Target Schools? Forum

[couchpizza]

The term "target school" has always somewhat confused me. Safeties and reaches are easy to identify, but I don't necessarily know what I would term as a target. If my GPA/LSAT are above the median and below the 75th is this a safety or a target school? If my LSAT is one point below their median but then my GPA is above their 75th is this a target or a reach school? Would love some insight on this, thanks.

[UnicornHunter]

Not sure the safety/target/reach mindset really applies to law school. You don't need to go to law school, so "don't go" or "retake" are really the safety options if you don't get into a school with the right combination of employment prospects and debt.

[TheSpanishMain]

Agree with the above. That said, "target school", in the way that Law School Predictor uses it, really means those schools where your numbers are around median, thus making you the typical, average applicant for that school.

[couchpizza]

Agree with the above. That said, "target school", in the way that Law School Predictor uses it, really means those schools where your numbers are around median, thus making you the typical, average applicant for that school.

Exactly what I was trying to inquire about this question. Does being 1 point below the LSAT and above GPA 75th make one average or below average? If one is above the GPA/LSAT medians but below both 75ths is that person average or above average? The ultimate average person is at both medians I'm supposing, but it's the slight alterations from that point that are confusing me.

[midwest17]

Agree with the above. That said, "target school", in the way that Law School Predictor uses it, really means those schools where your numbers are around median, thus making you the typical, average applicant for that school.

Exactly what I was trying to inquire about this question. Does being 1 point below the LSAT and above GPA 75th make one average or below average? If one is above the GPA/LSAT medians but below both 75ths is that person average or above average? The ultimate average person is at both medians I'm supposing, but it's the slight alterations from that point that are confusing me.

Don't worry about this.

[philly93]

is that website a good resource to use alongside with mylsn? i find this confusing because a 3.5/177 using mylsn says HYS are out of question but law school predictor says harvard and stanford are target schools..

[BigZuck]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

[philly93]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

i have a question based on what you said. if you are in fact above the 75th LSAT percentile but below the 25th percentile (say a 3.5) for the t14s, would applying ED to either Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn make sense? that is if paying sticker is not an issue

[BigZuck]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

i have a question based on what you said. if you are in fact above the LSAT median but well below the 25th percentile (say a 3.5) for the t14s, would applying ED to either Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn make sense? that is if paying sticker is not an issue

Sure

[Tiago Splitter]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

i have a question based on what you said. if you are in fact above the LSAT median but well below the 25th percentile (say a 3.5) for the t14s, would applying ED to either Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn make sense? that is if paying sticker is not an issue

Sure

I wouldn't ED anymore with a 3.5/172+

[Gooner91]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

i have a question based on what you said. if you are in fact above the 75th LSAT percentile but below the 25th percentile (say a 3.5) for the t14s, would applying ED to either Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn make sense? that is if paying sticker is not an issue

I would say if you really prefer one of those schools over the others for whatever reason and scholarships are not a huge factor for you ED is probably a good choice. If you do not have a strong preference for one and scholarships are important I would think ED may not be the best option. With those numbers you should be competitive at all those schools I would guess.

[philly93]

Law school predictor is worthless, just use mylsn.info

At or above both medians, you're probably in.
Below both, you're almost certainly out (unless something special, like great softs, URM, etc.)
At or above one and below the other, maybe. But it's better to be at or above the LSAT median than the GPA median.

i have a question based on what you said. if you are in fact above the 75th LSAT percentile but below the 25th percentile (say a 3.5) for the t14s, would applying ED to either Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn make sense? that is if paying sticker is not an issue

I would say if you really prefer one of those schools over the others for whatever reason and scholarships are not a huge factor for you ED is probably a good choice. If you do not have a strong preference for one and scholarships are important I would think ED may not be the best option. With those numbers you should be competitive at all those schools I would guess.

so applying to ED just for the secured feeling that you got into a t-6 is bad reason to ED? the reason i ask is because i figure columbia is a reach and nyu is a targetschool. and i do not want to jeopardize my chances at NYU during RD and face the possibility of getting rejected. where as applying ED to NYU might show then my interest and they would be more willing to accept splitters early. please correct me if i am misunderstanding the effects of ED

[Tiago Splitter]

so applying to ED just for the secured feeling that you got into a t-6 is bad reason to ED? the reason i ask is because i figure columbia is a reach and nyu is a targetschool. and i do not want to jeopardize my chances at NYU during RD and face the possibility of getting rejected. where as applying ED to NYU might show then my interest and they would be more willing to accept splitters early. please correct me if i am misunderstanding the effects of ED

What are your numbers? If you're at a 3.5 and above Columbia's median you are getting into NYU done deal.

[Gooner91]

so applying to ED just for the secured feeling that you got into a t-6 is bad reason to ED? the reason i ask is because i figure columbia is a reach and nyu is a targetschool. and i do not want to jeopardize my chances at NYU during RD and face the possibility of getting rejected. where as applying ED to NYU might show then my interest and they would be more willing to accept splitters early. please correct me if i am misunderstanding the effects of ED

What are your numbers? If you're at a 3.5 and above Columbia's median you are getting into NYU done deal.

I thought OP said their LSAT was over the 75% for Columbia? Depending on LSAT maybe a chance at H/S?

I understand the advantage of ED the same way you have. I just think you might be underestimating yourself.

[midnight_circus]

3.5 and 177 should be golden for NYU.
Columbia is much less certain. There ED could help you. But only if you'd rather pay sticker at Columbia than potentially get $$ at NYU.
If you really, really want Penn, ED makes sense. When I put your numbers in the auto search for myLSN, for Penn it shows 1 admit and sixteen wait-lists, but only 1 rejection. I don't know if that's yield protect or if your gpa is anathema to them, but 176 - 178 paired with anything near a 3.5 looks like a straight WL for them. If it is YP, I'm pretty sure only an ED or a really damn convincing Why Penn could convince them to take you.

[bowser]

schools had a hell of a time trying to put together medians last cycle, and it looks like the number of applicants continues to plummet.

I think it's arguable that ED no longer makes sense for anyone who cares about money.

[philly93]

thank you for the replies, i really appreciate it. the numbers in question are not mine but rather a friends who decided only recently to apply to law school. her numbers are a 3.5x(i want to say 3.51-3.53) and her LSAT was a 177.

her goals are UChicago, NYU, Columbia and UVA (in state for UVA). It seems like from this discussion that NYU is a safe bet and Columbia is a reach. What are y'all thoughs on UChicago and UVA? She's willing to ED to Chicago if that helps at all. Also is Harvard/Stanford a possibility at all? (one of the posters mentioned this)

again thanks for taking the time and replying. i dont want to be giving her misguided information so anything y'all say is helpful.

[Tiago Splitter]

thank you for the replies, i really appreciate it. the numbers in question are not mine but rather a friends who decided only recently to apply to law school. her numbers are a 3.5x(i want to say 3.51-3.53) and her LSAT was a 177.

her goals are UChicago, NYU, Columbia and UVA (in state for UVA). It seems like from this discussion that NYU is a safe bet and Columbia is a reach. What are y'all thoughs on UChicago and UVA? She's willing to ED to Chicago if that helps at all. Also is Harvard/Stanford a possibility at all? (one of the posters mentioned this)

again thanks for taking the time and replying. i dont want to be giving her misguided information so anything y'all say is helpful.

Chicago is tough with that GPA. If money were no object and staying in Chicago is really important an ED there might make sense, but even then Northwestern is a sure thing too so she won't be totally shut out of Chicago. Both Columbia and NYU are as close to locks as there can be with a 3.5+ and 177. UVA is tricky and will probably result in a waitlist but that's not something to lose sleep over. Stanford is almost certainly out. Harvard is probably out but there is an outside shot if she's got an impressive background.

[philly93]

thank you for the replies, i really appreciate it. the numbers in question are not mine but rather a friends who decided only recently to apply to law school. her numbers are a 3.5x(i want to say 3.51-3.53) and her LSAT was a 177.

her goals are UChicago, NYU, Columbia and UVA (in state for UVA). It seems like from this discussion that NYU is a safe bet and Columbia is a reach. What are y'all thoughs on UChicago and UVA? She's willing to ED to Chicago if that helps at all. Also is Harvard/Stanford a possibility at all? (one of the posters mentioned this)

again thanks for taking the time and replying. i dont want to be giving her misguided information so anything y'all say is helpful.

Chicago is tough with that GPA. If money were no object and staying in Chicago is really important an ED there might make sense, but even then Northwestern is a sure thing too so she won't be totally shut out of Chicago. Both Columbia and NYU are as close to locks as there can be with a 3.5+ and 177. UVA is tricky and will probably result in a waitlist but that's not something to lose sleep over. Stanford is almost certainly out. Harvard is probably out but there is an outside shot if she's got an impressive background.

oh wow i had no idea that a 3.5 and a 177 can get you NYU as a very real possibility. do you expect this downward trend of apps to continue into the next cycle?

[Tiago Splitter]

oh wow i had no idea that a 3.5 and a 177 can get you NYU as a very real possibility. do you expect this downward trend of apps to continue into the next cycle?

A 3.5/170 can get NYU these days. Expect the app decline to continue as long as fewer people are taking the LSAT, which also continues to see declines.