3.7x 170, wondering how high to aim and if age is a factor Forum

[leopardRAWR]

I was not expecting to score as high on the LSAT as I did and now am wondering where to apply. Any advice for my situation would be much appreciated.

A little background: GPA between 3.75 and 3.8 at a private university (respectable but by no means HYP), 170 LSAT, non URM, with average softs. Also, I have a late birthday and am graduating a year early, so I will be a little younger than the average applicant. I am not expecting a full ride, but I want to avoid paying sticker if possible.

Tentative school list:
Safety schools- Houston, SMU
Targets- USC, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Texas (resident)
Reaches-Georgetown, Duke
Almost no shot, but I want to apply anyway- NYU, Stanford

Does this seem like an appropriate list? From what I've seen on law school numbers and using the new law school predictor, it appears I have a good shot at admission, possibly with scholarship offers, at my safeties and targets. Are there any schools I should add? Will my age be a factor?

Please let me know if I have neglected to include any relevant information. Again, I appreciate the advice, and good luck to everyone with your own applications.

[rayiner]

Your targets should be MVPDN. You're at the LSAT median for VPN and above for MD, and around the GPA median for MND and just a touch below for VP. You have an honest shot at ll 5, so apply to all of them.

[jks289]

You are aiming way low. Blanket t14. Georgetown is a virtual certainty. UVA ED would be a certainty. Very good shot 7 and below, throw in Texas since you appear to live there and they'll give you money. Decent shot apart from HYS. Apply to HYS anyway. You only live once.

[leopardRAWR]

Wow, this is much better news than I was expecting! Thanks jks289 and rayiner.

It seems Northwestern values significant work experience, is it worth applying with just the typical part time college jobs on my resume? Besides Northwestern, is any other t14 likely to care about my age? Thanks again.

[jks289]

Wow, this is much better news than I was expecting! Thanks jks289 and rayiner.

It seems Northwestern values significant work experience, is it worth applying with just the typical part time college jobs on my resume? Besides Northwestern, is any other t14 likely to care about my age? Thanks again.

NW may hold no WE against you, but I think your GPA is attractive enough they'll still bite (to balance out the super splitters). I think this year they offered full rides to people right out of school that were willing to defer a year. That's a hell of a deal. I don't think anyone else will care. Most people go out of college or following a year of non-substantial work experience. You'll be fine. It's a numbers game. good luck!

[rayiner]

Wow, this is much better news than I was expecting! Thanks jks289 and rayiner.

It seems Northwestern values significant work experience, is it worth applying with just the typical part time college jobs on my resume? Besides Northwestern, is any other t14 likely to care about my age? Thanks again.

Oh, I didn't see that you were *young*. I thought by "age" you meant you were old.

Northwestern is probably a no-go with no WE. Still worth the application I guess, but your numbers are basically their median so they probably won't overlook the lack of WE. I only know two fresh-from-UGs and one had good numbers + URM and the other had a CLS admittance.

You should still be solid for Duke, Michigan, Virginia (ideally ED if you're out-of-state), and Penn.

[deneuve39]

I was not expecting to score as high on the LSAT as I did and now am wondering where to apply. Any advice for my situation would be much appreciated.

A little background: GPA between 3.75 and 3.8 at a private university (respectable but by no means HYP), 170 LSAT, non URM, with average softs. Also, I have a late birthday and am graduating a year early, so I will be a little younger than the average applicant. I am not expecting a full ride, but I want to avoid paying sticker if possible.

Tentative school list:
Safety schools- Houston, SMU
Targets- USC, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Texas (resident)
Reaches-Georgetown, Duke
Almost no shot, but I want to apply anyway- NYU, Stanford

Does this seem like an appropriate list? From what I've seen on law school numbers and using the new law school predictor, it appears I have a good shot at admission, possibly with scholarship offers, at my safeties and targets. Are there any schools I should add? Will my age be a factor?

Please let me know if I have neglected to include any relevant information. Again, I appreciate the advice, and good luck to everyone with your own applications.

Your age won't be a factor at all. They'll just view you like any other applicant coming straight from undergrad and won't even notice that you're 20 instead of 21 or 22 (or whatever age you are). I guess if you were ridiculously young like 17 or something (think Ronan Farrow going to YLS) they could even view it positively.

Edit: Also, I agree with Rayiner's advice: you'll definitely get into many T14 schools and will likely get $$ at at least Duke, Georgetown, Cornell, and maybe even MVP.