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I have sat down with a dean of admissions at a state law school and they have informed me that when looking at applications they do take into account athletes, because they know how time consuming it is having to commit to athletics year around. My gpa is not high only a 2.8 and my diagnostic test was a 155 with not much studying at all. If I can score around a 158-160 will the fact that I was a D1 athlete my entire collegiate career be able to make up for some of my poor gpa?

Honestly, no it won't help much. Law school admissions heavily weights GPA and LSAT Score over other factors.

The only thing that might save you is if you are a minority...

so you think it would be a waste to even apply? How high of an LSAT score would I need to try and balance it out?

mswashington wrote:so you think it would be a waste to even apply? How high of an LSAT score would I need to try and balance it out?

What school?

Seattle, University of Oregon, and Roger Williams

mswashington wrote:Seattle, University of Oregon, and Roger Williams

I think you can definitely sneak into these schools with a 160 LSAT.
But you said you've done minimal studying--155 is a nice place to start. One can definitely improve more than a few points on dat LSAT.

I think adcomms view it differently if it is a time consuming sport like football versus some bullshit made up sport like crew or something.

Tom Joad wrote:I think adcomms view it differently if it is a time consuming sport like football versus some bullshit made up sport like crew or something.

its cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, is that a bull shit sport?

mswashington wrote:

Tom Joad wrote:I think adcomms view it differently if it is a time consuming sport like football versus some bullshit made up sport like crew or something.

its cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, is that a bull shit sport?

Pretty much, any nat'l titles/all american status, etc? The most important consideration in admissions is LSAT/GPA and URM Status.

If your diagnostic was 155 after just a little studying, you should be aiming for 170+ on the real thing. Don't sell yourself short.

Also, are you an URM?

yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

Excelling at something is definitely more impressive than just a run of the mill soft...You may outperform your numbers a little but nothing substantial, you really need to rock the LSAT, check out the prep forums and devote 3+ months of hardcore studying.

Ruxin1 wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

Excelling at something is definitely more impressive than just a run of the mill soft...You may outperform your numbers a little but nothing substantial, you really need to rock the LSAT, check out the prep forums and devote 3+ months of hardcore studying.

I am setting myself up to take it in June so if it does not work out as planned I can retake it in October before sending in applications. I am also enrolled in a Testmasters class. Thank you for the feedback

mswashington wrote:

Ruxin1 wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

Excelling at something is definitely more impressive than just a run of the mill soft...You may outperform your numbers a little but nothing substantial, you really need to rock the LSAT, check out the prep forums and devote 3+ months of hardcore studying.

I am setting myself up to take it in June so if it does not work out as planned I can retake it in October before sending in applications. I am also enrolled in a Testmasters class. Thank you for the feedback

I am also taking in June and I am also in a Testmasters class. If you do ALL the homework and go through ALL the practice tests, there is no reason why you can't improve by 10 points. That will open a hell of a lot more doors for you than any extra-curricular.

D1 athlete here. My cycle went according to my numbers.

Some schools' applications wanted to know this specifically, and the fact that I spent 40+ hours training each week for a few years as a DI athlete (also running), I think it looks similar to other softs -- shows some commitment, hard work, etc.
My cycle was pretty predictable based on my numbers, still.
I could see it being a big boost if Manti Te'o or Geno Smith, but otherwise probably not.

I'll share my experience fwiw.

I was also a D1 athlete, first team AA, etc. To the schools I applied to, I was generally in the median with LSAT and about 0.3-0.4 below the 25th percentile for GPA.

I was wl by 2, I withdrew
Rejected by 1
Admitted to 3
And I've yet to hear back from 2

I am not urm, I have no other particularly strong softs.


A friend in my year and school was also D1 with me. He made the Beijing Games, he's older than me but we finished school at the same time due to his time off. He was below the 25th percentile for both GPA / LSAT by 0.3-0.4 / 4-5. To the same 8 schools I'm talking about he was

Reject by 6
Admit to 1
Yet to hear from 1

We both applied to other schools but these are the 8 we had in common.

Although the news may seem grim, please take away the positive point of my message, he and I beat the odds given that our scores were significantly below the 25th percentile on one or both GPA/LSAT and got acceptances.

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

So judging by your area of preference, xc/track, non-urm status...Jordan Hasay in the house?!?!

WanderingPondering wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

So judging by your area of preference, xc/track, non-urm status...Jordan Hasay in the house?!?!

Naw, Jordan is from CA and goes to school in OR; OP's name is "MsWashington."

Yukos wrote:

WanderingPondering wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

So judging by your area of preference, xc/track, non-urm status...Jordan Hasay in the house?!?!

Naw, Jordan is from CA and goes to school in OR; OP's name is "MsWashington."

Lol, how come we are all D1 track/xc athletes. In my experience with D1 girls teams, the distribution of attractiveness is heavily bimodal

TheThriller wrote:

Yukos wrote:

WanderingPondering wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

So judging by your area of preference, xc/track, non-urm status...Jordan Hasay in the house?!?!

Naw, Jordan is from CA and goes to school in OR; OP's name is "MsWashington."

Lol, how come we are all D1 track/xc athletes. In my experience with D1 girls teams, the distribution of attractiveness is heavily bimodal

Knowing you, I'm sure you tested this theory extensively.

TheThriller wrote:

Yukos wrote:

WanderingPondering wrote:

mswashington wrote:yeah i've been an all american a few times, but i don't think thats really going to do anything at all.
no im not an URM

So judging by your area of preference, xc/track, non-urm status...Jordan Hasay in the house?!?!

Naw, Jordan is from CA and goes to school in OR; OP's name is "MsWashington."

Lol, how come we are all D1 track/xc athletes. In my experience with D1 girls teams, the distribution of attractiveness is heavily bimodal

I think the attractiveness of girls D1 xc/track teams is skewed heavily toward the higher end. I mean, you are limiting the distribution pool to extremely athletic and fit girls. Yes, some (far tooo too many) suffer eating disorders - but for the most part its a pretty attractive crew.

(doods who judge women based on outward appearances)

lol at you little plebs

Tom Joad wrote:(doods who judge women based on outward appearances)

lol at you little plebs

Its more judging outward appearances based on outward appearances.

But, back on topic OP, my cycle also went according to my numbers. I wasn't an all-star in college, but I scored/medaled at my conference meets.