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I'm a female non-URM. Currently a junior, but I had to withdraw this semester due to both a death and illness in the family that happened concurrently. I was planning on graduating a semester later to boost up my GPA, but, because I have enough credits to graduate on time, and money is tight given my family situation, I am going to graduate when I am supposed to. However, my grades since freshman year have been, although always on an upward trend, not extremely impressive. I'm worried that having only one more semester to show growth is not substantial enough to have a T-14 accept me. Would I be pushing my luck by applying in the fall of 2012, or should I wait an extra year, boost up my GPA to above a 3.5, and then apply? I took the LSAT in June and received a 175 and don't plan on retaking it. Also, will the withdrawal affect my chances of acceptance as well?

If I apply next fall, I would be applying to Michigan and Penn, possibly ED to Penn. If I don't get into any of them, I plan on staying another semester, bringing up my GPA, and then applying to more schools then. Any input on this plan would be greatly appreciated. How are my chances at Penn and Mich with my current numbers? Thanks for your help.

Getting that GPA up to a 3.5 with that LSAT score you should be good at those schools and definitely aim higher

Don't ED to Penn. You have a very very strong shot at Columbia and NYU and an outside shot at Chicago

JamMasterJ wrote:Don't ED to Penn. You have a very very strong shot at Columbia and NYU and an outside shot at Chicago

^ yes and this too

If you're going to ED, ED to Columbia or NYU.

ccw1030 wrote:I'm worried that having only one more semester to show growth is not substantial enough to have a T-14 accept me.

1) They don't care as much about upward trend as you think.
2) What caliber of undergrad did you go to? For those who are near a floor, the school's reputation, and potentially your major, probably matter more than it does for others.

Either way, you will get in to Georgetown. Probably will get in to Penn. Have potential to get in to Michigan and NYU.

From my understanding. 3.4 v 3.5 is slightly significant. Since you have your LSAT set in stone, I'd say shoot to improve your GPA if you can afford it. In your applications, every school (or at least most schools) will ask if your education "has been interrupted" for any reason, so you will need to disclose that you withdrew and probably you'll have to write a short addendum. If you explain your situation clearly in the addendum I can't imagine that they'd hold it against you very much. A few additional tips, since you're still a junior in UG:

- Start thinking about your PS/Why X/addenda/DS now if you're applying next year.
- Ask your LORs for letters in early spring of 2012, not late summer (some of them may take 5+ months)

The reason why I say the above is because it will make the whole process MUCH easier. I started writing my PS around this time last year and I had it pretty much done by late summer. Ditto with LORs. I requested mine in Feb/March, and one of my LORs didn't write hers until October (the rest were done by Spring, which was a load off my shoulders). You want to have all your app materials done by ~Septemberish so you can submit as early as possible, which will give you a slight boost.