Possibility at Harvard? Forum

[relevantfactor]

Hello all,

Edit: Thanks everyone

FYI, I have been lurking the forums for a while, but never posted. Nice to meet you all!

[Systematic1]

Depends on what book you authored.

[relevantfactor]

Depends on what book you authored.

Was a novel, nothing special. Is this really relevant? Also working on a second one but more technical.

[JamMasterJ]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

[relevantfactor]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

Do you think taking extra easy classes to boost GPA (3 easy As over the summer) would be a wise choice? Even though I think this will only increase it about .3/.4

[Systematic1]

Is this really relevant?

Not really, was mostly just curious.

[relevantfactor]

Is this really relevant?

Not really, was mostly just curious.

Oh, you had me for a second, lol.

EDIT: Also, if 3.7 is their base, would an outstanding LSAT make it up for it? Please advise.

[dixon02]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

Do you think taking extra easy classes to boost GPA (3 easy As over the summer) would be a wise choice? Even though I think this will only increase it about .3/.4

Do you mean .3 or .03? Anything you can do to get your GPA higher, especially to 3.7+, is a good idea. If this means taking underwater basketweaving at community college, go for it.

That said, this is all moot until you've taken the LSAT or at least have a few diagnostics. Harvard's 25% LSAT score is still something like the 98th percentile overall. Harvard is many people's dream, but it's not even remotely attainable for the vast majority of applicants.

[relevantfactor]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

Do you think taking extra easy classes to boost GPA (3 easy As over the summer) would be a wise choice? Even though I think this will only increase it about .3/.4

Do you mean .3 or .03? Anything you can do to get your GPA higher, especially to 3.7+, is a good idea. If this means taking underwater basketweaving at community college, go for it.

That said, this is all moot until you've taken the LSAT or at least have a few diagnostics. Harvard's 25% LSAT score is still something like the 98th percentile overall. Harvard is many people's dream, but it's not even remotely attainable for the vast majority of applicants.

Each class will increase it by .1 (just did the math). Do you think it's worth it to take 5 really easy A's in a local college in order to get to 3.7? Also, and more importantly, when would I take those classes? The summer before going to law school or would that be way too late? Please advise, and thank you for the good advice.

EDIT: Also, I'm taking testmasters in july and will be done in oct, and taking the test in December. Between oct to dec. it will be mostly private tutoring and self-study - any suggestions on a better strategy?

[dixon02]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

Do you think taking extra easy classes to boost GPA (3 easy As over the summer) would be a wise choice? Even though I think this will only increase it about .3/.4

Do you mean .3 or .03? Anything you can do to get your GPA higher, especially to 3.7+, is a good idea. If this means taking underwater basketweaving at community college, go for it.

That said, this is all moot until you've taken the LSAT or at least have a few diagnostics. Harvard's 25% LSAT score is still something like the 98th percentile overall. Harvard is many people's dream, but it's not even remotely attainable for the vast majority of applicants.

Each class will increase it by .1 (just did the math). Do you think it's worth it to take 5 really easy A's in a local college in order to get to 3.7? Also, and more importantly, when would I take those classes? The summer before going to law school or would that be way too late? Please advise, and thank you for the good advice.

EDIT: Also, I'm taking testmasters in july and will be done in oct, and taking the test in December. Between oct to dec. it will be mostly private tutoring and self-study - any suggestions on a better strategy?

What year are you in school? The answer is different if you are a rising junior or rising senior.

[relevantfactor]

I'm a rising senior.

If Harvard is out of question (which sucks.) What school do you think gives a better chance for someone with a below 3.7 GPA such as mine?

EDIT:Please keep in mind that I will have 4 regular classes and an LSAT class on the fall already scheduled, so anything added on the fall would be on top of that.

[dixon02]

I'm a rising senior.

If Harvard is out of question (which sucks.) What school do you think gives a better chance for someone with a below 3.7 GPA such as mine?

EDIT:Please keep in mind that I will have 4 regular classes and an LSAT class on the fall already scheduled, so anything added on the fall would be on top of that.

Well if you're a rising senior this is all moot. The only grades that matter are the ones that will go on your law school app. As for the LSAT, taking it for the first time in December of the year you are applying is not an ideal strategy. You'll be applying late and have less opportunity to retake. You might want to consider working for a year or two and then applying (but still go ahead and take the LSAT now). As for Harvard, it's not completely unprecedented to get in <3.7, and it's largely expected that apps will go down next year, but it's still pretty unlikely. Get a 172+ and you can take a shot at it.

As for other schools, just go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Can't tell you which schools you could get into without having any idea of your LSAT, but outside of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, a high enough LSAT can get you in pretty much anywhere with a ~3.65.

[relevantfactor]

I'm a rising senior.

If Harvard is out of question (which sucks.) What school do you think gives a better chance for someone with a below 3.7 GPA such as mine?

EDIT:Please keep in mind that I will have 4 regular classes and an LSAT class on the fall already scheduled, so anything added on the fall would be on top of that.

Well if you're a rising senior this is all moot. The only grades that matter are the ones that will go on your law school app. As for the LSAT, taking it for the first time in December of the year you are applying is not an ideal strategy. You'll be applying late and have less opportunity to retake. You might want to consider working for a year or two and then applying (but still go ahead and take the LSAT now). As for Harvard, it's not completely unprecedented to get in <3.7, and it's largely expected that apps will go down next year, but it's still pretty unlikely. Get a 172+ and you can take a shot at it.

As for other schools, just go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Can't tell you which schools you could get into without having any idea of your LSAT, but outside of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, a high enough LSAT can get you in pretty much anywhere with a ~3.65.

Dixon, thank you.

With that said, I have a couple questions:
Why do you think work for a year will be helpful?(FYI, I work 30hours per week and had 2 years of law firm experience before. Not sure if this helps). Is it only to apply early and also to increase the GPA? Also will apps go down because they have been ranked lower than Stanford this year?

I checked lawschoolnumbers, it's pretty decent, is it reliable though? As in, are the information put there real people or fakers?

[Nova]

I checked lawschoolnumbers, it's pretty decent, is it reliable though? As in, are the information put there real people or fakers?

LSN trends are very reliable. Look for walls of death and seas of green.

You need to be over Harvards median to have a chance. Basically, hitting median at any school will give you a decent chance.

take the LSAT, then come back.

[dixon02]

I'm a rising senior.

If Harvard is out of question (which sucks.) What school do you think gives a better chance for someone with a below 3.7 GPA such as mine?

EDIT:Please keep in mind that I will have 4 regular classes and an LSAT class on the fall already scheduled, so anything added on the fall would be on top of that.

Well if you're a rising senior this is all moot. The only grades that matter are the ones that will go on your law school app. As for the LSAT, taking it for the first time in December of the year you are applying is not an ideal strategy. You'll be applying late and have less opportunity to retake. You might want to consider working for a year or two and then applying (but still go ahead and take the LSAT now). As for Harvard, it's not completely unprecedented to get in <3.7, and it's largely expected that apps will go down next year, but it's still pretty unlikely. Get a 172+ and you can take a shot at it.

As for other schools, just go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Can't tell you which schools you could get into without having any idea of your LSAT, but outside of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, a high enough LSAT can get you in pretty much anywhere with a ~3.65.

Dixon, thank you.

With that said, I have a couple questions:
Why do you think work for a year will be helpful?(FYI, I work 30hours per week and had 2 years of law firm experience before. Not sure if this helps). Is it only to apply early and also to increase the GPA? Also will apps go down because they have been ranked lower than Stanford this year?

I checked lawschoolnumbers, it's pretty decent, is it reliable though? As in, are the information put there real people or fakers?

Work experience in general is considered a solid soft by law schools (doesn't really matter what kind of work experience outside of military/TFA/Peace Corps). It will also help come OCI time, as employers also like to see that you have prior work experience and can handle yourself in a professional environment.

But mostly, it's what you said: gives you a chance to get your apps in early. If you're hoping for T14 and higher, you're doing yourself a disservice by not putting together the best package you can as early in the cycle as you possibly can. Also, apps to law school in general are going down and fewer people are taking the LSAT. Waiting a year might put you in a smaller applicant pool. But no, "falling" behind Stanford does not have any impact on Harvard. It's still Harvard. Nobody cares.

As for LSN, I think the general consensus is that the people on there are mostly real, but the problem is sample size. It represents a small fraction of applicants. Still, it's a good resource to use to get the general idea of what schools are looking for.

[Elston Gunn]

Is this really relevant?

Not really, was mostly just curious.

I think it might actually be relevant, if it was a success. Publishing a well-regarded novel seems like a serious soft. With a 3.65, it better be. Otherwise, Harvard's out no matter what. Even with a 3.7, you'd probably need a 177+ I would think.

[Mal Reynolds]

Probably no at Harvard. But take the LSAT and come back. An application to Harvard is worth it to a lot of people even if your chances are slim.

[relevantfactor]

I'm a rising senior.

If Harvard is out of question (which sucks.) What school do you think gives a better chance for someone with a below 3.7 GPA such as mine?

EDIT:Please keep in mind that I will have 4 regular classes and an LSAT class on the fall already scheduled, so anything added on the fall would be on top of that.

Well if you're a rising senior this is all moot. The only grades that matter are the ones that will go on your law school app. As for the LSAT, taking it for the first time in December of the year you are applying is not an ideal strategy. You'll be applying late and have less opportunity to retake. You might want to consider working for a year or two and then applying (but still go ahead and take the LSAT now). As for Harvard, it's not completely unprecedented to get in <3.7, and it's largely expected that apps will go down next year, but it's still pretty unlikely. Get a 172+ and you can take a shot at it.

As for other schools, just go to lawschoolnumbers.com. Can't tell you which schools you could get into without having any idea of your LSAT, but outside of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, a high enough LSAT can get you in pretty much anywhere with a ~3.65.

Dixon, thank you.

With that said, I have a couple questions:
Why do you think work for a year will be helpful?(FYI, I work 30hours per week and had 2 years of law firm experience before. Not sure if this helps). Is it only to apply early and also to increase the GPA? Also will apps go down because they have been ranked lower than Stanford this year?

I checked lawschoolnumbers, it's pretty decent, is it reliable though? As in, are the information put there real people or fakers?

Work experience in general is considered a solid soft by law schools (doesn't really matter what kind of work experience outside of military/TFA/Peace Corps). It will also help come OCI time, as employers also like to see that you have prior work experience and can handle yourself in a professional environment.

But mostly, it's what you said: gives you a chance to get your apps in early. If you're hoping for T14 and higher, you're doing yourself a disservice by not putting together the best package you can as early in the cycle as you possibly can. Also, apps to law school in general are going down and fewer people are taking the LSAT. Waiting a year might put you in a smaller applicant pool. But no, "falling" behind Stanford does not have any impact on Harvard. It's still Harvard. Nobody cares.

As for LSN, I think the general consensus is that the people on there are mostly real, but the problem is sample size. It represents a small fraction of applicants. Still, it's a good resource to use to get the general idea of what schools are looking for.

Dixon,

I'm seriously thinking about taking your advice. If I postpone a year, I can definitely hit the 3.7 (taking easy classes while working full-time, waiting for one class to graduate) mark and if I'm not scoring around 172+ it will also give me plenty of time to study more - which begs the question, is going to Harvard any better than the schools that I could possibly(assuming T14) get in now?

I will take everyone's advice about taking the LSAT - I don't plan on retaking it, so I will make sure to be scoring in the right range(on timed PT) before taking it.
Thanks everyone for their input, you have been very helpful.

[relevantfactor]

Is this really relevant?

Not really, was mostly just curious.

I think it might actually be relevant, if it was a success. Publishing a well-regarded novel seems like a serious soft. With a 3.65, it better be. Otherwise, Harvard's out no matter what. Even with a 3.7, you'd probably need a 177+ I would think.

Is the book seriously my best soft(or has the potential to be)? It was sold in the U.S. and South America. I guess it depends on what your definition of success is in this scenario? Regardless, thank you for the input.

Edited for clarity.

[emkay625]

people are gonna tell you to take the LSAT, then come back. I think even with a great score, you're not in great shape, since H has a pretty solid 3.7 gpa floor and Brazilian isn't really a URM category.

Do you think taking extra easy classes to boost GPA (3 easy As over the summer) would be a wise choice? Even though I think this will only increase it about .3/.4

Do you mean .3 or .03? Anything you can do to get your GPA higher, especially to 3.7+, is a good idea. If this means taking underwater basketweaving at community college, go for it.

That said, this is all moot until you've taken the LSAT or at least have a few diagnostics. Harvard's 25% LSAT score is still something like the 98th percentile overall. Harvard is many people's dream, but it's not even remotely attainable for the vast majority of applicants.

Each class will increase it by .1 (just did the math). Do you think it's worth it to take 5 really easy A's in a local college in order to get to 3.7? Also, and more importantly, when would I take those classes? The summer before going to law school or would that be way too late? Please advise, and thank you for the good advice.

EDIT: Also, I'm taking testmasters in july and will be done in oct, and taking the test in December. Between oct to dec. it will be mostly private tutoring and self-study - any suggestions on a better strategy?

I'm sorry, but mathematically speaking, there's no way that's possible.

[relevantfactor]

I'm sorry, but mathematically speaking, there's no way that's possible.

That's what was shown by some GPA calculator, I guess it's an estimate or maybe I overlooked.

[Taus11]

I'm sorry, but mathematically speaking, there's no way that's possible.

That's what was shown by some GPA calculator, I guess it's an estimate or maybe I overlooked.

Not an estimate. It's just way off. It's impossible to raise your gpa that much when you are already 3.0 and above. I took a summer load to raise it .02. I think you are missing a zero.

[VasaVasori]

.

[relevantfactor]

Thanks,
Yes I indeed did overlook the numbers.