3.86/170 Forum

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:42 am

New here.
3.86/170
Which schools in the T14 are my best bets? Which ones will give me the most money?

ETA: Straight out of UG. Resident of Virginia. But I'm hoping to go to school in some other state.

Knock · Post by **Knock** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:50 am

Kimchi_smile wrote:New here.
3.86/170
Which schools in the T14 are my best bets? Which ones will give me the most money?

Are you straight out of UG? What state is your residency?

I'd say your in at Michigan, Penn, Duke, Georgetown, Texas, Cornell. Coinflip at UVA if you're not a Virginia resident if you write a Why UVA. Can't say at Northwestern without knowing if you have post-graduate work experience. Shot at Columbia, Chicago, NYU but no guarantee.

Should see ~45k or so from Michigan, and possibly some money from middle-T14 and down.

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:54 am

I'm straight out of UG and a VA resident. I don't like the prospect of going to a Virginian school again though.

Knock · Post by **Knock** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:54 am

Kimchi_smile wrote:I'm straight out of UG and a VA resident. I don't like the prospect of going to a Virginian school again though.

Well then i'd modify my previous post to say in at UVA, probably with some money.

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:07 am

Should I retake? If yes, should I retake in June or should I give myself more time to study and then take the test in the Fall? What LSAT score do I need for Yale? I studied using Kaplan for about 3 weeks before taking the test, but this time I plan to use the PowerScore books. I'm just not sure if retake is worth it. How realistic is raising my score a few points higher than 170?

duckmoney · Post by **duckmoney** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:26 am

Yale is a crapshoot for everyone, but with that gpa you probably need a 175 to even be in the running. You could get into harvard with a 173 or so though.

As for whether you'll do better, only you can say for sure. If you feel like you didn't study Enough and fell short of your potential, then retake. Otherwise I wouldnt bother with it. You have very solid numbers as it is.

Muenchen · Post by **Muenchen** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:06 am

Kimchi_smile wrote:Should I retake? If yes, should I retake in June or should I give myself more time to study and then take the test in the Fall? What LSAT score do I need for Yale? I studied using Kaplan for about 3 weeks before taking the test, but this time I plan to use the PowerScore books. I'm just not sure if retake is worth it. How realistic is raising my score a few points higher than 170?

Yeah, I agree with the above posters. I would blanket the t13/15 plus maybe a couple safeties. I'd say enjoy the t10 with a little money. In your situation, a retake is tricky. The common wisdom is that once you break the 170's to pat yourself on the back and burn your study aids, but I guess if you feel like you really can do better than you might think about trying.

One thing i would caution though is that, to a certain extent, once you break into the 170's the the point differences start to dissipate and places like HYS know they're going to have their choice of top numbers and are basically looking for other things. I can think of one particular TLS person who retook a 173 and got a 179, but I don't think it even helped all that much. Take all that for what it's worth. It's ultimately up to you.

src42 · Post by **src42** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:35 pm

I have nearly identical stats, but I also have 4 years of good work experience. I am in at Mich w/$45K, in at NU w/$75K, Texas with $76.5K, rejected at Berkeley, and I'm still waiting on HLS, SLS, CLS, NYU, and Penn (expecting waitlists). I didn't apply to UVA, Yale, or Duke.

If you really feel like you can get a few points higher on the LSAT, it might be worth it. A 172/3.86 is probably a lock at CCN, and would put you in position for good money at MVP. But don't take the LSAT again unless you're SURE you can do better. If I were you, I'd probably just apply super early (think September) and put together the best application possible.

tipler4213 · Post by **tipler4213** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:39 pm

neonx · Post by **neonx** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:27 am

Blanket.

alicen · Post by **alicen** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:23 pm

i have the exact same numbers, currently in undergrad as well. had a good cycle despite a lot of apprehension concerning my lsat score (retook but canceled). but i was reaching for t6...if you're looking at t3 you probably/definitely need to retake and score better.

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:32 am

Will they take the average of my scores if I retake? What's a lock LSAT score range for Harvard and Stanford?

buckilaw · Post by **buckilaw** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:46 am

Stanford is strange, can'r really predict a lock there. For Harvard if you score a 174+ you would be in very good shape. As it stands now UVA is your best bet without a retake.

Edit: Some schools average, but most take the higest and consider all scores. I'm fairly sure Harvard averages.

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 10:02 am

I have another question if you guys don't mind. If I ED to Columbia with my numbers, will I get in?

alicen · Post by **alicen** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:32 pm

i don't think you should ED to columbia if you really want t3. retake and score 174+!

Kimchi_smile · Post by **Kimchi_smile** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:31 am

Thank you for all the replies. What if I just don't make 170+? What's my chance of transferring from a T10 to HYS if I am in top 10% of my T10?

lawfuture10 · Post by **lawfuture10** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:07 am

Kimchi_smile wrote:Thank you for all the replies. What if I just don't make 170+? What's my chance of transferring from a T10 to HYS if I am in top 10% of my T10?

I know you're new here, but people typically consider it a cardinal sin for you to talk about transferring as a 0L.

It is way too difficult (read:impossible) to predict how you are going to do in your first year of law school. Everyone coming in assumes they are going to be in the top 10% of their class, unfortunately this means that 90% of people are wrong. Basically, you need to be 100% happy with graduating from whatever school you begin your law school career at, or don't bother going there. From a statistical point of view, the odds are very much against you getting the grades / class rank you're going to need to transfer.

That being said, I don't think that having an interest in transferring or making it a goal is necessarily a bad thing, so I would check out the transfer forum and read Arrow's post on transferring. He outlines pretty clearly what it takes to transfer from any level of school to any other level school.

(I chose a school last year, and was very happy to be attending. I knew that if I didn't obtain top grades, I was in a market where I wanted to work, and I would be happy to graduate from this school. BUT, out of curiosity, I looked into what it would take to transfer up to a T14 / T10 school, and let it be my motivation for studying my ass off and getting the best grades possible. I don't think this is a bad thing.)

If you're dead set on HYS, retake and get in the high 170s.

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