Top Law Schools

According to what I've read, LSAT is usually (always?) more important than GPA for law school admissions. I guess that's bad news for me, because although I have a strong GPA my LSAT PT scores haven't been as high as I had hoped (I'm consistently scoring in the 163-166 range).

Let's say I get a 164 (less than I'm hoping for, but I'm being realistic about test day stress, etc.). With my 4.19 gpa, two strong letters of rec, non-URM, and a decent personal statement, what are the highest-ranked schools that I have a very good chance of getting into? I know some of the online predictors are somewhat skewed or inaccurate, so I'm just looking for opinions here. I'm in California, and would prefer to stay here, but I'm open to options nationwide.

andrew1024 wrote:According to what I've read, LSAT is usually (always?) more important than GPA for law school admissions. I guess that's bad news for me, because although I have a strong GPA my LSAT PT scores haven't been as high as I had hoped (I'm consistently scoring in the 163-166 range).

Let's say I get a 164 (less than I'm hoping for, but I'm being realistic about test day stress, etc.). With my 4.19 gpa, two strong letters of rec, non-URM, and a decent personal statement, what are the highest-ranked schools that I have a very good chance of getting into? I know some of the online predictors are somewhat skewed or inaccurate, so I'm just looking for opinions here. I'm in California, and would prefer to stay here, but I'm open to options nationwide.

UCLA with money seems like a pretty good bet. Berkeley is a target depending on softs and where in your LSAT range you end up. I say those two primarily because they are in CA and UC schools notoriously love GPA. With a 4.2 and anything in the mid-high 160s you should blanket most of the top 14 I would think.

Do you think 166 is your ceiling?

Come back after you take the LSAT. Until then, work on your improving your LSAT. You have a wide range of schools you can apply at with a 163 vs a 166, and you still have time to prep.

Good news for you is Cali schools in general like high GPAs.

It really depends on your LSAT score. A mid 160's and you have a small shot at the lower T14, though unlikely, and will probably get UCLA/USC. Low 160's and T14 become nigh impossible and UCLA/USC start to become iffy.

Don't count your chickens before they've hatched though. Test day stress can seriously drop you from your PT average. FWIW, I dropped 5 points below my PT average on the actual test.

If you really have a 4.19 GPA, that would be higher than anyone at Yale.

http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

How in the world do you get that kind of GPA? Is your college transcript 1/3 A's and 2/3 A+'s? What school do you go to?

im_blue wrote:If you really have a 4.19 GPA, that would be higher than anyone at Yale.

http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

That's not to say that that's the highest GPA of all applicants for Yale.

re-applicant wrote:How in the world do you get that kind of GPA? Is your college transcript 1/3 A's and 2/3 A+'s? What school do you go to?

2 years at UC San Diego, 1 year at UC Davis.

I guess I'll just hold off on predictions until November 1/LSAT scores are released. thanks for the replies; it's good to know my gpa could boost my chances a bit at some schools

I'd throw an ED to UVA.

andrew1024 wrote:

re-applicant wrote:How in the world do you get that kind of GPA? Is your college transcript 1/3 A's and 2/3 A+'s? What school do you go to?

2 years at UC San Diego, 1 year at UC Davis.

I guess I'll just hold off on predictions until November 1/LSAT scores are released. thanks for the replies; it's good to know my gpa could boost my chances a bit at some schools

Just curious, did you transfer from UCD to UCSD? I would have thought that with a 4.0+ GPA, you could easily transfer to Berkeley, UCLA, or an Ivy-caliber UG.

andrew1024 wrote:

re-applicant wrote:How in the world do you get that kind of GPA? Is your college transcript 1/3 A's and 2/3 A+'s? What school do you go to?

2 years at UC San Diego, 1 year at UC Davis.

I guess I'll just hold off on predictions until November 1/LSAT scores are released. thanks for the replies; it's good to know my gpa could boost my chances a bit at some schools

IMO the come back with a real score line is a bit overstated around here.

lawschoolnumbers.com is the place to go. Even if you don't trust it, asking us for advice isn't any better because all of our (sane) opinions come from there.

Quick glance says that Boalt is a crapshoot, which makes sense given their emphasis on the personal statement. A 164 would give you a shot at UCLA, with chances increasing as you go higher, obv. If you can go big, 170 would give you a shot at Stanford. (So jealous of your GPA, I'm getting rejected at Stanford with way better than a 170)

im_blue wrote:

andrew1024 wrote:

re-applicant wrote:How in the world do you get that kind of GPA? Is your college transcript 1/3 A's and 2/3 A+'s? What school do you go to?

2 years at UC San Diego, 1 year at UC Davis.

I guess I'll just hold off on predictions until November 1/LSAT scores are released. thanks for the replies; it's good to know my gpa could boost my chances a bit at some schools

Just curious, did you transfer from UCD to UCSD? I would have thought that with a 4.0+ GPA, you could easily transfer to Berkeley, UCLA, or an Ivy-caliber UG.

I transferred from UCSD to UCD. I was offered admission to Berkeley as a transfer, but ended up declining their offer. There was a time when I was serously debating between grad school/law school. By attending Davis I was able to intern at the state capitol and get involved in some academic research. (I also saved quite a bit of money by attending UCD, due to lower COL and a large scholarship). I've decided the law route is better for me, but the experiences I've had over the past year were well worth transferring.