Top Law Schools

Hi all, n00b here.

I am hoping someone will be able to offer some insight here.
After graduating high school with a 3.8 and a 2100 on the SAT I made the choice to defer enrollment in college because of a serious illness in my immediate family. After taking a year off things had settled at home and I enrolled in a local community college and in the first year plus two summer sessions I completed all of my gen. ed. req's and transferred to a highly respected public university in NC. I am currently a junior economics and political science major with my sights set on law school. I took the LSAT in June and scored a 177 and my current LSAC GPA is a 3.7 with an upward trend as I get into my major specific courses. As a member of the class of '12 I will be applying next fall. My reaches are Columbia, NYU, and Stanford. Duke and UVA's J.D./M.B.A. programs are also at the top of my list and I plan on taking the GMAT in the early part of next year. I am a male non-URM.
I know that my numbers are strong according to the various predictors, but I am curious if anybody has any experience applying to t14 law schools with a community college on their transcript. Any advice would be appreciated.

-SS

My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

Joke? 177 a little low?

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

With an LSAT above the 75th of all 3 schools, I think one of the 3 would take a bite on someone with a GPA around their 25th percentile.

jt1341 wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

Joke? 177 a little low?

He said GPA, not LSAT

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

(I almost said something about the "LSAT being too low" too, but I'm thinking that was a typo and he fixed it pretty quickly.)

The GPA is a little low, yes, but that's a numbers duo that can get into HYS...I don't think you've got a great shot, but there's a chance, probably in the H-S-Y order.

OP, shoot for everywhere. Stanford's JD/MBA is about to be revamped to finish in 10 quarters (3 years and a fall), so that could be a big plus for you, it ends up costing only about 16K more to get the MBA, rather than a full year's tuition. They take a decent number of kids straight from UG as well, especially for the joint program.

Shoot for HYS - your GPA's a little low for each but your LSAT might be nice enough

Kretzy wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

(I almost said something about the "LSAT being too low" too, but I'm thinking that was a typo and he fixed it pretty quickly.)

The GPA is a little low, yes, but that's a numbers duo that can get into HYS...I don't think you've got a great shot, but there's a chance, probably in the H-S-Y order.

OP, shoot for everywhere. Stanford's JD/MBA is about to be revamped to finish in 10 quarters (3 years and a fall), so that could be a big plus for you, it ends up costing only about 16K more to get the MBA, rather than a full year's tuition. They take a decent number of kids straight from UG as well, especially for the joint program.

My bad, i think hes in everywhere, especially with an awsome PS

Kretzy wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:

dakatz wrote:My guess is, with such a strong GPA and LSAT, you will get in everywhere you plan on applying. Good job and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Nothing you need to worry about.

Still a good chance OP is out of HYS simply because the GPA is a little low. You are definitely in everywhere besides HYS.

(I almost said something about the "LSAT being too low" too, but I'm thinking that was a typo and he fixed it pretty quickly.)

The GPA is a little low, yes, but that's a numbers duo that can get into HYS...I don't think you've got a great shot, but there's a chance, probably in the H-S-Y order.

OP, shoot for everywhere. Stanford's JD/MBA is about to be revamped to finish in 10 quarters (3 years and a fall), so that could be a big plus for you, it ends up costing only about 16K more to get the MBA, rather than a full year's tuition. They take a decent number of kids straight from UG as well, especially for the joint program.

He should apply everywhere, but just looking at LSN the OP has a less than 50% chance at HLS. And of course Yale and Stanford depend on things that we don't know.

CLASS OF 2012 PEOPLE. He is applying next fall. Which means his GPA might change. OP - try to get your GPA to the magic 3.8 range and your golden for HYS (most likely).

Since you have upgraded to a more prestigious school, community college will not hurt you much if at all . The only issue is schools want to know you are capable of the work and your current institution should prove that. I know of a couple students with CC experience in their past who got into HYS. It isn't like a scarlet letter or something.

Your question is how do top law schools view community college credits. I don't know the answer to your question. Among the top 3 law schools, Yale Law School may be the least receptive judging from the undergraduate schools represented in Yale Law School's student body, while Harvard & Stanford may be more receptive. Harvard because it is a very large law school & Stanford because California junior colleges are a commonly used pathway to UC undergraduate schools.

Kretzy wrote: The GPA is a little low, yes, but that's a numbers duo that can get into HYS...I don't think you've got a great shot, but there's a chance, probably in the H-S-Y order.

OP, shoot for everywhere. Stanford's JD/MBA is about to be revamped to finish in 10 quarters (3 years and a fall), so that could be a big plus for you, it ends up costing only about 16K more to get the MBA, rather than a full year's tuition. They take a decent number of kids straight from UG as well, especially for the joint program.

Thanks for the update on Stanford's JD/MBA program Kretzy. That's great news actually and gives me a new goal for sure.

Everyone else, thanks for all the quick responses! I realize my GPA is lacking, but it is improving slowly but surely (A's on all my mid-terms this week!) and I hope to have it at a >=3.8 before application time. I had been trying to keep HYS out of my head as much as possible because of the CC in my history, but it seems like that is not a cause for concern to you guys.
A few other quick facts. My softs are pretty strong. I am working part-time for a local investment firm and I was able to step in and fill a leading role in the economics club. I am also working on an article for a new undergrad law journal that I hope to have published. I also have a long volunteer history with a childhood cancer research foundation for which I have organized several fundraisers resulting in significant contributions.

Thanks again,

SS

I don't think anyone is too concerned about your community college experience. Doing just as well/better at another school will negate any negative connotation attach to it, and may even make you "more diverse" or something (more of a wild theory). My guess is it will have little/no impact. Should be a shoe in at a few in the top 6.

And schools do like some level of diversity. You won't have very much stimulating conversation with a lot of pale, rich, and socially awkward blue bloods who are all from top undergraduate programs.

I think you have a great shot almost anywhere, but with regards to the joint programs most top mba programs such as Duke and UVA will not accept you without a minimum of two years work experience. So decide if it is important enough to you to work for two years in order to get the joint degree.

silversurfer wrote:

Kretzy wrote: The GPA is a little low, yes, but that's a numbers duo that can get into HYS...I don't think you've got a great shot, but there's a chance, probably in the H-S-Y order.

OP, shoot for everywhere. Stanford's JD/MBA is about to be revamped to finish in 10 quarters (3 years and a fall), so that could be a big plus for you, it ends up costing only about 16K more to get the MBA, rather than a full year's tuition. They take a decent number of kids straight from UG as well, especially for the joint program.

Thanks for the update on Stanford's JD/MBA program Kretzy. That's great news actually and gives me a new goal for sure.

Everyone else, thanks for all the quick responses! I realize my GPA is lacking, but it is improving slowly but surely (A's on all my mid-terms this week!) and I hope to have it at a >=3.8 before application time. I had been trying to keep HYS out of my head as much as possible because of the CC in my history, but it seems like that is not a cause for concern to you guys.
A few other quick facts. My softs are pretty strong. I am working part-time for a local investment firm and I was able to step in and fill a leading role in the economics club. I am also working on an article for a new undergrad law journal that I hope to have published. I also have a long volunteer history with a childhood cancer research foundation for which I have organized several fundraisers resulting in significant contributions.

Thanks again,

SS

If you get your GPA above 3.8, with a 177, you will have a good chance at every school in the country.

i think OP has a decent chance at HLS and SLS...but only a decent chance

SLS hates dipping below their soft 3.8, and HLS under JR hates doing so as well

plenty of 3.7's and 177's rejected or waitlisted this past recent cycle by HLS...

if OP can get GPA to 3.8, id say his chances then get upgraded to good...but i honestly think he has to make his overall package shine

for HYS, his LSAT helps, his GPA hurts; in fact, for HS, id say they sort of cancel each other out in a sense lol

community college prob will not be a major factor...tho it certainly wont help you if you're borderline, which, if the rest of your app is boring, you may very well be

You'll get into at every school outside of HYS and Berkeley. Work your ass off this year to get above a 3.8 (take summer classes or even take a year off if necessary), and you'll have decent chances at HYS as well.

im_blue wrote:You'll get into at every school outside of HYS and Berkeley. Work your ass off this year to get above a 3.8 (take summer classes or even take a year off if necessary), and you'll have decent chances at HYS as well.

Out at Boalt you say? Roffles.

sundance95 wrote:

im_blue wrote:You'll get into at every school outside of HYS and Berkeley. Work your ass off this year to get above a 3.8 (take summer classes or even take a year off if necessary), and you'll have decent chances at HYS as well.

Out at Boalt you say? Roffles.

Yea i think hes got boalt on lock, especially since he is non-traditional. They seem to love that

I was about just like you both LSAT-wise and grade-wise, and transferred to a very good four-year college from a community college (which I attended for somewhat flashy extracurricular reasons, so maybe that gave me a bump). I got into two of HYS. So I'm sure you'll be fine.

jt1341 wrote:

sundance95 wrote:

im_blue wrote:You'll get into at every school outside of HYS and Berkeley. Work your ass off this year to get above a 3.8 (take summer classes or even take a year off if necessary), and you'll have decent chances at HYS as well.

Out at Boalt you say? Roffles.

Yea i think hes got boalt on lock, especially since he is non-traditional. They seem to love that

Berkeley is likely but definitely not a lock. And OP is hardly a non-trad - he just took a year off and then transferred after a year at CC.

http://berkeley.lawschoolnumbers.com/ap ... ,8&type=jd