

if you can hit 170, think about applying early decision to a reach. Also try looking on http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/

Nice avatar.

I knew this day would come. Rachel fans ftw.

[athenian]

Thanks to those of you that have offered some insight. I know that 168 to 175 is a huge range as far as LSAT is concerned. I just wanted to offer a broader picture of what I've been scoring on practice tests. I won't have an official score until October, but I wanted to get an idea of schools I should be considering now.

I'm already scoring 170s pretty consistently on practice tests (I know its nothing like the real thing) but, I'll have another 4 months of routine studying under my belt come October, so I feel pretty confident in my ability to pull out a score to the higher end of that 168-175 range.

As far as the fake ID arrest and underage drinking arrest, they're the result of me being stupid. I thought it was a dumb law at the time, but looking back now, I'm pretty sure I was no where near mature enough to be making responsible drinking decisions.

[athenian]

As far as early decision is concerned, do most schools do binding early decision?

[bk1]

As far as early decision is concerned, do most schools do binding early decision?

All "early decisions" are binding. There are some "early action" programs where they just say "if you submit by this date we will give you a response sooner" which are not binding (Cornell has this and it is called EA, UT has it and it is called ED).

[athenian]

As far as early decision is concerned, do most schools do binding early decision?

All "early decisions" are binding. There are some "early action" programs where they just say "if you submit by this date we will give you a response sooner" which are not binding (Cornell has this and it is called EA, UT has it and it is called ED).

Thanks, I had a feeling it would be a lot like UG