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Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:35 am
by loisaida
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Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:39 am
by Easy-E
loisaida wrote:Hey all!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated:
I've looked through the past posts on what constitutes a great soft and a good soft. While I still don't have a reportable LSAT score (I'm taking in October), my PTs are below the median at the schools I'm looking at, but my GPA is not. Without going into detail I have what has been listed as a great soft in addition to some good softs.
So: along with a good GPA and good softs, do you think the great soft will help balance out the lower LSAT score? I know this is the age-old question and GPA and LSAT are the main factors. Basically, I'm wondering if I should go full throttle with all of my apps as soon as I get my score back to get the apply-early-for-a-better-chance and showcase the great soft, or if I should apply later with a better LSAT score in December. (Then it becomes a problem of what IF I don't get a better score in December??)
Thanks!!
I'm pretty sure a better LSAT will always trump softs. If you think you aren't ready for October, don't take it. A five point difference from one test to the next is a world of difference. I could be wrong though.
Edit: I didn't really read your post too well, but I believe if you're above the GPA median and below the LSAT it evens out. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:27 pm
by HeavenWood
emarxnj wrote:loisaida wrote:Hey all!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated:
I've looked through the past posts on what constitutes a great soft and a good soft. While I still don't have a reportable LSAT score (I'm taking in October), my PTs are below the median at the schools I'm looking at, but my GPA is not. Without going into detail I have what has been listed as a great soft in addition to some good softs.
So: along with a good GPA and good softs, do you think the great soft will help balance out the lower LSAT score? I know this is the age-old question and GPA and LSAT are the main factors. Basically, I'm wondering if I should go full throttle with all of my apps as soon as I get my score back to get the apply-early-for-a-better-chance and showcase the great soft, or if I should apply later with a better LSAT score in December. (Then it becomes a problem of what IF I don't get a better score in December??)
Thanks!!
I'm pretty sure a better LSAT will always trump softs. If you think you aren't ready for October, don't take it. A five point difference from one test to the next is a world of difference. I could be wrong though.
Edit: I didn't really read your post too well, but
I believe if you're above the GPA median and below the LSAT it evens out. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong
It can, but you're more likely to "even out" as a splitter than a reverse-splitter.
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:34 pm
by Easy-E
HeavenWood wrote:emarxnj wrote:loisaida wrote:Hey all!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated:
I've looked through the past posts on what constitutes a great soft and a good soft. While I still don't have a reportable LSAT score (I'm taking in October), my PTs are below the median at the schools I'm looking at, but my GPA is not. Without going into detail I have what has been listed as a great soft in addition to some good softs.
So: along with a good GPA and good softs, do you think the great soft will help balance out the lower LSAT score? I know this is the age-old question and GPA and LSAT are the main factors. Basically, I'm wondering if I should go full throttle with all of my apps as soon as I get my score back to get the apply-early-for-a-better-chance and showcase the great soft, or if I should apply later with a better LSAT score in December. (Then it becomes a problem of what IF I don't get a better score in December??)
Thanks!!
I'm pretty sure a better LSAT will always trump softs. If you think you aren't ready for October, don't take it. A five point difference from one test to the next is a world of difference. I could be wrong though.
Edit: I didn't really read your post too well, but
I believe if you're above the GPA median and below the LSAT it evens out. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong
It can, but you're more likely to "even out" as a splitter than a reverse-splitter.
I've mixed this up before, a typical splitter is which? Above LSAT below GPA or vice versa?
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:41 pm
by Ernert
emarxnj wrote:I've mixed this up before, a typical splitter is which? Above LSAT below GPA or vice versa?
Typical splitter: high LSAT, low GPA
"Reverse" splitter: GPA high, LSAT low
High and low being relative to medians, 25ths, 75ths, etc.
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:46 pm
by loisaida
Gah. So the great soft doesn't help too much with the lower LSAT score- it would have been better if I was a splitter and not a reverse splitter?
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:47 pm
by Easy-E
Sheehan wrote:emarxnj wrote:I've mixed this up before, a typical splitter is which? Above LSAT below GPA or vice versa?
Typical splitter: high LSAT, low GPA
"Reverse" splitter: GPA high, LSAT low
High and low being relative to medians, 25ths, 75ths, etc.
Alright, thanks. I'm typical, woot.
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:50 pm
by bdubs
Look at LSN and the 25/75 LSAT split of the schools that you want to apply to. If you're above the 75th percentile for GPA and between 25 and 50th percentile for LSAT you stand a good shot at a lot of schools. Once you go below the 25th percentile for LSAT things tend to get murky. This is an overly broad generalization, but many schools tend to reserve a significant portion of their acceptances below the 25th LSAT percentile for URM candidates.
Your great soft will help you be the 1/5 people who got into a particular school with an LSAT/GPA combo similar to yours, but it probably won't make you show up as an outlier on the graph of acceptances.
Re: Softs and medians
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:59 pm
by Samara
It depends a lot on the school, the exact numbers and other factors. Some schools are reverse-splitter friendly, others aren't. We'll need more to make any sort of assessment beyond "the softs can make up for a couple points, but not many."