Top Law Schools

Yeah I know it's late, but I didnt expect a good dec score, I went from 161-167 so i thought why the hell not and apply to top 20. I guess my question is: what are my chances in the top 20? More specifically:

UVA (auto-ding?)
Duke (no idea?, sent in app last week)
Cornell (got a packet telling me to apply, sent in an app last week)
Georgetown (longshot)
Northwestern (interviewed with the adm. dean <- nice guy )
UCLA (waited for my dec score)
USC (sent in app soon as I got my dec score)

I have solid work experience while in UG fulltime&partime(~25-30 hours/week for part time haha - not sure if that helps).

I'm pulling for USC, but I've only heard people tell me that I have no shot since I applied so late. Any input is appreciated, thanks!

UVA Reject
Duke Reject
Cornell Waitlist
Georgetown Waitlist/Reject
Northwestern Reject
UCLA Waitlist
USC Waitlist/In

FiveSermon wrote:UVA Reject
Duke Reject
Cornell Waitlist
Georgetown Waitlist/Reject
Northwestern Reject
UCLA Waitlist
USC Waitlist/In

brutal but soo true. thanks

dddd

sand87632 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:UVA Reject
Duke Reject
Cornell Waitlist
Georgetown Waitlist/Reject
Northwestern Reject
UCLA Waitlist
USC Waitlist/In

Bump. This was my story last year.

how so?

I think UCLA & USC might take you outright, and Cornell will probably make you wait a bit - then accept you.

Cornell like 50/50.

Apply to Tex/UCLA/Vandy/USC and you should get at least one.

I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

rad law wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

Very true, though Law School Predictor suggests that 167/3.7 and 168/3.6 only have a 1% difference at the schools mentioned, which to me makes them reasonably similar (though I could be wrong). Also consider the fact that I had a lower score on the first LSAT, if the schools considered it.

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

might i ask when you submitted ur apps? i know it hasnt been long enough to start complaining about the wait, but when should I expect to get this stick out of my #% so I can get on with the rest of my life haha

bruinwang wrote:

rad law wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

Very true, though Law School Predictor suggests that 167/3.7 and 168/3.6 only have a 1% difference at the schools mentioned, which to me makes them reasonably similar (though I could be wrong). Also consider the fact that I had a lower score on the first LSAT, if the schools considered it.

Lawschoolpredictor has old medians. It shows Cornell median as 167 when it is 168.

bruinwang wrote:

rad law wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

Very true, though Law School Predictor suggests that 167/3.7 and 168/3.6 only have a 1% difference at the schools mentioned, which to me makes them reasonably similar (though I could be wrong). Also consider the fact that I had a lower score on the first LSAT, if the schools considered it.

Yeah but this really isnt true anymore. Most T17 schools have a solid wall at 168 where 3.6/168's get in (cough cough UCLA) and 167's dont even really have a shot unless their gpa is 3.9+.

BeachandRun23 wrote:

bruinwang wrote:

rad law wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

Very true, though Law School Predictor suggests that 167/3.7 and 168/3.6 only have a 1% difference at the schools mentioned, which to me makes them reasonably similar (though I could be wrong). Also consider the fact that I had a lower score on the first LSAT, if the schools considered it.

Yeah but this really isnt true anymore. Most T17 schools have a solid wall at 168 where 3.6/168's get in (cough cough UCLA) and 167's dont even really have a shot unless their gpa is 3.9+.

This.

BeachandRun23 wrote:

bruinwang wrote:

rad law wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

Caveat - a 168 can be noticeably different than a 167 depending on your GPA.

Very true, though Law School Predictor suggests that 167/3.7 and 168/3.6 only have a 1% difference at the schools mentioned, which to me makes them reasonably similar (though I could be wrong). Also consider the fact that I had a lower score on the first LSAT, if the schools considered it.

Yeah but this really isnt true anymore. Most T17 schools have a solid wall at 168 where 3.6/168's get in (cough cough UCLA) and 167's dont even really have a shot unless their gpa is 3.9+.

That's an interesting point. I haven't been tracking stats as closely since I finished applying last year, and I approached my cycle more with a "you never know unless you try" mentality anyway. So I'll defer to more knowledgeable authorities on the subject; just thought I'd offer up my own personal experience to the OP for reference sake.

pimpsdontcry wrote:

bruinwang wrote:I had similar stats when I applied last year -- went from 159 to 168, with 3.6 GPA. I got in at Cornell and USC outright (though USC made me wait a LONG time for it). I was set to attend Cornell until Michigan took me from the waitlist, so that's where I'll be attending this summer (deferred for one year). I was waitlisted at Georgetown and UCLA but was ultimately denied at both. The remaining schools on the list rejected me outright.

might i ask when you submitted ur apps? i know it hasnt been long enough to start complaining about the wait, but when should I expect to get this stick out of my #% so I can get on with the rest of my life haha

I submitted my apps during the last week of October. Most schools came back to me with some decision between late December and mid January, though waitlists dragged on til summer. The one notable exception that comes to mind is USC, which I didn't hear anything from until late April (and then they only gave me 2 weeks to decide; this felt an awfully lot like a waitlist acceptance ).

u guys are seriously making me regret missing that one extra question haha. thanks bruinwang the info. so it looks as if i have about a 20/80 shot at t17 schools then, with most schools putting up the "wall" at 168 because of my low 3.7. Oh well, worth a shot.