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I'll be applying with a 3.58 GPA and a 167 from the June LSAT.

Aside from the numbers:
I'm a psychology and english major, and I would be going straight from undergrad to law school. I interned at 3 different private firms during the summers (one with significant trial experience) and also at the State Attorney's office for my county (also with significant trial experience). I should have good LORs from school and work along with a good PS, but I wasn't very involved with clubs at my school (joined a pre-law organization junior year) other than playing a ton of intramurals every semester. I'm a non-URM but I'm 3/4 Hispanic (1/2 cuban) and the cuban heritage has played a significant role in my life which I'll talk about in a diversity statement. Other than that I'm going to get my apps out as soon as admissions opens up in fall to increase my chances a little bit. If I had to guess, my softs would be in the decent range but I figured I'd lay out all the facts to help give you guys a better picture of my app.

Here are my target schools:
UVA, Duke, Cornell, Georgetown, Texas, USC, George Washington, Boston, Emory, Notre Dame, and Boston College.

I realize the first handful are going to be stretches but I was wondering whether or not I should even bother applying to the tail-end of T14. And if so, where should I ED for greatest effect? Any feedback on my chances would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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I think you have a good shot at any of the t11-20 ranked schools, provided that you apply early.

Just ED to Cornell, write something pithy about seclusion being perfect for immersion in the law, and pray like hell.

let/them/eat/cake wrote:Just ED to Cornell, write something pithy about seclusion being perfect for immersion in the law, and pray like hell.

Cornell doesn't offer ED, but I agree that it's the only nonzero chance at a T14, though still slim.

JD4Me wrote:From what I have dug up, I would say ED for very outside shot at UVA for which you will hear back in 15 days. If that goes bad, ED to your next choice on the list (whether it be Duke, Georgetown or further) and write a solid app for the rest. Your softs are nothing, you are not a URM and your extracurriculars are sub-par but you should get into one of those listed schools listed with those numbers. Good luck!

Don't even apply to UVA. OP has a better shot at Yale. Not even worth the 12 bucks for LSAC to send the score to them.

Desert Fox wrote:

JD4Me wrote:From what I have dug up, I would say ED for very outside shot at UVA for which you will hear back in 15 days. If that goes bad, ED to your next choice on the list (whether it be Duke, Georgetown or further) and write a solid app for the rest. Your softs are nothing, you are not a URM and your extracurriculars are sub-par but you should get into one of those listed schools listed with those numbers. Good luck!

Don't even apply to UVA. OP has a better shot at Yale. Not even worth the 12 bucks for LSAC to send the score to them.

don't like the tar change, FTR. not-so-subtle shot at matthies, btw?

let/them/eat/cake wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

JD4Me wrote:From what I have dug up, I would say ED for very outside shot at UVA for which you will hear back in 15 days. If that goes bad, ED to your next choice on the list (whether it be Duke, Georgetown or further) and write a solid app for the rest. Your softs are nothing, you are not a URM and your extracurriculars are sub-par but you should get into one of those listed schools listed with those numbers. Good luck!

Don't even apply to UVA. OP has a better shot at Yale. Not even worth the 12 bucks for LSAC to send the score to them.

don't like the tar change, FTR. not-so-subtle shot at matthies, btw?

I'll return to RomLOL in a couple of days. No, I like matthies, its a shot at my crappy spelling.

Desert Fox wrote:

let/them/eat/cake wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

JD4Me wrote:From what I have dug up, I would say ED for very outside shot at UVA for which you will hear back in 15 days. If that goes bad, ED to your next choice on the list (whether it be Duke, Georgetown or further) and write a solid app for the rest. Your softs are nothing, you are not a URM and your extracurriculars are sub-par but you should get into one of those listed schools listed with those numbers. Good luck!

Don't even apply to UVA. OP has a better shot at Yale. Not even worth the 12 bucks for LSAC to send the score to them.

don't like the tar change, FTR. not-so-subtle shot at matthies, btw?

I'll return to RomLOL in a couple of days. No, I like matthies, its a shot at my crappy spelling.

u can have a good rapport with someone and still make fun of innate deficiencies over which they have no control. Happens all the time--ginger friends, for instance.

Unfortunately, your chances at Duke aren't good either... Check out lawschoolnumbers.com re the 2010 cycle. While both LSATs and GPAs to Duke are strong.....Duke favors high GPAs.....

You certainly could try to ED....but it's very unlikely.....

Plus, Duke had a record-breaking increase in applications for the 2010 cycle...

Here I was, trying to completely derail this thread, and then you come along and do something like this....and completely redeem it!

Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight.
Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight. Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.

Can someone please explain to me why this is a "non-urm"?

CastleRock wrote:Can someone please explain to me why this is a "non-urm"?

The reason I don't qualify as a URM is because I'd have to be either Native American, African American, Mexican, or Puerto Rican for URM status. I'd suggest checking out the URM section of the forums. There's some really good in-depth explanations of why only these 4 qualify for URM status. Hope that helps!

And thanks for all the responses guys, especially to paralegal for getting the thread back on track! My thinking is along the same lines as a lot of the posts so far. It seems like Cornell is my best shot at t14 and even then it's a reach. More input would be greatly appreciated!

Barcelona10 wrote:

CastleRock wrote:Can someone please explain to me why this is a "non-urm"?

The reason I don't qualify as a URM is because I'd have to be either Native American, African American, Mexican, or Puerto Rican for URM status. I'd suggest checking out the URM section of the forums. There's some really good in-depth explanations of why only these 4 qualify for URM status. Hope that helps!

And thanks for all the responses guys, especially to paralegal for getting the thread back on track! My thinking is along the same lines as a lot of the posts so far. It seems like Cornell is my best shot at t14 and even then it's a reach. More input would be greatly appreciated!

So you're telling me Cubans aren't under represented in law school?

I think you have a small shot at Cornell if the rest of the app is solid. I think the rest of the T14 is a pipe dream, but if you can afford it apply. You never know otherwise. Likewise with Texas if you are a non-resident. Solid chances at USC, George Washington, Boston, Emory, Notre Dame, and Boston College. A few many even give you a little money. Good luck.

paralegal wrote:Unfortunately, your chances at Duke aren't good either... Check out lawschoolnumbers.com re the 2010 cycle. While both LSATs and GPAs to Duke are strong.....Duke favors high GPAs.....

You certainly could try to ED....but it's very unlikely.....

Plus, Duke had a record-breaking increase in applications for the 2010 cycle...

I think most if not all of the T14 have.

It is really unclear whether Cubans get some sort of diversity bump, while not an URM bump, it could affect your cycle. I'd apply widely, if you can afford it.

CG614 wrote:It is really unclear whether Cubans get some sort of diversity bump, while not an URM bump, it could affect your cycle. I'd apply widely, if you can afford it.

True...some schools give it, some don't. You can probably find some of the bump ones by looking at the LSAC school profiles, and comparing the number of Mexican-Americans/Puerto Rican students with the "other Hispanic". Cornell's adcomms seems to view "other Hispanic" with some favor, so I expect the OP would have a decent shot.

I think you're out of the T14 with those stats.
However, it would be worth to apply to the lower 7 of the T14 (MVPDCNG).
You have the best chance at Cornell, then Northwestern (if you have WE) but it's not too high.

I think the best schools you have a pretty good chance of getting into are USC/Wash U/GW.