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Thanks for your input!

In at Boalt
Possibly in at stanford? i'd say its worth the app fee
Probably in at columbia or NYU with ED not sure with RD

When did you apply? If you wait till early next cycle, I think you'll get in everywhere from Columbia down (with a small chance at HLS).

I am not applying till next cycle and and basically have my whole application already prepared, so I hope to be ready to apply the second the applications become available.

Your GPA could hurt you, but your softs are some of the best I've seen. I think you should get at least a few of your reaches; not sure which ones. Why no Yale?

If you like your firm see if they work something out by doing PT at a local school.

atresia: Based on the the Yale website, the lowest GPA they let in last cycle is a 3.40, so I figured my 3.5 doesn't give me even a remote shot. I will definitely send an app their way though!

Desert Fox: Yeah, I am definitely keeping that possibility open, and I am fairly certain I will be starting a "Choosing a Law School" thread on the subject come next fall.

Normally I (and almost everyone on TLS) say that resume/major/undergrad don't matter. But if there was ever a time where Yale (or any school) would dip down and accept a 3.5 GPA, it would be this time. You are an EE major from Stanford and a 4-year D1 athlete with a 178. You are the cream of the applicant crop. A 3.5 is a respectable GPA, especially given your background. I think you have a shot at every school in the country, including Yale (although it really is a black box for admissions). I really think you'll be in at one or more of HYS.

and escaped from a country as a child, overcame odds and ended up going to Stanford, getting a 178, and playing D1 sports? i can't think of a reason for at least one of HYS to not take you

WOW, thanks a lot for the encouraging feedback! I assumed I had a solid shot at Columbia and NYU, but definitely didn't think I had any chance with the others due to my mediocre GPA. I also have the next 8 months to perfect my PS and DS, so hopefully that will help.

Do you think it would be beneficial to add a short GPA addendum, just quickly pointing out how much time sports took up during undergrad and to further highlight my graduate GPA and my performance in the law school course I took?