Top Law Schools

Hello you TLSers, you purveyors of wisdom...
I'm staring at the tail end of my UG life (December) with a 175/2.72. As with many splitters, I got my act together late in the game, and actually my past few semesters have been 4.0 or close to it. My question is essentially this: if I pick up a minor or otherwise artificially extend my undergrad for a semester or more, how beneficial would that GPA boost be for my law school goals (T10-T20 range)?
If I can add another 15 credits: 2.84
30 credits: 2.93

Compared to, say, 2 years WE or a graduate degree, should I even be considering this? I'm mentally law-or-bust, and I'll slug it out if need be, but I don't want to stick myself through more UG if I have better alternatives. Thanks guys!

I am sorry to say this, but I don't think any top 20 schools will accept a GPA below a 3.3, certainly not a 3.0

Maybe one or two of the top 25-top 30 will...

GWU, WashUStL, Minnesota & Indiana are all realistic possibilities with your stats according to lawschoolnumbers.com.

If you have to ask..... It sounds like a dumb idea because it is. Forget it. You need to push forward, not drown yourself in undergrad credits.

OP: Write an addendum focusing on your last few semesters GPA.

Graduate as soon as possible. Go out and get some real work experience and enjoy Northwestern. The difference between a 2.7/2.9 is pretty negligible because either way you're under most schools 25% GPA. The poster above that says you're locked out of the top 20 schools has no idea what he's talking about.

Take more credits before graduation, up GPA, FTW IMO. With that LSAT you want a higher GPA if possible. If you can get it to 3.0 that would be best... you might be able to get T7-14.

Unless you are URM, in which case it might not be worth it for you, because the boost would get you in.

ETA; what the poster above said is true to a large degree, but I have heard of schools that have a firm lower limit for GPAs and won't take below a 3.0, FWIW.

There isn't really a difference until you break 3.0.

You have a good shot at WUSTL or Illinois right now, and as Sh@keNB@ke said, WE could get you Northwestern

So 3.0 would be the magic number to make the difference then? I guess that answers that-- it's not worth another year and a half, if that's even possible.

Related to this, how much would an LSAT increase matter? I self-taught my way to my current score, but just started working for a major test-prep company. If I can increase my LSAT, do any new doors actually open or do I just firm up my chances with the currently-open ones?

A higher LSAT score is unlikely to help because your GPA is weighing down your options & a score of 172 clearly shows your potential to do well. A higher LSAT score might make you seem lazy--or lazier--in light of your dismal GPA.

MusicComp wrote:I am sorry to say this, but I don't think any top 20 schools will accept a GPA below a 3.3, certainly not a 3.0

Maybe one or two of the top 25-top 30 will...

I am sorry to say this, but you are horribly wrong. A 99th %ile LSAT essentially trumps any GPA at certain schools, congrats OP! Don't worry about the difference between a 2.7 and 2.9...sub 25th is sub 25th.

CanadianWolf wrote:A higher LSAT score is unlikely to help because your GPA is weighing down your options & a score of 172 clearly shows your potential to do well. A higher LSAT score might make you seem lazy--or lazier--in light of your dismal GPA.

I don't think a higher LSAT would seem lazy, but it is virtually meaningless, especially b/c you are far above the 75%ile for all the schools your gpa doesn't preclude you from

Graduate and get the work experience, because the small bump in GPA won't make a difference. As many people pointed out, it'll be below the 25% either way, so doesn't make a difference, while having WE will help.

I don't think retaking will be worth it either, because you're already above the 75% there for everywhere outside the T6, and your GPA already excludes you from them.