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What are my chances, based on the following stats?


1). Have been in undergrad 10 years. Took couple of courses each semester, with one semester a full course load, and didn't formally withdrawal and received negative grades

2). LSAC gpa currently 2.6, with the potential to come up to 2.7 when I apply Fall 2014

3). last 6 semesters (including summers) upward grade trend of all A's and one B

4). Took the LSAT once, dont want to retake (not worth it) -- and scored a 176

5). all work experience has been during undergrad

6). Will graduate December 2014, following the Fall 2014 I wish to apply

7). Am already older so dont want to take anymore time off before I apply


With the 2.6/2.7 and 176 LSAT score (along with the other negatives mentioned above), what schools could possibly accept me? Top 25? Top 50?

ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

Career goals? Where are you from? Where do you want to practice?

Go punch your numbers into a law school calculator if you just want to see what schools you can get in.

You can probably get into Thomas M. Cooley Law School with some luck

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

You won't get ED NU, so don't do that.

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

It's NU, not NW...and he's probably not a shoe-in there..he doesn't have real work experience

ED UVA gives you a shot. RD NU may work, but it's definitely not a guarantee. Schools like reform stories for sub-3.0 splitters, and since you have no separation from your GPA yet you won't really have that in your PS/interviews.

I would apply around where you want to practice and to the lower T14/"T20" regionals.

ronanOgara wrote:

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

It's NU, not NW...and he's probably not a shoe-in there..he doesn't have real work experience

NW... NU... Same shit. He may not be a shoe-in, but that ED full-ride would be nice.

I could be wrong, but I could have sworn I read a post claiming they got NU ED with a 2.x 17x this cycle.

In any case, ED to a splitter-friendly of your choice, and blanket the rest of the T14. If there is strong regional close to you, feel free to throw out an app or two toward that but you should land somewhere in the T14, likely with options.

Nucky wrote:

ronanOgara wrote:

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

It's NU, not NW...and he's probably not a shoe-in there..he doesn't have real work experience

NW... NU... Same shit. He may not be a shoe-in, but that ED full-ride would be nice.

There is literally no chance at ED NU.

d cooper wrote:

Nucky wrote:

ronanOgara wrote:

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

It's NU, not NW...and he's probably not a shoe-in there..he doesn't have real work experience

NW... NU... Same shit. He may not be a shoe-in, but that ED full-ride would be nice.

There is literally no chance at ED NU.

I could've sworn I saw someone get it this cycle with worse numbers, but I could be wrong...

Nucky wrote:

ronanOgara wrote:

Nucky wrote:ED UVA and/or ED NW and blanket the rest of the T14.

With a 176 you'll be fine unless you have a bad C&F issue, or similar.

It's NU, not NW...and he's probably not a shoe-in there..he doesn't have real work experience

NW... NU... Same shit. He may not be a shoe-in, but that ED full-ride would be nice.

Yeah it would..however OP, you shouldn't be as concerned about getting into a top-50 as much as you should be concerned about getting into t-14/25 or your regional power for as cheap as possible. Top 50 isn't a thing, it fluctuates annually

Nucky wrote:I could be wrong, but I could have sworn I read a post claiming they got NU ED with a 2.x 17x this cycle.

In any case, ED to a splitter-friendly of your choice, and blanket the rest of the T14. If there is strong regional close to you, feel free to throw out an app or two toward that but you should land somewhere in the T14, likely with options.

I don't think so....he might sneak into a t-14 but I don't think he'll have options. He's been in undergrad for 10 years...

Nucky wrote: I could've sworn I saw someone get it this cycle with worse numbers, but I could be wrong...

There are some data points for ED --> held (rolled into RD) --> RD admit. That's pretty common, but it doesn't come with the ED scholarship.

Here's a mylsn search narrowed down to a few data points...

I appreciate all the helpful, beneficial information. Thank you very much to all who responded. In the information I gave, I mentioned the 2.6-2.7 gpa/176 LSAT score, and of course being in undergrad for 10 years.

Let me include that I am female (not male), sorry for leaving that out. I know that being a student for that period of time is abnormal to many readers, but I would like to add, that I wasn't a typical "lazy" individual. I worked 40-50 hours a week all of those years, some of that time working two jobs, so I have worked since I have graduated high school. However, I realize my work experience isn't as stellar as someone who graduated with, say their accounting degree, and had valuable work experience a few years before applying to law school.

Much of the reason I have been in undergrad for so long is, working many hours, limits your ability to take normal course loads semester to semester and I switched majors a few years ago to business, and had to take over 70 major hours for that on top of what I had already taken previously. I know most of the time when someone has a lower gpa, they distance themselves, but to me it seems that with a 60 credit hour upward trend of nearly all A's, will show ad-comms, that I am ready for the rigor of LS, coupled with the LSAT score over 175 and being in my late 20s, I don't want to take any time off.

I was surprised when some said T-14s or T-20s (regionals) weren't out of the question, but I was just curious what someone meant when they said, "might sneak into a t-14 but I don't think he'll have options. He's been in undergrad for 10 years..." I value the opinion, and I am in no way finding fault, I just was wondering what was meant by "options"? Thanks to all who responded!

bigsplitter2014 wrote:
I was surprised when some said T-14s or T-20s (regionals) weren't out of the question, but I was just curious what someone meant when they said, "might sneak into a t-14 but I don't think he'll have options. He's been in undergrad for 10 years..." I value the opinion, and I am in no way finding fault, I just was wondering what was meant by "options"? Thanks to all who responded!

It means you might only have one T14 option. Still better than no T14 options.

The LSAT will make your cycle unpredictable, so apply to the lower half of the T14 and see what happens.

okay, now I understand. thank you much. just two additional questions if anyone wants to take a stab at it, and help me further ...

1). Is a T-14 or T-20 worth paying sticker? I just figured with the 175+ lsat, and gpa (2.6-2.7) that if I am lucky to break T-14 or T-20, it will be sticker

2). My goal for a couple of years has been biglaw (some might find that amusing with a gpa this low; but its only been 4 years since I became interested in law, and by then the gpa damage was done), but that's why I studied hard to get the 176, since I was interested in a T-14 acceptance.

If by chance, I don't receive a T-14 acceptance, say the best is (University of Minnesota #19). While I realize you should never attend a school with the desire to transfer since it rarely works out (and, be sure its a location you want to practice) -- just out of curiousity, how difficult would it be to transfer from a Top 20 to a T-14? What percentage might suffice?

bigsplitter2014 wrote: 1). Is a T-14 or T-20 worth paying sticker? I just figured with the 175+ lsat, and gpa (2.6-2.7) that if I am lucky to break T-14 or T-20, it will be sticker

For T14: Obviously it isn't ideal. People have different options and tolerances. Here's a thread where law students/graduates discuss paying sticker at the lower T14.

The "T20" isn't really a meaningful distinction, but people use it as shorthand for those schools that are regionally strong just outside of the T14 like Vanderbilt, Texas, UCLA, WUSTL, etc. You will probably get money to some but not all of them. Some will reject you just because they hate low GPAs. TLS consensus is you should only attend these schools for a full ride or close to it.

2). My goal for a couple of years has been biglaw (some might find that amusing with a gpa this low; but its only been 4 years since I became interested in law, and by then the gpa damage was done), but that's why I studied hard to get the 176, since I was interested in a T-14 acceptance.

If by chance, I don't receive a T-14 acceptance, say the best is (University of Minnesota #19). While I realize you should never attend a school with the desire to transfer since it rarely works out (and, be sure its a location you want to practice) -- just out of curiousity, how difficult would it be to transfer from a Top 20 to a T-14? What percentage might suffice?

Someone else should chime in here but I'm under the impression that you would need to be top 10% as a minimum. It's a very bad plan that shouldn't even be on your radar. If you're set on Biglaw, ask yourself if you can stomach the lower T14 at sticker debt.

You're probably looking at good money at WUSTL.

bigsplitter2014 wrote:okay, now I understand. thank you much. just two additional questions if anyone wants to take a stab at it, and help me further ...

1). Is a T-14 or T-20 worth paying sticker? I just figured with the 175+ lsat, and gpa (2.6-2.7) that if I am lucky to break T-14 or T-20, it will be sticker

2). My goal for a couple of years has been biglaw (some might find that amusing with a gpa this low; but its only been 4 years since I became interested in law, and by then the gpa damage was done), but that's why I studied hard to get the 176, since I was interested in a T-14 acceptance.

If by chance, I don't receive a T-14 acceptance, say the best is (University of Minnesota #19). While I realize you should never attend a school with the desire to transfer since it rarely works out (and, be sure its a location you want to practice) -- just out of curiousity, how difficult would it be to transfer from a Top 20 to a T-14? What percentage might suffice?

You'll need grades that put you into contention for biglaw in the first place, and while you'll get more interviews at a T14 OCI than you would at Minnesota's the firms will still be basing hiring decisions in large part on how they view your grades from your 1L school.

I'm about the same age with similar numbers (2.8/179). My softs were good. I nearly blanketed the T14. I was rejected at #1-3, WL'd #4-11, in #12-14 with $.

Depending how well you sell your UG story, you might have similar results. Definitely cast a wide net--you never know which school is going to want to take a hit on GPA to gain LSAT. For example, I found that the T14's were more willing to offer me $$ than schools in the #20 region. My LSAT wasn't useful to them, or at least it wasn't significantly more useful than a 169 would have been, and they could find 169's without crappy GPA's.