3.7, 162 in October, 167 in December. Forum

[jleighg]

Hey everyone,

Stats listed above. Undergrad at Michigan, double major in psych and polisci. Graduated in 09, worked at a nonprofit with youth in juvenile justice system. Have glowing (I hope!) recs from supervisors, lacking rec from a professor. Graduated 5 years ago.

My goal is to get into a top 20 school in a city. What's the best I can hope for?

[Dr.Zer0]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=170051

[koval]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=170051

[Kimikho]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dpZ ... QIblLo/pub

[jleighg]

so helpful thanks

[Kimikho]

so helpful thanks

I mean, the truth is it's mostly a numbers game. Softs will help you, but yours are average, especially when you consider you are lacking a professor's recommendation. That is the most important rec--your resume says that you can work hard and (I'm assuming) manage a stressful workload, but it doesn't say anything about your academic work ethic. If anything, lacking that professor LOR, especially being only ("only") five years out of UG is going to hurt.

You would have been a good candidate for ED Cornell, but that's not in a city. Outside of that, considering the average softs and lack of an LOR, it's going to be very much a numbers game.

Also, for the most part, T20 means nothing because they aren't as portable. You need to apply to schools in the city you plan on practicing in.

[nicholasavallone]

I'd echo what's been posted already. But, since you're probably still looking for a bit more than that, we have the same numbers. My cycle went about as well as could reasonably be expected. You're probably in at USC, UT Austin, BU, BC, and Minnesota. Not sure how the lateness of your application would impact chances at GULC, Cornell, and Vanderbilt, but I'd say they're all worth a shot, though fee waivers from the first two seem unlikely. The general consensus seems to be that good softs definitely aren't a minus, but they won't help you outperform your numbers except in very, very special circumstances. So, to answer your original question, the best you can hope for is probably GULC (though TLS will probably open up a can of whoop-ass on me for mentioning that as a positive outcome) and the best you can expect with reasonable certainty is probably USC/UT, at which point it will come down to where you want to practice, because both pretty much limit you to outcomes in their respective states.

[logical seasoning]

I have almost the exact same numbers as you, including a 163 first take on the LSAT. Here is my LSN profile if you are interested

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/logical%20seasoning

My cycle is not over yet, but it looks like it is going to be summed up as follows: Snag a T14 at sticker or go to a regional with a hefty scholly

[kobe1020]

I too had 162 from cot and 167 from dec.

Applied to Cornell, Berkeley (super reach I know) and UT. I'm sure I'll get into BC and BU.

Trying to negotiate a bigger scholarship from SMU (they offered me 50% in November) and want to stay in Texas. UT graduate.

Good luck to both of us.

[jleighg]

Thanks for the replies. I think I got into Vanderbilt. I'm currently house sitting for a friend, but I've started receiving admitted student email from Vanderbilt. If I didn't just get home from work I would drive the half hour home to check my mail. Now I can't sleep!

Update: accepted to vandy!