176/3.23/military veteran - ED advice Forum

[yarch]

LSAT: 176
GPA: 3.23
Major: Electrical Engineering (top 3 engineering, top 10 overall)
WE: 7 years as a Navy officer
URM: Nope

My goal (assuming I don't change my mind in LS) is patent prosecution/IP work in DC or the SF Bay area.

I'll be submitting an addendum on downward GPA trend my sophomore/junior years and strong upward trend my senior year. For what it's worth, I'll also discuss subsequent maturity gained via my job and my current 4.0 GPA in a CS Master's program.

I plan to ED to UVA since my dream school (Boalt) is out and UVA is my second choice outside of HYSCCN, all of which seem unattainable. I'll also be blanketing the back half of the T14 and most of the T25.

I'm curious as to what to do when/if UVA dings me, since it seems to be one of the more splitter-friendly ED schools.

Would I have a decent chance with a follow-on ED at Penn/Michigan given my numbers and softs or should I ED to GULC if my UVA app falls through? LSN doesn't have a ton of data on ED applicants with my numbers at Penn and Michigan, and I haven't yet found any with WE similar to mine.

Also, would it be worth my while to put in a diversity statement, or is that something typically only considered for URMs?

Any thoughts would be awesome.

Thanks!

[JamMasterJ]

Definitely don't ED to UVA. vets often get a pretty solid boost, and with your numbers, I would assume you'll get at least 1 of HYSCCN

[czelede]

Don't count Boalt out! I had almost the same stats as you, also STEM undergrad, but no veteran experience and I was admitted to Boalt, as well as Chi and NYU.

However, UVA tends to take all their splitters ED so if it's Boalt > UVA > everything else, an ED to UVA could be worth it. UVA was actually the only school in my cycle to reject me (three months AFTER I withdrew from their waitlist, no less - that was a really fun email surprise, haha).

Edit: Went back and re-read your post. You'll get into one of CCN, and I would wager at least 1 of MVP (I think you would probably get both M and P RD, to be honest). If there's one of CCN you like I would ED there; otherwise, take your chances RD - with your softs I think you'll have a great cycle. I know TLS has the mentality that softs don't matter, but when it comes to super splitters they really do. And Boalt LOVES their soft factors.

And also, schools do take into account your major when looking at your GPA.

[czelede]

Also, I put in a non-minority DS. I think it helped.

[Tom Joad]

I don't think you should ED because you might snag a HYS. Not sure if it is certain, but you are going to get some T10 offers for sure at least from UVA and UM.

[2014]

Zero chance of HYS but solid chance at each of CCN off of the WL. An ED to NYU might get you in off the bat too but I don't know if sticker there is a good idea.

You should blanket 4-14 and you should get several, some with scholarships. UVA will end up being a crapshoot, but you have as good a shot as anyone at getting in off the WL which they use heavily.

[JamMasterJ]

I wouldn't count Stanford out. I've seen them dip below the gpa floor for a vet.

[TTTehehe]

176 LSAT? Forget ED. If you were combat arms in Navy, coughsqueelscough, then you definitely don't need ED. Apply to all T14 and sell your leadership skills.