3.79/175, applying late? Forum

[doubledare]

3.78 at a top-15 school
175 LSAT
Humanities major

I know my numbers are my strongest asset, but I'm applying very late in the season. I thought I would be working/taking a year off but my plans have changed and have decided to apply after all. My PS is about overcoming an severe illness the summer after my sophomore year (my grades didn't suffer that much because I took the minimum number of hours every semester after that but I didn't take any time off except for the summer).

I've finished everything on my end but still waiting for LORs to come through and my apps might not be completed what with processing times and everything until late January. Any input is appreciated.

Applying to: HYS, Columbia, NYU, GT, and Berkeley because I really can't see myself at any other schools.

[thederangedwang]

you are really screwing yourself with this late app....I would recommend you sit out this cycle and have fun and reapply in sept/oct.

As it stands now, you have a low chance of getting into Harvard which is your best bet of the T3 and almost no chance of getting into SLS or Yale.

However, because your numbers are strong, you should get into a lot of the remaining T14's regardless of your lateness. I think you should get into at least half of the remaining 11/12 schools (if you include Texas).

[doubledare]

That's definitely the answer I was afraid of... especially since I just spent an hour looking at similar threads and they all seem to say the same thing.

I am curious though if I were to apply this cycle, got rejected at my top schools and then chose to reapply next year. Is it the typical experience that once a school rejects someone (due partly to a late application), that they will reject that person again even if there are no gaps in the resume, a stronger PS, etc.

Maybe I'm just a gambler, but hey, recently went to Vegas and did pretty well for myself at the blackjack tables..

[NoleinNY]

That's definitely the answer I was afraid of... especially since I just spent an hour looking at similar threads and they all seem to say the same thing.

I am curious though if I were to apply this cycle, got rejected at my top schools and then chose to reapply next year. Is it the typical experience that once a school rejects someone (due partly to a late application), that they will reject that person again even if there are no gaps in the resume, a stronger PS, etc.

Maybe I'm just a gambler, but hey, recently went to Vegas and did pretty well for myself at the blackjack tables..

Seriously, sit this one out. Get some work experience or volunteer (or gamble, if that's how you make your money...) Apply at the start of next cycle and you may get H, can get some $ in N, and stand to make good scholly bank at GT and B.

[thederangedwang]

That's definitely the answer I was afraid of... especially since I just spent an hour looking at similar threads and they all seem to say the same thing.

I am curious though if I were to apply this cycle, got rejected at my top schools and then chose to reapply next year. Is it the typical experience that once a school rejects someone (due partly to a late application), that they will reject that person again even if there are no gaps in the resume, a stronger PS, etc.

Maybe I'm just a gambler, but hey, recently went to Vegas and did pretty well for myself at the blackjack tables..

It's 1 thing to gamble with chips, it's another to gamble with your future. Sit this one out, go to harvard nxt year, make money, then go to vegas and outraise everyone

[delusional]

My numbers were slightly better, but I applied almost at the deadline, and the only thing it affected was scholarships. Since you're likely to get in to Harvard, that is unlikely to matter. At the very least, apply to the need-only schools this year, and then you'll have really good scholarships next year at CCNMVP as backup if that goes wrong.

[thederangedwang]

My numbers were slightly better, but I applied almost at the deadline, and the only thing it affected was scholarships. Since you're likely to get in to Harvard, that is unlikely to matter. At the very least, apply to the need-only schools this year, and then you'll have really good scholarships next year at CCNMVP as backup if that goes wrong.

A 177, 3.9 is NOT comparable to a 175/3.79

[delusional]

My numbers were slightly better, but I applied almost at the deadline, and the only thing it affected was scholarships. Since you're likely to get in to Harvard, that is unlikely to matter. At the very least, apply to the need-only schools this year, and then you'll have really good scholarships next year at CCNMVP as backup if that goes wrong.

A 177, 3.9 is NOT comparable to a 175/3.79

Comparable enough. Harvard needs to be able to take such numbers in order to maintain their numbers over such a huge class. Conventional wisdom is that late applications don't matter at Yale. And the issue in question is not whether he should blow his one chance - it's whether the hypothetical lower chance of re-applying after getting rejected for a late app is worth pushing everything off for a year.

Taking all of that into account, I would think that applying to at least HYS this year is worthwhile.

[thederangedwang]

you're comparing an above 75th lsat and median GPA to a above median lsat and a 25th gpa....both scores dropped a quartile....that makes a difference..even if slight. And slight differeces are what matter this late in the game

[chasgoose]

you are really screwing yourself with this late app....I would recommend you sit out this cycle and have fun and reapply in sept/oct.

As it stands now, you have a low chance of getting into Harvard which is your best bet of the T3 and almost no chance of getting into SLS or Yale.

However, because your numbers are strong, you should get into a lot of the remaining T14's regardless of your lateness. I think you should get into at least half of the remaining 11/12 schools (if you include Texas).

This is completely wrong. Although I always think taking time off is a good thing, if OP wants to apply this cycle, he should be fine.TLS has a skewed vision of what is detrimentally late for law school applications. OP is definitely pushing it, but December LSAT release date (usually around first/second week of January) is really the deadline for most places before your lateness can cause problems.

Of YHS, Harvard maybe might be a problem, but they are so big that they haven't come close to making even half of their offers yet. So long as he gets his apps in before the December LSAT scores come out, he will still most likely be in the first half of applicants to apply overall. HLS is only accepting people right now that they know they will accept no matter who else applies, they are waiting for more apps so they can see where the current ones stand. For OP to get into HLS there is going to have to be something beyond his numbers anyways that would probably transcend the fact that he didn't apply earlier. If he doesn't have something extra, it's highly unlikely that an earlier app would translate to an acceptance (although interesting work experience might help). SLS seems to take their sweet time anyways and was an extreme long shot no matter what. As we all know, YLS doesn't do rolling acceptances so, despite the fact that YLS is also a very long shot, there is no difference between applying now and applying earlier next cycle.

Additionally, with the exception of Berkeley, the other schools on his list are notoriously friendly to late applicants. CLS doesn't start processing RD applicants until late January anyways and if he gets his act together, he is definitely early enough to make that first round (I was accepted last cycle at CLS towards the end of the first wave with worse numbers and a January 7th application date). NYU is also big enough that like Harvard, his lateness won't be as big of a factor. Since OP is an auto-admit at CLS/NYU we don't have to worry that much about GT (which still will accept him and most likely do it rather quickly based on his numbers) or Berkeley (where his lateness might play a factor since they aren't wowed by high LSATs and his GPA is a bit low). If OP were carpeting the T14, his lateness would be more of a problem (especially at places like Chicago), but given his list, unless OP's heart is set on Berkeley if YHS doesn't work out, he's totally fine to apply now.

Finally, scholarships won't be a big issue either. YHS only gives need-based aid, which won't be affected by timing. OP is early enough to be considered for Hamilton/Butler at CLS and other merit-based scholarships at NYU/CLS are processed in April anyways. Berkeley rarely gives any aid until admits apply for matching aid based on offers from other schools (which would be whatever scholarships OP gets from CLS/NYU) so that's not a problem either. I'm not totally sure how GT processes it's aid, but I doubt OP is going to end up there anyways.

TL;DR version: Lateness might be a problem for HLS, but I highly doubt applying earlier would drastically improve his lowish chances. OP is auto-admit at CLS/NYU and won't be hurt for scholarship consideration purposes. OP should only hold off if he gets an interesting job or if he likes Berkeley A LOT MORE than CLS/NYU.

[jd5]

Bump. I had a thread about this elsewhere, but I'm in a similar position to the OP, 177/3.8, still working on the personal statement and waiting on one letter of recommendation.

Diminished admission chances at HLS aside, I'm also concerned about the lower chances of a scholarship money at NYU and Columbia (assuming I get in at all!). Chasgoose, are you sure Hamilton/Butler is still in play this late in the game? And how much merit money is usually given out to applicants that don't qualify for the named scholarships? Would I still be in the running for money if my application goes complete mid- to late-January?

I know Law School Numbers is probably my best bet for figuring this stuff out, but I feel like my late application throws off the calculus. If anyone could direct me to an authoritative thread on the topic of scholarships at NYU/CLS, I'd really appreciate it.