164/2.8 Forum

[nicksmyth]

alright, half mexican, hard luck story, dropped out in 2002, drifted, did music and bartended for 5 years.. went back to school and earned 3.79 in last two years (art degree) working full time.. first generation grad.. think my LOR's and PS are strong..

berkeley (flaming right?)
virginia
ucla
usc
uw
lewis clark
loyola maramount
uc davis
uc hastings

will they appreciate the GPA trend? thoughts?

[nicksmyth]

oh. applied in early december

[lawschooliseasy]

Retake.

/thread.

With that GPA and a relatively unimpressive LSAT you're out at pretty much all the schools you're interested in. Look lower in the rankings or nail the LSAT.

Your GPA trend will be basically irrelevant. It sucks, but grad work is unimportant when it comes to law school admissions. Its all a numbers game (undergrad GPA + LSAT).

EDIT: Didn't see Lewis & Clark/Loyola in the middle there. You might have a shot at these, but I don't know much about T2 admissions.

[nicksmyth]

seriously? you dont think theyll give a bump for the 3.79 since returning? ... too late to retake. bartending for life.. god i hope youre wrong.

[lawschooliseasy]

seriously? you dont think theyll give a bump for the 3.79 since returning? ... too late to retake. bartending for life.. god i hope youre wrong.

No. An upward trend does, insubstantially, contribute to the strength of your application. But, at the end of the day LSAC GPA is what schools have to report and yours is pretty rough. You are above LSAT median at L&C and Loyola though, so that combined with URM may get you in, albeit probably without significant $$.

[pu_golf88]

seriously? you dont think theyll give a bump for the 3.79 since returning? ... too late to retake. bartending for life.. god i hope youre wrong.

Not a bump that will make a difference if at all. If anything it would help if you were up against someone else with the same numbers, but you really don't have the numbers to begin with at those schools.

[nicksmyth]

but the deans always talk about "holistic approaches" etc.. in their interviews. i thought L&C, Hastings, and Loyola were 50/50's. Davis, maybe rolling a 7. the rest I admit are looong shots.. but even the sun shines on a dog's ass sometimes, no? (my grandpa's saying)

anyone else?

[nygrrrl]

The problem is that all of these schools have to answer to USNWR.
That's the bottom line. They can find a way to take you if you have extraordinary W.E.
or a really fantastic story... but otherwise? Sadly (and unfairly, perhaps) no bump. With that
GPA, you have to retake or rethink your options. Why is retaking not an option?

[nicksmyth]

The problem is that all of these schools have to answer to USNWR.
That's the bottom line. They can find a way to take you if you have extraordinary W.E.
or a really fantastic story... but otherwise? Sadly (and unfairly, perhaps) no bump. With that
GPA, you have to retake or rethink your options. Why is retaking not an option?

so pretty much I need a better lsat than 90th percentile to go T1. well, I hope they find my story fantastic, or that you guys are wrong. in any case, I am still paying for mistakes i made 10 years ago. *sniff sniff

[3ThrowAway99]

Given your post count kinda thinking this is a troll, but if not:

with your particular URM status I think you have a decent shot at the bottom half of your list at least. Some schools emphasize GPA more than LSAT compared to other schools though so if I were you I would apply to schools that seem more ready to look the other way on GPA based on admission stats.

[nicksmyth]

Given your post count kinda thinking this is a troll, but if not:

with your particular URM status I think you have a decent shot at the bottom half of your list at least. Some schools emphasize GPA more than LSAT compared to other schools though so if I were you I would apply to schools that seem more ready to look the other way on GPA based on admission stats.

post count? im off tonight and im bored.. what is a troll?

[3ThrowAway99]

Just looked your numbers x URM up on LSP- noticed it is 'consider' Davis which I think you asked about. Washington has you as deny, which doesn't surprise me because they are one of the schools that seems to give more weight to GPA than a lot of other schools.

[3ThrowAway99]

Given your post count kinda thinking this is a troll, but if not:

with your particular URM status I think you have a decent shot at the bottom half of your list at least. Some schools emphasize GPA more than LSAT compared to other schools though so if I were you I would apply to schools that seem more ready to look the other way on GPA based on admission stats.

post count? im off tonight and im bored.. what is a troll?

What I mean by troll is someone who is looking for a particular strong reaction to a topic. Your URM status throws a curveball in the normal expected acceptances pattern and is likely to get a wider variety of feedback (i.e. disagreement) than a chances post without that as a factor. In other words, some people resent the fact that URMs get a significant advantage in the admissions process so potentially a post like yours could be a way to stir up emotions and disagreement about this. Not to say that your post is in fact in any way inappropriate (unless you are trolling under the def I just gave in which case that is not cool).

Someone with a low post count is more likely to be a troll (and likely to be an 'alt' of someone who normally posts on here- a secondary sham account they have set up to try and get a particular reaction) than someone who has an established persona on here as evidenced by a high post count.

In terms of the URM issue, URMs do face particular idiosyncracies in the admissions process, and you may want to check out some of the URM forums on here for advice specific to that particular issue.

[nicksmyth]

Given your post count kinda thinking this is a troll, but if not:

with your particular URM status I think you have a decent shot at the bottom half of your list at least. Some schools emphasize GPA more than LSAT compared to other schools though so if I were you I would apply to schools that seem more ready to look the other way on GPA based on admission stats.

post count? im off tonight and im bored.. what is a troll?

What I mean by troll is someone who is looking for a particular strong reaction to a topic. Your URM status throws a curveball in the normal expected acceptances pattern and is likely to get a wider variety of feedback (i.e. disagreement) than a chances post without that as a factor. In other words, some people resent the fact that URMs get a significant advantage in the admissions process so potentially a post like yours could be a way to stir up emotions and disagreement about this. Not to say that your post is in fact in any way inappropriate (unless you are trolling under the def I just gave in which case that is not cool).

Someone with a low post count is more likely to be a troll (and likely to be an 'alt' of someone who normally posts on here- a secondary sham account they have set up to try and get a particular reaction) than someone who has an established persona on here as evidenced by a high post count.

In terms of the URM issue, URMs do face particular idiosyncracies in the admissions process, and you may want to check out some of the URM forums on here for advice specific to that particular issue.

ha! definitely not a troll. better things to do with my time. i have low post count because ive only been on this stupid elitist bullshit site a handful of times. dont think im comin back either. was only hoping to get some feedback about my chances. goin back to youtube or hulu now. btw. did anyone see that ep of 'always sunny' .. 'the gang buys a boat'? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K82nMSy-IWQ if you have. soooo funny. wish me luck. hope no one is upset b/c of my URM.

[3ThrowAway99]

i have low post count because ive only been on this stupid elitist bullshit site a handful of times.

WTF dude. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me coming seeking advice in a forum and then crapping all over it when people give genuine feedback, but to each his own. I do tend to have concerns about the elitist nature of the site myself though, so I'm not totally unsympathetic.

[nicksmyth]

i have low post count because ive only been on this stupid elitist bullshit site a handful of times.

WTF dude. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me coming seeking advice in a forum and then crapping all over it when people give genuine feedback, but to each his own. I do tend to have concerns about the elitist nature of the site myself though, so I'm not totally unsympathetic.

ok ok. good point. maybe i was looking for someone to say im a shoe in at yale. honestly dude. it's only been 3 weeks since my apps went out and im a little antsy. hence, here. hereby rescinding the crap i took on this worth while website.

[3ThrowAway99]

it's cool lol didn't mean to jump your shit Hoping your admissions cycle will go well and if you want direct feedback on any part of the process I'd be happy to try and help.. just PM me

[09042014]

alright, half mexican, hard luck story, dropped out in 2002, drifted, did music and bartended for 5 years.. went back to school and earned 3.79 in last two years (art degree) working full time.. first generation grad.. think my LOR's and PS are strong..

berkeley (flaming right?)
virginia
ucla
usc
uw
lewis clark
loyola maramount
uc davis
uc hastings

will they appreciate the GPA trend? thoughts?

Though some Apps to Northwestern, Michigan, and Georgetown as large reaches.

But schools don't like URM's with sub 3 gpas. Hopefully they'll look at your recent trend.