3.5 LSAC GPA, 170 PR Male chances at T14 $$? Forum

[mickeyD]

Hey guys, like most people in here I just received my June score and got a 170. I am half PR, and from what I understand bi-racial is considered URM. I am retaking in October and am very confident that I can do better, but am interested to get some opinions about my chances considering LSN has little data on PR URMs and LSP is apparently a little off for splitters.

Like the topic says I have a 3.5 GPA. I have a lot of work experience, but mainly part time jobs during the school year and full time jobs during the summer. I'm involved in a lot of extracurriculars (fraternity, sports, other student orgs) and have probably average LORs. What would you consider my chances at MVPCCN and the rest of the T14? Due to financial constraints I'm really big on getting scholarship money which is why I plan on retaking, what scores do you think I would need to get for some money at Penn?

Please don't quote the OP as I plan on editing later for privacy, thank you all so much in advance!

[mickeyD]

Also I am applying straight through and would prefer to do so, but how much would finishing senior year and gaining another 1.5 in GPA help me? A 3.65 would put me above the lower 25th for Chi, NYU, M, Penn, UVA, and NU.

[MCockerill08]

From the numbers I've read, you are very likely to get in everywhere but Y/S. Very few URM's (in the less inclusive sense of that term, i.e. NA, AA, PR, Mexican) score 170+. What is your major?

[Law Sauce]

Your softs will not make a huge difference. small bump in grades probably not worth the extra year. You are right on the URM cut-off. May want to call admissions to see what boxes to check. (probably both) This will likely count you as a URM but it is questionable what effect this will have.

With URM, in at T6, t14 with some money.

Without URM, in at one or two t14, probably Cornell and another, with no money.

[mickeyD]

Your softs will not make a huge difference. small bump in grades probably not worth the extra year. You are right on the URM cut-off. May want to call admissions to see what boxes to check. (probably both) This will likely count you as a URM but it is questionable what effect this will have.

With URM, in at T6, t14 with some money.

Without URM, in at one or two t14, probably Cornell and another, with no money.

So you're saying there is a chance I may not be considered URM? I checked both boxes because that is how I identify myself.

What kind of scholarships am I looking at, especially in MVPCCN? Also what kind of doors might a 174-175 retake open for me?

Thanks so much again, I hate asking but there's just not that much data out there so any opinions are helpful.

[Law Sauce]

Your softs will not make a huge difference. small bump in grades probably not worth the extra year. You are right on the URM cut-off. May want to call admissions to see what boxes to check. (probably both) This will likely count you as a URM but it is questionable what effect this will have.

With URM, in at T6, t14 with some money.

Without URM, in at one or two t14, probably Cornell and another, with no money.

So you're saying there is a chance I may not be considered URM? I checked both boxes because that is how I identify myself.

What kind of scholarships am I looking at, especially in MVPCCN? Also what kind of doors might a 174-175 retake open for me?

Thanks so much again, I hate asking but there's just not that much data out there so any opinions are helpful.

It is not like you either are a URM or are not. Well it kind of is. What I am saying is that it is unclear what bump you will get. But you should get some. For this reason, you are hard to predict. Apply to 1-14 and see what happens. I think you will be quite successful even without the retake. With a retake that high you may get a school or two that you wouldn't have gotten (probably Harvard which would be worth it obviously), but your cycle would still be ridiculously hard to predict and quite possibly not that much different. Just shoot out those apps, retake in Oct if you really want (I dont think its necessary, but it can only help I guess), and see what happens. If you get a big boost from URM, which is probably likely but still a question mark, you will be in play at every school except Yale I'd guess.

After checking some more URM data, you may be set at H and CCN as it stands. I dont think a retake is necessary.

[mickeyD]

What I am saying is that it is unclear what bump you will get. But you should get some. For this reason, you are hard to predict. Apply to 1-14 and see what happens. I think you will be quite successful even without the retake. With a retake that high you may get a school or two that you wouldn't have gotten (probably Harvard which would be worth it obviously), but your cycle would still be ridiculously hard to predict and quite possibly not that much different. Just shoot out those apps, retake in Oct if you really want (I dont think its necessary, but it can only help I guess), and see what happens. If you get a big boost from URM, which is probably likely but still a question mark, you will be in play at every school except Yale I'd guess.

After checking some more URM data, you may be set at H and CCN as it stands. I dont think a retake is necessary.

I'm retaking because for one, it's not that much of a burden for me to prep again, and two, I want to solidify my chances at scholarship money. If my cycle is, like you say, difficult to predict, I'm hoping that a higher LSAT score will give me some better peace of mind and solidify my app. I simply can't bring myself to take out the loans to attend a school at sticker so scholarship money will almost certainly dictate where I go, H being the exception. Significant money at MVP or even CCN would mean everything, and while a 170 may be enough to get me an admit somewhere in the T-6, spending
another few months prepping to potentially attend a great school with little debt is well worth it to me.

Looking at some LSN profiles for AAs with similar stats makes me a little nervous, this one http://lawschoolnumbers.com/timmna got WLed at Penn, UVA, Columbia but then this one http://lawschoolnumbers.com/elamaa got in at Columbia and $60K at Penn.

Does anyone know if any of the above mentioned schools are known to be generous when it comes to scholarships for URMS?

[mickeyD]

Anyone else have any knowledge about URM splitters?