Top Law Schools

Hey everybody, long time lurker. Kind of addicted to TLS.

3.27, 174

Actually PTed a little higher than that, so open for a retake if a couple more points would drastically improve my chances. Some interesting softs, but widely scattered (ranging from interning at a cancer ward, to teaching English in Israel, to a marketing position in Sydney).

Basically going for the best school I can get into. My future aspirations are for the East Coast, but I'm flexible at the moment. Fortunately, moneys not the biggest issue, but its always a factor. My list includes the t14 (minus HYS of course), plus Vandy, GW, and Tulane.

Setting down now to work on my PS and all the extra essays I can write. I'm a confident writer, so that leaves two major issues with my app: 1) my GPA (slight upward trend, but no real tangible fuel for an addendum); and 2) the fact that I have no legal experience on my CV.

Besides the obvious impact of my GPA, how much will that second one hurt me? I can see it coming up in interviews as a question of my desire/drive to be a lawyer.

Thanks in advance. I'd love to return the favor if possible.

Retake won't help, not having legal experience won't hurt, not many schools do interviews but I'm sure you can bullshit your way through the "why you want to be a lawyer" question if necessary.

You and I are(were..) very close numbers-wise.

Choose which MVP you want to ED to, or NU if you have WE. Be careful with your apps, and if you ED MVP shoot them off early so that you can keeping EDing if you get rejected.

Furthermore, apply to WUSTL and the Midwest T25s, and maybe a couple apps at places like GW or even BU (I know they like GPAs but they admitted me so you never know).

If you want the best school, I would say that your best chance is UVA, but that was two cycles ago and I could be wrong.

What if NYU is my dream school - would a 178+ on the October LSAT give me a fighting chance, or is that GPA floor too hard?

(A single green dot on LSN is my only source of hope...)

sub-3.4/3.3 is rough for NYU. You can certainly try but it's doubtful.

ImTheWiz wrote:What if NYU is my dream school - would a 178+ on the October LSAT give me a fighting chance, or is that GPA floor too hard?

(A single green dot on LSN is my only source of hope...)

I'd say a 178+ would give you a chance but scoring a 178+ isn't even close to a guarantee.

As a splitter who shot for the moon and barely made the T14 myself, what I will say is that if you are set in going to the best school you can at sticker, the difference between CCN and the lower T14 isn't worth missing out on the T14 entirely. If you look at people with your numbers this cycle, several of them have either missed the T14 entirely or come quite close to it by managing only a single acceptance. It isn't worth holding out for NYU when that might mean missing the T14 entirely. Yes, CCN place better than the lower T14 but it isn't significant enough to be worth risking losing out on the T14 at all. Personally I would pick your favorite lower T14 and ED there (probably one of MVP).