161 LSAT, 3.85 GPA Forum

[chaset10]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping for a little advice on applications after hearing so much mixed advice elsewhere. My stats/info:

LSAT: 161
GPA: 3.85
B.A., Classics from University of Colorado at Boulder (Minor: Political Science)
Currently writing honors thesis
From rural town in Colorado (regional diversity?)
Active in many intramural sports
Active musician
Active in Mortar Board Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa

The schools with which I am most concerned are the ones that appear to be out of my reach based on their respective LSAT and GPA statistics. These schools include:

University of Texas at Austin
UCLA
USC
Fordham

Boalt-UC Berkeley (I would really like to attend Boalt, but I am not convinced my LSAT is high enough to even be considered)
Columbia (I thought Columbia was practically impossible, but I recently received a letter asking me to check them out as "students from my undergraduate institution have consistently performed well there." Is there any worth in such a letter, or is this just to improve the school's selectivity?)

Which, if any, of the aforementioned schools are even worth applying to in my situation (I understand that the "school of my dreams" is always worth pursuing, but I am asking for realistic chances of admission)? Thank you in advance for any responses!

[Prairie]

I wouldn't bother applying to Columbia with those numbers. That letter they sent you was probably to get your $. If you are set on going to a school like any that you mentioned you should consider retaking. Start you scouting with this: http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-co ... ograms.htm

To be fair, I have similar numbers and applied to some schools that are out of my league.

[HeavenWood]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping for a little advice on applications after hearing so much mixed advice elsewhere. My stats/info:

LSAT: 161
GPA: 3.85
B.A., Classics from University of Colorado at Boulder (Minor: Political Science)
Currently writing honors thesis
From rural town in Colorado (regional diversity?)
Active in many intramural sports
Active musician
Active in Mortar Board Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa

The schools with which I am most concerned are the ones that appear to be out of my reach based on their respective LSAT and GPA statistics. These schools include:

University of Texas at Austin
UCLA
USC
Fordham

Boalt-UC Berkeley (I would really like to attend Boalt, but I am not convinced my LSAT is high enough to even be considered)
Columbia (I thought Columbia was practically impossible, but I recently received a letter asking me to check them out as "students from my undergraduate institution have consistently performed well there." Is there any worth in such a letter, or is this just to improve the school's selectivity?)

Which, if any, of the aforementioned schools are even worth applying to in my situation (I understand that the "school of my dreams" is always worth pursuing, but I am asking for realistic chances of admission)? Thank you in advance for any responses!

For those schools, you need to retake. For at least a decent shot, you'll need the following scores for the following schools:

Fordham: 165
USC: 167
UCLA: 168
Boalt: With your softs, you'll probably need at least a 166 to be in the running.