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Hi everyone, I am applying to law school for Fall admission 2011. I am defending my thesis Spring 2011 and will be earning a PhD in Neuroscience (neurodevelopmental genetics) from Brown University. I would love to get some feedback from others with a similar background as to where I may be accepted. My numbers aren't very impressive, so I am trying to learn how much having my advanced degree will help get me in to a great IP school. I have a 161 LSAT score, and 3.3 undergraduate GPA (4.0 grad GPA but I know that doesn't count for too much). I will have great LORs and an otherwise impressive application (publications, patent pending). I am from New England and would love to end up practicing in Boston, so BU is a great option though my raw numbers are a far stretch from their medians. Any helpful input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

How hard did you study for that LSAT? Retake if you have any room for improvement.

Regardless of your PhD and other softs, with that low GPA you'll need to hit the school's median LSAT to have a nonzero chance - i.e. 165 for BC and 166 for BU. For a decent chance, you'll need at least a 167-168.

Desert Fox wrote:How hard did you study for that LSAT? Retake if you have any room for improvement.

I prep'd for the exam as best I could given my schedule and no doubt would've liked more time and practice. I believe I could've done better. But given that time is even shorter for me right now I'm not sure I can prep well enough to take it again in October and improve significantly.

im_blue wrote:Regardless of your PhD and other softs, with that low GPA you'll need to hit the school's median LSAT to have a nonzero chance - i.e. 165 for BC and 166 for BU. For a decent chance, you'll need at least a 167-168.

Thanks for the input. Do you have, or do you know people that have a PhD in the molecular sciences who applied to law school and did not fare better than their hard stats predicted?

I'm sure there's a good chance you'll fare better. But it's not a guarantee, and I think it's overly optimistic to assume the your PhD, as impressive as it is, is the equivalent of a 5-point LSAT bump.

bonz747 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Regardless of your PhD and other softs, with that low GPA you'll need to hit the school's median LSAT to have a nonzero chance - i.e. 165 for BC and 166 for BU. For a decent chance, you'll need at least a 167-168.

Thanks for the input. Do you have, or do you know people that have a PhD in the molecular sciences who applied to law school and did not fair better than their hard stats predicted?

There are a few on this board. The general summary seems to be that the PhD helped but it won't get you into a tier where your numbers wouldn't place you; in other words, it'll put you over the top where your numbers are competitive. I'm strictly going off of what PhDs on this board have said, mind you.

I was in a similar boat as you. I got my PhD in Organic Chemistry and worked my butt off to get my LSAT studying done before I started with my thesis since that beast (not to mention Defense preparation) takes forever and consumes all of your time. I had a 161/3.23. I don't know what your plans are, but I have to attend school PT and I (mostly my wife) wanted to stay in the Philly area since that is where the family is. Being in Philly and going PT means that Temple was my #1 option and so my 161/3.23 got me in the door, but I think the PhD got me scholarship money. I saw several people with higher numbers just get an acceptance without the extra money, so I guess it worked out.

My only concern for you is to really consider the debt load you'll be taking on if you go to BU. They project they yearly cost at around $58k a year. I would almost suggest looking at a regional law school and seeing if you can get a decent scholarship. Then again, I don't know the entirety of your situation so take my advice with a grain of salt.

From one former academic slave to another, good luck!

thwalls wrote:I was in a similar boat as you. I got my PhD in Organic Chemistry and worked my butt off to get my LSAT studying done before I started with my thesis since that beast (not to mention Defense preparation) takes forever and consumes all of your time. I had a 161/3.23. I don't know what your plans are, but I have to attend school PT and I (mostly my wife) wanted to stay in the Philly area since that is where the family is. Being in Philly and going PT means that Temple was my #1 option and so my 161/3.23 got me in the door, but I think the PhD got me scholarship money. I saw several people with higher numbers just get an acceptance without the extra money, so I guess it worked out.

My only concern for you is to really consider the debt load you'll be taking on if you go to BU. They project they yearly cost at around $58k a year. I would almost suggest looking at a regional law school and seeing if you can get a decent scholarship. Then again, I don't know the entirety of your situation so take my advice with a grain of salt.

From one former academic slave to another, good luck!

Great, thanks for your thoughts. Did you happen to apply to any FT programs just to see where you could place?

bonz747 wrote:

im_blue wrote:Regardless of your PhD and other softs, with that low GPA you'll need to hit the school's median LSAT to have a nonzero chance - i.e. 165 for BC and 166 for BU. For a decent chance, you'll need at least a 167-168.

Thanks for the input. Do you have, or do you know people that have a PhD in the molecular sciences who applied to law school and did not fare better than their hard stats predicted?

Me. I applied last cycle. I got in exactly where my numbers predicted (i.e. I got into every school where my LSAT was over the median). A PhD did not get me in anywhere where I didn't have LSAT or GPA over median though. It isn't a magic bullet like being an URM.

Since you mentioned Boston, with 168/3.3 I got into BU and BC.

My advice to you is to find the time to retake the LSAT. If BU/BC is your goal, you'll want 166+. Take as many REAL (i.e. actual old tests, not tests made up by Princeton Review, et al) practice LSATs as possible under timed conditions and watch your score increase.

Good luck defending your dissertation and applying next year.

thwalls wrote:
My only concern for you is to really consider the debt load you'll be taking on if you go to BU. They project they yearly cost at around $58k a year. I would almost suggest looking at a regional law school and seeing if you can get a decent scholarship. Then again, I don't know the entirety of your situation so take my advice with a grain of salt.

From one former academic slave to another, good luck!

I was under the impression that BU and BC are regional law schools. But anyway, I will jump on the retake bandwagon also. Even getting your score up to a 165 would give you better options.

Thanks for the input everyone. I will strongly consider retaking the exam in October.