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What are my chances at NYU and Columbia with a 3.45 UG GPA and a 175 on the LSAT (along with a 172 the first time around)?


Two more questions:

Would applying early (September) improve my chances any?

Also, would taking the LSAT again and (hopefully) getting a score of 177 or so help much - or would my having taken the test 3 times and the score averaging process take away most of the benefit?


Thanks!

You're prob not going to get any money at either, so if you would attend either at sticker, then I would certainly ED to one of those. I would choose to ED to Columbia, but pick which one you would rather and use your ED for that..

Edit: Yeah, applying early always slightly helps. And I prob wouldn't retake lsat unless I *knew* I could score higher, because then you wouldn't be able to apply early

I dont think the a score of 175 or 177 will make that much a difference IMO. ED to Columbia and you may have a shot.

An LSAT retake seems dangerous -- once you're scoring at that level, you basically have to hope that you get a friendly exam and are feeling good come test day. Wouldn't want to waste time getting another 175, or lower.

Like Cilent said, a September ED would probably be beneficial.

Thanks for the solid responses. I think you all are right that the wisest thing for me to do at this point is just apply early and hope for the best. I feel like I could do better on an LSAT retake (I'm averaging 178-179 on PTs), but I don't want to risk giving up my early application only to run into a bad test in October.

With that said, I have a couple more questions about my chances if anyone can answer:

Do both CLS and NYU average LSAT scores?

Do I need to ED to one of those schools to have a shot or would simply applying early be okay?

Thanks again!

spaceman82 wrote:Do both CLS and NYU average LSAT scores?

Do I need to ED to one of those schools to have a shot or would simply applying early be okay?

Nyu averages for sure, while Columbia will take a holistic view, but ultimately will prob just look at the high score.

You have a shot with RD, but it would prob be wise to ED to one of them considering you won't get any money either way

Cilent21 wrote:

spaceman82 wrote:Do both CLS and NYU average LSAT scores?

Do I need to ED to one of those schools to have a shot or would simply applying early be okay?

Nyu averages for sure, while Columbia will take a holistic view, but ultimately will prob just look at the high score.

You have a shot with RD, but it would prob be wise to ED to one of them considering you won't get any money either way

Really? I've heard it said that while NYU says they average, based on LSN it seems a lot more likely that they actually take into account just the higher score.

Based on LSN's 3.4x/175+:
CLS was 6 for 18 = 33%
NYU was 10 for 16 = 63%

NYU is more splitter-friendly in general.

im_blue wrote:Based on LSN's 3.4x/175+:
CLS was 6 for 18 = 33% 2 of these were ED and 2 of these had 3.5 gpa
NYU was 10 for 16 = 63% 2 of these were also ED and 3 had 3.5

NYU is more splitter-friendly in general.

This is very misleading. See the bolded. Also, only one person out of both schools had a 3.4x with a 175 (and they went to HYP undergrad). Everyone else either had a 3.5 or 176+

kazu wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

spaceman82 wrote:Do both CLS and NYU average LSAT scores?

Do I need to ED to one of those schools to have a shot or would simply applying early be okay?

Nyu averages for sure, while Columbia will take a holistic view, but ultimately will prob just look at the high score.

You have a shot with RD, but it would prob be wise to ED to one of them considering you won't get any money either way

Really? I've heard it said that while NYU says they average, based on LSN it seems a lot more likely that they actually take into account just the higher score.

Yeah, by "for sure" I meant that they def will look at your scores and average them, but whether they base their decision off the average or the highest is unknown and debatable. At the end of the day, they are competing with Columbia, so you might be right that they just go with the highest score for most applicants.

Cilent21 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Based on LSN's 3.4x/175+:
CLS was 6 for 18 = 33% 2 of these were ED and 2 of these had 3.5 gpa
NYU was 10 for 16 = 63% 2 of these were also ED and 3 had 3.5

NYU is more splitter-friendly in general.

This is very misleading. See the bolded. Also, only one person out of both schools had a 3.4x with a 175 (and they went to HYP undergrad). Everyone else either had a 3.5 or 176+

That's just depressing - but thank you for pointing it out (and thanks to im_blue for posting that information). Would it be possible/advisable for me to apply early/ED (early to NYU and ED to CLS) in September and also register for an LSAT retake in October? My thinking is that I would still have the advantage of applying early (assuming they won't delay reviewing my application if I'm registered?) but then would also have one last chance to improve my score just in case they haven't made a decision on my application by the time the October scores come out. Also, if I felt like I didn't do well, I could just cancel the score and not really be out anything (other than the test fee).

Not as good of an idea as I thought then?

spaceman82 wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Based on LSN's 3.4x/175+:
CLS was 6 for 18 = 33% 2 of these were ED and 2 of these had 3.5 gpa
NYU was 10 for 16 = 63% 2 of these were also ED and 3 had 3.5

NYU is more splitter-friendly in general.

This is very misleading. See the bolded. Also, only one person out of both schools had a 3.4x with a 175 (and they went to HYP undergrad). Everyone else either had a 3.5 or 176+

That's just depressing - but thank you for pointing it out (and thanks to im_blue for posting that information). Would it be possible/advisable for me to apply early/ED (early to NYU and ED to CLS) in September and also register for an LSAT retake in October? My thinking is that I would still have the advantage of applying early (assuming they won't delay reviewing my application if I'm registered?) but then would also have one last chance to improve my score just in case they haven't made a decision on my application by the time the October scores come out. Also, if I felt like I didn't do well, I could just cancel the score and not really be out anything (other than the test fee).

I think this is a perfect idea

Cilent21 wrote:I think this is a perfect idea

Great, that's what I'll try to do then. Thanks for all of your help.

I really dont think you should retake the LSAT. A 177+ wouldnt be materially better than a 175. Also, NYU has the reputation of disliking re-takers.

FYI, I was a 3.6/169/177 and I got into Columbia but was straight rejected by NYU. If you look at LSN, I think I have the highest LSAT with above a 3.5 to ever be rejected by NYU. There aren't even many waitlists. I can't really imagine why, beyond the fact that I applied slightly late (early Jan) and they were turned off by the initial 169.

spaceman82 wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Based on LSN's 3.4x/175+:
CLS was 6 for 18 = 33% 2 of these were ED and 2 of these had 3.5 gpa
NYU was 10 for 16 = 63% 2 of these were also ED and 3 had 3.5

NYU is more splitter-friendly in general.

This is very misleading. See the bolded. Also, only one person out of both schools had a 3.4x with a 175 (and they went to HYP undergrad). Everyone else either had a 3.5 or 176+

That's just depressing - but thank you for pointing it out (and thanks to im_blue for posting that information). Would it be possible/advisable for me to apply early/ED (early to NYU and ED to CLS) in September and also register for an LSAT retake in October? My thinking is that I would still have the advantage of applying early (assuming they won't delay reviewing my application if I'm registered?) but then would also have one last chance to improve my score just in case they haven't made a decision on my application by the time the October scores come out. Also, if I felt like I didn't do well, I could just cancel the score and not really be out anything (other than the test fee).

I think most schools won't render a decision if you're signed up for a future LSAT. Your chances at Columbia are very low, but they aren't significantly better with a 177. A third retake might actually hurt you at NYU.