Top Law Schools

.

Def in at T14

Any particular schools I should be gunning for?

MVP, NYU,-target

CC, SH -reaches

UCLA, Cornell, texas, vandy- safties

Juse guessing

DieAntwoord wrote:MVP, NYU,-target

CC, SH -reaches

UCLA, Cornell, texas, vandy- safties

Juse guessing

I may be completely off base, but this seems a little optimistic. Not sure though, I don't consider myself an authority on URM admissions.

As an AA male, you should be blanketing the entire T14, including HYS.

Looking at URM admissions, Harvard took a 160/3.69, a 161/3.6, a 155/3.7, and a 163/3.5, and a 164/3.12 in the last few years. There's a lot of red in the area you're in, but it's not impossible. Since it sounds like you could have a really awesome PS or DS, given you're the first in your family to go to college and have been successful regardless, you'll probably do well.

Seriously, you should be hitting the T14, and expecting to get into several of them. You probably do not need to apply to any schools below the T14.

If you contact these schools asking for fee waivers, they will probably give you one. They love increasing the number of minority applicants they get so they're more likely to get a diverse student body.

Thanks for the replies. I don't know if I'll have the funds to apply to HYS...but we will see. Lately I've been enamored with NYU, Chicago and Michigan...kicking myself for not applying in Oct. Submitting in 6-7 days.

RJ127 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I don't know if I'll have the funds to apply to HYS...but we will see. Lately I've been enamored with NYU, Chicago and Michigan...kicking myself for not applying in Oct. Submitting in 6-7 days.

ask those three for waivers and use the money for HS

DieAntwoord wrote:

RJ127 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I don't know if I'll have the funds to apply to HYS...but we will see. Lately I've been enamored with NYU, Chicago and Michigan...kicking myself for not applying in Oct. Submitting in 6-7 days.

ask those three for waivers and use the money for HS

This. This this this.

vanwinkle wrote:As an AA male, you should be blanketing the entire T14, including HYS.

Looking at URM admissions, Harvard took a 160/3.69, a 161/3.6, a 155/3.7, and a 163/3.5, and a 164/3.12 in the last few years. There's a lot of red in the area you're in, but it's not impossible. Since it sounds like you could have a really awesome PS or DS, given you're the first in your family to go to college and have been successful regardless, you'll probably do well.

Seriously, you should be hitting the T14, and expecting to get into several of them. You probably do not need to apply to any schools below the T14.

If you contact these schools asking for fee waivers, they will probably give you one. They love increasing the number of minority applicants they get so they're more likely to get a diverse student body.

They really took a 155/3.7??? That's insane. Surely there were better URM applicants who had higher than a 155? Don't they get 10,000 applications a year?

gambelda wrote:They really took a 155/3.7??? That's insane. Surely there were better URM applicants who had higher than a 155? Don't they get 10,000 applications a year?

When it comes to URM applications, the numbers suggest that there are not that many to choose from even at the top levels. This article indicates the gap: http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/51_gradu ... _test.html

Number of LSAT takers scoring 170 or above in 2004:
Caucasian: 1,900
African-American: 29

Number of LSAT takers scoring 165 or above in 2004:
Caucasian: 6,689
African-American: 108

The pure numbers are startlingly low, which means that even top schools have no choice but to reach significantly at times when trying to create a diverse student body. Schools tend not to simply take those with the highest scores but to evaluate the whole application, so there was likely some reason the person with the 155 LSAT was chosen over other applicants with higher LSAT scores. That's how it works with all applicants; getting a 180 won't even guarantee you admission if there's a flaw elsewhere in your app, and someone with a 175 might get in over you because he has a better application. Here the difference in scores is more stark, because this specific applicant pool is so small.

By the way, this is why I encourage OP to apply to HYS. Since he has very strong softs including significant WE, a 164/3.56 is actually a fairly decent set of numbers.

Damn. I did not think that the ratio was that low. I would have sworn that it would be somewhere in the 1000 + range for URM's. That's why I was convinced a 155 could never get into Harvard. If it were 1000+ the probability of not having enough URM's score above you would just seem far too low.

OP, unless you send in poor essays or poor recommendations you will be accepted to at least one of Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Particularly since you are first generation with WE. In all seriousness, if you don't get into one of the 3 there is something wrong with your app (as previously mentioned) or you applied too late. I'll admit that Yale is unlikely, but Harvard and Stanford are very likely (at least one of them). A lot of it will depend on what undergrad you went to as well.

BruceWayne wrote:OP, unless you send in poor essays or poor recommendations you will be accepted to at least one of Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Particularly since you are first generation with WE. In all seriousness, if you don't get into one of the 3 there is something wrong with your app (as previously mentioned) or you applied too late. I'll admit that Yale is unlikely, but Harvard and Stanford are very likely (at least one of them). A lot of it will depend on what undergrad you went to as well.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback, while I don't think HYS are ever really likely for anyone, I'll try to work a little overtime this week to have enough to send those apps out. What would your definition of "too late" be for getting my apps in?

By the end of November would be helpful. The first "big wave" of apps is usually sent in over Thanksgiving break (since students use the days off to fill out apps), and then there's a landslide during winter break for the same reason. If you can't get them in by Thanksgiving, at least try to beat the winter break rush. After Christmas is definitely getting into "too late" territory.

RJ127 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I don't know if I'll have the funds to apply to HYS...but we will see. Lately I've been enamored with NYU, Chicago and Michigan...kicking myself for not applying in Oct. Submitting in 6-7 days.

Don't sell yourself short. You have a legitimate shot at HS (I don't think anyone ever really has a shot at Y). CCN should be the target. Applying at this point won't hurt you too badly, I was in before Thanksgiving and I don't think the 2 weeks made much of a difference.

gambelda wrote: They really took a 155/3.7??? That's insane.

The 155/3.7 also got into Yale. He went to an Ivy UG and applied straight out of UG. He had an interesting background--I think he was a pastor or something.

RJ127 wrote:

BruceWayne wrote:OP, unless you send in poor essays or poor recommendations you will be accepted to at least one of Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Particularly since you are first generation with WE. In all seriousness, if you don't get into one of the 3 there is something wrong with your app (as previously mentioned) or you applied too late. I'll admit that Yale is unlikely, but Harvard and Stanford are very likely (at least one of them). A lot of it will depend on what undergrad you went to as well.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback, while I don't think HYS are ever really likely for anyone, I'll try to work a little overtime this week to have enough to send those apps out. What would your definition of "too late" be for getting my apps in?

You'll be fine. Frankly, I've never heard of a 3.5 163+ Black male, let alone one from UCLA, getting rejected from both Havard and Stanford. As a result of your undergrad and soft factors I would say that you almost certainly won't get rejected from both of Harvard/Stanford.

soj wrote:

gambelda wrote: They really took a 155/3.7??? That's insane.

The 155/3.7 also got into Yale. He went to an Ivy UG and applied straight out of UG. He had an interesting background--I think he was a pastor or something.

Pat Robertson?