Any chance of my softs mitigating a 3.55/174 at any of HYS? Forum

[NDJ]

I have no idea if this is the kind of thing that will matter at all or not - but I have a pretty interesting musical career background, including top prizes in some prestigious international/national youth competitions - 1st prize out of 400,000 people for example in a Canada-wide student competition - went to Berklee on full-ride, and recently got a very rare work visa approved to work in the US (O1 visa, for "individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement") - I am 24, but began working as a musician at 14 and have worked around Canada throughout my school years with some high-profile musicians in my genre... can this be spun into any kind of 10+% chance of acceptance at any of Y/S/H with my numbers, this late in the cycle no less ?

I have already applied to most of the rest of the T14. I am not URM. and for what it's worth - the handful of awful grades that are dragging me down are more or less all in my sophomore year..

Note: please don't ask me 'why are you going to law school' (someone did on here once)...I have many answers to that, the least of which not being that life as a full-time musician is much crappier than people may think...

[nebula666]

Pretty cool softs, will set you apart from other 174 / 3.55 applicants. Will it give you a bump over someone with better numbers? Not likely. You are going to end up at CCN or below.

[ph14]

I have no idea if this is the kind of thing that will matter at all or not - but I have a pretty interesting musical career background, including top prizes in some prestigious international/national youth competitions - 1st prize out of 400,000 people for example in a Canada-wide student competition - went to Berklee on full-ride, and recently got a very rare work visa approved to work in the US (O1 visa, for "individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement") - I am 24, but began working as a musician at 14 and have worked around Canada throughout my school years with some high-profile musicians in my genre... can this be spun into any kind of 10+% chance of acceptance at any of Y/S/H with my numbers, this late in the cycle no less ?

I have already applied to most of the rest of the T14. I am not URM. and for what it's worth - the handful of awful grades that are dragging me down are more or less all in my sophomore year..

Note: please don't ask me 'why are you going to law school' (someone did on here once)...I have many answers to that, the least of which not being that life as a full-time musician is much crappier than people may think...

Not likely.

[NDJ]

OK - so do you guys think any of those schools would be worth the ~$100 fee? i.e., even though the odds are against me, maybe i still have some kind of a chance, or maybe they'll just toss it out right away when they see the GPA?
thanks!

[nebula666]

OK - so do you guys think any of those schools would be worth the ~$100 fee? i.e., even though the odds are against me, maybe i still have some kind of a chance, or maybe they'll just toss it out right away when they see the GPA?
thanks!

I would still apply to all three, especially Harvard.

[Ti Malice]

It's worth the fee to apply to any and all of them if you'll have regrets later for not applying. Maybe you catch someone on a good day who's just really taken with your musical accomplishments. It's very unlikely that you'll get into any of them, but I would probably pay for concrete outcomes were I in your position.

Your best chance is with HLS.

[NDJ]

thanks guys! from the looks of this thread - i think ill be submitting an app to HLS. i just want to spend a bit of time improving upon my personal statement since its more likely to be what makes/breaks my app here since my numbers are weak..

[mindarmed]

Why don't you just wait until next cycle and apply earlier?

[NDJ]

i may end up applying next year if i dont get a good offer somewhere this year...applying to law school was something i decided on in mid october, i originally intended on waiting a year but eventually decided on preparing for the december lsat just for kicks, to see if i could score high enough to apply...i was lucky enough to hit a 174, so i figured id throw out some apps. i know that for all the schools i apply to id have better chances next year, but since im applying anyway, i figured i might as well toss one to HLS if i have some kind of 5-10% chance of getting lucky.. if i can swing a nice offer at a high enough ranked school id be happy to start this year. otherwise i may try to retake 177+ and apply in september....

[NDJ]

i just found out i can retroactively redo a project which would likely move my GPA up into 3.6x .. any idea if this will make a significant difference or is everything under 3.7 treated the same?

[dingbat]

i just found out i can retroactively redo a project which would likely move my GPA up into 3.6x .. any idea if this will make a significant difference or is everything under 3.7 treated the same?

It might be too late for your boosted GPA to count for this cycle. Either way, you should still throw an app to Yale and Stanford, because, why not?

[NDJ]

Ah ok gotcha - but maybe it could negotiate me off a waitlist later on, or help me negotiate with lower schools in a couple months..?
And it seems like my chances are effectively zero at Yale/Stanford..no? I just figured it'd be a waste of $200..

[dingbat]

Ah ok gotcha - but maybe it could negotiate me off a waitlist later on, or help me negotiate with lower schools in a couple months..?
And it seems like my chances are effectively zero at Yale/Stanford..no? I just figured it'd be a waste of $200..

your chances might be small, but they're not non-existent. You have a better chance than I did, but I still threw Yale an app. Look at it this way: compared to the total cost of law school, $200 is nothing

[Tiago Splitter]

i just found out i can retroactively redo a project which would likely move my GPA up into 3.6x .. any idea if this will make a significant difference or is everything under 3.7 treated the same?

Whether it's a 3.55 or a 3.62 or whatever the problem at this point is that the LSAT is a little light. Typically if Harvard drops down below their GPA floor to grab a splitter it's somone with an LSAT in the upper 170s.

If you do decide to sit out a year, maybe study for the LSAT for a month or so and see if you can knock out a few 180 PTs. If so, retake. If not, you're still in a great position.

[NDJ]

i just found out i can retroactively redo a project which would likely move my GPA up into 3.6x .. any idea if this will make a significant difference or is everything under 3.7 treated the same?

Whether it's a 3.55 or a 3.62 or whatever the problem at this point is that the LSAT is a little light. Typically if Harvard drops down below their GPA floor to grab a splitter it's somone with an LSAT in the upper 170s.

If you do decide to sit out a year, maybe study for the LSAT for a month or so and see if you can knock out a few 180 PTs. If so, retake. If not, you're still in a great position.

thanks tiago. i did get a couple of 180 PTs when i prepared, but i didnt have enough study time to get consistent, and unfortunately slept <6 hours the night before. if i have time to study again i may retake in june depending on what happens..

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

[Tiago Splitter]

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

Yeah. I didn't apply to Berkeley because they don't give fee waivers and I regret it. You won't miss the money.

ETA: I also say that because you have an interesting story. No reason for the typical 3.55/174 to apply to Y/S.

[acs507]

For what its worth, Yale isn't on rolling admissions so applying so late in the cycle shouldn't hurt you there.

[NDJ]

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

Yeah. I didn't apply to Berkeley because they don't give fee waivers and I regret it. You won't miss the money.

i know if i got in i wouldnt miss the money. i just figure, if statistically i have a 0% chance of admittance, isnt it a waste?
i didnt apply to berkeley either..

[NDJ]

ETA: I also say that because you have an interesting story. No reason for the typical 3.55/174 to apply to Y/S.

ah i see. i guess if i could find at least a couple of people in the stats who got in with my numbers id be more convinced that an interesting story could help..

[Tiago Splitter]

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

Yeah. I didn't apply to Berkeley because they don't give fee waivers and I regret it. You won't miss the money.

i know if i got in i wouldnt miss the money. i just figure, if statistically i have a 0% chance of admittance, isnt it a waste?
i didnt apply to berkeley either..

Like I said above, your story is unique enough that you might to be able to defy the numbers. Have you received any decisions at this point?

As for other people, check out this guy. 3.4/177, totally standard cycle except (even getting WL'd by that TTT Columbia) for that sweet acceptance off the WL.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Wonky/jd

[NDJ]

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

Yeah. I didn't apply to Berkeley because they don't give fee waivers and I regret it. You won't miss the money.

i know if i got in i wouldnt miss the money. i just figure, if statistically i have a 0% chance of admittance, isnt it a waste?
i didnt apply to berkeley either..

Like I said above, your story is unique enough that you might to be able to defy the numbers. Have you received any decisions at this point?

As for other people, check out this guy. 3.4/177, totally standard cycle except (even getting WL'd by that TTT Columbia) for that sweet acceptance off the WL.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Wonky/jd

hmm interesting. i guess maybe you're right that its at least worth the app fee.. although this guy at least had a 177, which as you point out gives HLS a bit more incentive to dip down..

no decisions yet. law school was a last minute decision for me..i took the Dec LSAT, and then did all my applications in january when the score came out.. was originally going to wait for next year but figured id go for it...

[NDJ]

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[izha]

if it were you, would you apply to any/all of HYS at this point in the cycle? (just trying to get as many opinions as possible..)

Yeah. I didn't apply to Berkeley because they don't give fee waivers and I regret it. You won't miss the money.

i know if i got in i wouldnt miss the money. i just figure, if statistically i have a 0% chance of admittance, isnt it a waste?
i didnt apply to berkeley either..

Like I said above, your story is unique enough that you might to be able to defy the numbers. Have you received any decisions at this point?

As for other people, check out this guy. 3.4/177, totally standard cycle except (even getting WL'd by that TTT Columbia) for that sweet acceptance off the WL.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Wonky/jd

Pretty interesting work history, however
"Hey, thanks! I've been working on Capitol Hill since I graduated.
– Wonky"

[Tiago Splitter]

As for other people, check out this guy. 3.4/177, totally standard cycle except (even getting WL'd by that TTT Columbia) for that sweet acceptance off the WL.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Wonky/jd

Pretty interesting work history, however
"Hey, thanks! I've been working on Capitol Hill since I graduated.
– Wonky"

Work history which couldn't get him into Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, or Michigan. I'd guess that OP's work history is much more interesting than Wonky's, but if your point is that 3.4/177 won't typically get someone into Harvard then I couldn't agree more.