Top Law Schools

I'm a Canadian student studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo (extremely well known in the software/tech industry). I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world, including both Google and Facebook.

My cumulative GPA is: 3.44

My GPA for each year is:
1st - 2.86 (75% average, ranked top 30 in class)
2nd - 3.69 (84% average, ranked top 20 in class)
3rd - 3.73 (85% average, ranked top 15 in class)
4th - 3.76 (86% average, ranked top 10 in class)

My highest LSAT score is: 175

What are my chances at Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford?

Don't go to law school.

romothesavior wrote:Don't go to law school.

+1

I have very similar earning prospects as you. Just recognize that in terms of total money made, going to law school wont catch up to your salary as an engineer until you've worked at a market paying biglaw firm for 6 years. So starting from the day you enter law school, it takes almost a decade for you to catch up in terms of income. And that's assuming that you make it into biglaw and make it 6 years as an associate. In sum, going to law school must be a purely ideological decision for you.

Fair enough. I have already put some thought into whether I want to enter the field of Law, and have decided that I do. Thanks for your thoughts. Do you guys have any opinions in regards to my chances of getting into those schools?

canadianengineer wrote:I'm a Canadian student studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo (extremely well known in the software/tech industry). I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world, including both Google and Facebook.

My cumulative GPA is: 3.44

My GPA for each year is:
1st - 2.86 (75% average, ranked top 30 in class)
2nd - 3.69 (84% average, ranked top 20 in class)
3rd - 3.73 (85% average, ranked top 15 in class)
4th - 3.76 (86% average, ranked top 10 in class)

My highest LSAT score is: 175

What are my chances at Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford?

very low and you shouldn't go.

canadianengineer wrote:Fair enough. I have already put some thought into whether I want to enter the field of Law, and have decided that I do. Thanks for your thoughts. Do you guys have any opinions in regards to my chances of getting into those schools?

This data should answer your question.

YourCaptain wrote:

canadianengineer wrote:I'm a Canadian student studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo (extremely well known in the software/tech industry). I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world, including both Google and Facebook.

My cumulative GPA is: 3.44

My GPA for each year is:
1st - 2.86 (75% average, ranked top 30 in class)
2nd - 3.69 (84% average, ranked top 20 in class)
3rd - 3.73 (85% average, ranked top 15 in class)
4th - 3.76 (86% average, ranked top 10 in class)

My highest LSAT score is: 175

What are my chances at Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford?

very low and you shouldn't go.

Why and why? (Not trying to be rude, just trying to understand). Are my scores + work experience not competitive? I don't want to attend law school just because of potential financial benefits, I enjoy subjects outside the field of Engineering...

canadianengineer wrote:. I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world,

Most undergrads only get one or two in and usually not at the top companies in the world.

MormonChristian wrote:

canadianengineer wrote:. I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world,

Most undergrads only get one or two in and usually not at the top companies in the world.

University of Waterloo has their students do co-ops.

canadianengineer wrote:

YourCaptain wrote:

canadianengineer wrote:I'm a Canadian student studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo (extremely well known in the software/tech industry). I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world, including both Google and Facebook.

My cumulative GPA is: 3.44

My GPA for each year is:
1st - 2.86 (75% average, ranked top 30 in class)
2nd - 3.69 (84% average, ranked top 20 in class)
3rd - 3.73 (85% average, ranked top 15 in class)
4th - 3.76 (86% average, ranked top 10 in class)

My highest LSAT score is: 175

What are my chances at Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford?

very low and you shouldn't go.

Why and why? (Not trying to be rude, just trying to understand). Are my scores + work experience not competitive? I don't want to attend law school just because of potential financial benefits, I enjoy subjects outside the field of Engineering...

gpa kills you

canadianengineer wrote:Fair enough. I have already put some thought into whether I want to enter the field of Law, and have decided that I do. Thanks for your thoughts. Do you guys have any opinions in regards to my chances of getting into those schools?

I echo the opinion that law school is likely going to end up in a net monetary loss over your lifetime. I understand where you're coming from since I am also choosing law over a very promising career consulting.

I graduated from Waterloo EE a few years back and applying this cycle to LS. It's only halfway through the cycle but its appearing as though internationals educated outside the US system for UG are treated differently. Won't know for sure until the end of the cycle but I think the criteria is a bit more strict.

Overall, you can get a good idea of your chances from LSP and LSN. I'm thinking the tough undergrad degree + work experience don't count for too much in terms of admissions into LS.

Hope that helps,
Feel free to PM me, I know there isn't much information on here for internationals.

YourCaptain wrote:

canadianengineer wrote:

YourCaptain wrote:

canadianengineer wrote:I'm a Canadian student studying Software Engineering at the University of Waterloo (extremely well known in the software/tech industry). I have completed six internships at some of the top software/tech companies in the world, including both Google and Facebook.

My cumulative GPA is: 3.44

My GPA for each year is:
1st - 2.86 (75% average, ranked top 30 in class)
2nd - 3.69 (84% average, ranked top 20 in class)
3rd - 3.73 (85% average, ranked top 15 in class)
4th - 3.76 (86% average, ranked top 10 in class)

My highest LSAT score is: 175

What are my chances at Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford?

very low and you shouldn't go.

Why and why? (Not trying to be rude, just trying to understand). Are my scores + work experience not competitive? I don't want to attend law school just because of potential financial benefits, I enjoy subjects outside the field of Engineering...

gpa kills you

Not for Columbia.

ok so he has an outside shot at C w/ no $ congratulations buddy

Your GPA hurts you. You might have a shot at CCN but I'm not liking your odds at the other schools.

Just curious... why do you want to be a lawyer? What are you looking to do?

YourCaptain wrote:ok so he has an outside shot at C w/ no $ congratulations buddy

If by outside shot you mean a ~40% chance, then yes. But I'm guessing that, unlike the OP, you didn't take any math in college.

romothesavior wrote:Your GPA hurts you. You might have a shot at CCN but I'm not liking your odds at the other schools.

Just curious... why do you want to be a lawyer? What are you looking to do?

I want to work on the legal aspects of living in such a technological world. I am not sure where/how that is possible, but I imagine there are firms working hand-in-hand with technology companies to ensure that technology is developing within the bounds of the law and that both the developers and users are adequately legally protected.

canadianengineer wrote:

romothesavior wrote:Your GPA hurts you. You might have a shot at CCN but I'm not liking your odds at the other schools.

Just curious... why do you want to be a lawyer? What are you looking to do?

I want to work on the legal aspects of living in such a technological world. I am not sure where/how that is possible, but I imagine there are firms working hand-in-hand with technology companies to ensure that technology is developing within the bounds of the law and that both the developers and users are adequately legally protected.

I said "don't go" because you sound like you have other career options that most of us don't have. But if you really want to be a lawyer, then lower T14 with huge scholarship money wouldn't be a bad idea. Your IP background would help you a lot with getting a big firm job. But you really need to think about whether or not that's what you want to do, because it is a big plunge to take... three years of school, a decent chunk of change, lost salary, and a big shift in careers.

canadianengineer wrote:

romothesavior wrote:Your GPA hurts you. You might have a shot at CCN but I'm not liking your odds at the other schools.

Just curious... why do you want to be a lawyer? What are you looking to do?

I want to work on the legal aspects of living in such a technological world. I am not sure where/how that is possible, but I imagine there are firms working hand-in-hand with technology companies to ensure that technology is developing within the bounds of the law and that both the developers and users are adequately legally protected.

puke. you will end up filing and/or litigating over patents issued by the companies you could be working for as an engineer.

Corwin wrote:

YourCaptain wrote:ok so he has an outside shot at C w/ no $ congratulations buddy

If by outside shot you mean a ~40% chance, then yes. But I'm guessing that, unlike the OP, you didn't take any math in college.

well thank god most of the people who got in had incrementally higher gpas and lsats, something that matters when adcomms are creating a class profile. so no, my point still stands: chances at C w/o $ are low-ish, and virtually no chance at hys. keep it up man youre looking smart right now

Is there really only a negligible weight placed in having 6 internships completed (2 years of work experience, as an undergraduate)? These internships have been extremely high quality, and I have had a chance to work on some extremely user-facing and user-impacting products. I believe I have the experience to write a very solid letter along with my application, and explain my (somewhat) out-of-the-norm circumstances.

I understand that admissions are largely a numbers game (LSAT and GPA), but is the benefit of such a different background really that meaningless?

canadianengineer wrote:Is there really only a negligible weight placed in having 6 internships completed (2 years of work experience, as an undergraduate)? These internships have been extremely high quality, and I have had a chance to work on some extremely user-facing and user-impacting products. I believe I have the experience to write a very solid letter along with my application, and explain my (somewhat) out-of-the-norm circumstances.

I understand that admissions are largely a numbers game (LSAT and GPA), but is the benefit of such a different background really that meaningless?

on the margins, it can help, but i dont think youre really on the margins for hys.

canadianengineer wrote:Is there really only a negligible weight placed in having 6 internships completed (2 years of work experience, as an undergraduate)? These internships have been extremely high quality, and I have had a chance to work on some extremely user-facing and user-impacting products. I believe I have the experience to write a very solid letter along with my application, and explain my (somewhat) out-of-the-norm circumstances.

I understand that admissions are largely a numbers game (LSAT and GPA), but is the benefit of such a different background really that meaningless?

Probably won't help much. It is a numbers game unless you have something that just jumps off the paper. Your softs are decent, but they're still just softs.

It will probably be a good talking point for IP OCI stuff though.

YourCaptain wrote:ok so he has an outside shot at C w/ no $ congratulations buddy

YourCaptain wrote: well thank god most of the people who got in had incrementally higher gpas and lsats, something that matters when adcomms are creating a class profile. so no, my point still stands: chances at C w/o $ are low-ish, and virtually no chance at hys. keep it up man youre looking smart right now

If by "my point still stands" you mean "I revised my point so now I don't look like a total idiot", then yes.

canadianengineer wrote:Is there really only a negligible weight placed in having 6 internships completed (2 years of work experience, as an undergraduate)? These internships have been extremely high quality, and I have had a chance to work on some extremely user-facing and user-impacting products. I believe I have the experience to write a very solid letter along with my application, and explain my (somewhat) out-of-the-norm circumstances.

I understand that admissions are largely a numbers game (LSAT and GPA), but is the benefit of such a different background really that meaningless?

No way. It makes literally no difference. I know people who have founded their own startup companies... doesn't matter. LSAT/GPA is literally all that matters to law schools. Everybody has a remarkable soft of some kind at the T6 level, whether it's national champion of something, solid WE, athlete, musician, whatever. It won't help you.

Welcome to law, where all your engineering prestige will do nothing but get you a job filing patents for someone or litigating over them. Stay in engineering where your "user facing" experience is actually worth a shit, you have a bigger chance at a large payday, you won't be working 90 hour weeks in your 60's, and your work will be engaging.