2.86 / "171" splitter...want to attend T14 advice on ED plan Forum

[tallfrodo]

First...stats:
LGPA: 2.86
LSAT: 168...
Last 10 PT range: 168-174
retake Dec: just for the purpose of this thread can you guys assume 171..higher would be awesome but...yeah.
WE: working at a test prep company after graduation since June. So 6 months at the time of application. And did some summer internships during college.

Since my GPA is low.. I want to maximize my chance and apply to a couple schools ED. I know traditional advice for splitters is ED early to UVA or Gtown, or if you have WE ED Northwestern. But.. I would be applying late Dec/ Early Jan so it would be pretty late in the cycle. Do I lose my ED boost for UVA?

My Preference of Law Schools is Penn -> UVA -> Cornell -> Northwestern -> Georgetown.
Honestly, with my GPA, I'd be thrilled to attend any, but Penn would be my dream school. The Penn / HKU llm program is the main reason I want to attend + I loved the campus when I visited.

Currently I plan on applying
Scenario 1)
ED1 Jan: Penn
ED2 Jan 31/Feb 1: UVA

BUT...would it be in my interest to change my ED schools someway to reduce the risk of getting locked out of the T14? For instance...
Scenario 2)
ED1: UVA (does applying slightly earlier help at all for UVA..? Jan 1 vs Jan 31? If it is no diff, then I would rather do ED1 to Penn)
ED2: Penn

Scenario 3)
ED1: Penn
ED2: Gtown (but if there is a chance at WL then getting accepted at Penn/UVA/NU I would prefer those over Gtown...but don't want to get locked out of T14...argh...)

Scenario 4)
ED1: UVA
ED2: Gtown

My GPA is dismal but I do have an GPA addendum to write. I failed a few courses before I went on medical leave. I recently asked my class adviser if the school can "erase" the grade from my transcript. I've already sent my transcript to LSAC.. if the petition miraculously gets approved, would the LSAC erase it as well?

[Nova]

" http://WWW.mylsn.info "

[jbagelboy]

" http://WWW.mylsn.info "

Yea, but this isn't entirely fair. OP has clearly researched these options and their choices have nuances beyond what mylsn searches can capture.

OP, unless you score above 170, you're dead in the water at each of these schools. Let's say you hit 171. Penn is still out of reach. They are splitter friendly up to a point -- not below 3.0 from what I can tell. Seems like a waste of an ED for me. Unless you can bump your GPA by deleting those grades, Penn seems out of the question here.

I would ED UVA, and then RD Northwestern. You should get one or the other with 171/2.86. So none of the above.

[tallfrodo]

Yes i have looked extensively at mylsn..ed/reg/sept-dec/dec-feb/170-180/171-180/172-180/2005-2012/2010-2012 and so on.. Problem is there arent too many cases and 1 acceptance bumps up the percentage quite a bit. I was hoping to get non-computerized recommendations from people

Reasons on why you chose one option over another would be immensely helpful.

Thank you for the detailed reply bagelboy. Argh i was hoping that it wouldnt be a waste of ED for Penn. Are my chances for NU higher than gtown with my short WE? Because there seemed to be quite a few ppl rejected with similar stats at gtown whereas NU seemed to take ppl as long as they had WE

[jbagelboy]

Yes i have looked extensively at mylsn..ed/reg/sept-dec/dec-feb/170-180/171-180/172-180/2005-2012/2010-2012 and so on.. Problem is there arent too many cases and 1 acceptance bumps up the percentage quite a bit. I was hoping to get non-computerized recommendations from people

Reasons on why you chose one option over another would be immensely helpful.

Thank you for the detailed reply bagelboy. Argh i was hoping that it wouldnt be a waste of ED for Penn. Are my chances for NU higher than gtown with my short WE? Because there seemed to be quite a few ppl rejected with similar stats at gtown whereas NU seemed to take ppl as long as they had WE

For me, 1) NU >>> GULC. So I have a definite preference.
2) Northwestern will basically take anyone with some WE and over 170.
Also, you can always RD GULC and NU.

So that's where I fall. The ED should go toward UVA. No point in doing another.

Last thing to consider is that you will be hit with sticker price. You could slip into UMN and WUsTL with very generous (if not full ride) scholarships as is with the 168. If your retake doesnt work out, that's TCR.