Top Law Schools

Hey guys,

Originally I'm from Azerbaijan. I did my undergrad in American University in Bulgaria, double majoring in Political Science & International Relations, and European Studies. My GPA is not the greatest at all, unfortunately... 3.33, and I have 171 in LSAT.. Active blogger, civil rights activist - - applied for asylum in the states recently after graduation from college. Fluent in four languages...

Thinking of applying to top 10 law schools, however I wanna be realistic. The GPA median in top 10 is way higher than mine, do you think I still have a chance for any of those schools?

My ideal choice is HLS, but I understand it's a looong shot. Also looking at UVA, NYU, YLS... If I wrote an addendum for my low GPA, do you think that would help or?

Any advice would be highly appreciated.


Thanks,

Fidan

You should be able to crack top 10, but HYS are out. If you're sold on H bumping up your LSAT by 6 or 7 points will give you a better chance, but it'll still be a really really long shot. NYU should be pretty doable for you currently.

Pneumonia wrote:You should be able to crack top 10, but HYS are out. If you're sold on H bumping up your LSAT by 6 or 7 points will give you a better chance, but it'll still be a really really long shot. NYU should be pretty doable for you currently.

Thanks for the reply,

yess, I reallyyyyy wanna apply to HLS, but the GPA median statistics is killing me :/ So you think if I had a closer to 180 would increase my chances a bit,huh?

I can retake the test definitely, but would that help for any other schools?

Yeah it would help if you increased several points, but you'll still have some good options even if you don't.

Pneumonia wrote:Yeah it would help if you increased several points, but you'll still have some good options even if you don't.

You think Columbia or UVA would be more realistic choice?

fidan.karimli wrote:

Pneumonia wrote:Yeah it would help if you increased several points, but you'll still have some good options even if you don't.

You think Columbia or UVA would be more realistic choice?

UVA yes, Columbia no.

Pneumonia wrote:

fidan.karimli wrote:

Pneumonia wrote:Yeah it would help if you increased several points, but you'll still have some good options even if you don't.

You think Columbia or UVA would be more realistic choice?

UVA yes, Columbia no.

Any idea if i'd qualify for merit-based scholarships with my current lsat score in any of those schools? Georgetown looks pretty good to me, too...

I just can't decide whether retaking the LSAT is worth it or not...

[delete]

Identical stats- currently in at Vandy (not T14, I know), GULC, and Cornell, and other lower T1s.

30K per year scholly at Vandy.
As of right now- sticker at GULC and Cornell but trying to negotiate. Also expecting some need-based aid from GULC

Also I applied late in the cycle, like February late.

Waiting to hear from UVA, Penn, and Northwestern. I wasn’t able to make a Northwestern interview, so not very hopeful about any of them.[/quote]



Congratulations! You are giving me hope now I'd lovve to get into GULC and UVA, if HLS is completely out. Best of luck with the rest of the decisions!

From my impression of watching the last few cycles at Georgetown, because of how big they are they need a lot of good LSAT scores to keep their numbers up (class of 2015 to class of 2016 seems to have dropped from 170-169-165 quartiles to 169-168-163, for example). While your GPA isn't doing you any favors, if you manage to get in you have a decent chance of some scholarship money based on how much they're feeling that LSAT drop (although Georgetown does have a reputation for being less than generous, you can try to negotiate).

buttes wrote:From my impression of watching the last few cycles at Georgetown, because of how big they are they need a lot of good LSAT scores to keep their numbers up (class of 2015 to class of 2016 seems to have dropped from 170-169-165 quartiles to 169-168-163, for example). While your GPA isn't doing you any favors, if you manage to get in you have a decent chance of some scholarship money based on how much they're feeling that LSAT drop (although Georgetown does have a reputation for being less than generous, you can try to negotiate).

yea, i'll definitely apply there as well. What about NYU or UVA? any chances of any kind of scholarships there?

Ugh this school choices based on my gpa is not fun at all...

Apply everywhere. Yale took a 3.13 GPA last year. I know people here don't like to consider anyone 'special' but you really do sound like you have a unique background. If you can translate your background into a passionate argument for law, then you at least have a chance at a lot of places.

I also might put this in every post in this forum: Once a school meets its medians, admitting no combination of GPA/LSAT will change anything for them.

SFrost wrote:Apply everywhere. Yale took a 3.13 GPA last year. I know people here don't like to consider anyone 'special' but you really do sound like you have a unique background. If you can translate your background into a passionate argument for law, then you at least have a chance at a lot of places.

I also might put this in every post in this forum: Once a school meets its medians, admitting no combination of GPA/LSAT will change anything for them.

Thanks, SFrost!

I can't believe Yale took a 3.13 GPA I wanna apply to 8-9 schools, and i think i'll just take my chances and apply to my favorites in top 10, don't wanna regret not applying later on.. and YES, i'm already thinking about my personal statement, or how can I make it to stand out among thousands of applications. We'll see what happens i guess

won't LSAC consider that GPA international?

james.bungles wrote:won't LSAC consider that GPA international?

it's an American Institution only abroad, I don't think it counts international. Although, my college does have a policy against grade inflation, and the average GPA of my school is 3.01 I believe. I'm not sure if i should include an addendum about it...

fidan.karimli wrote:

james.bungles wrote:won't LSAC consider that GPA international?

it's an American Institution only abroad, I don't think it counts international. Although, my college does have a policy against grade inflation, and the average GPA of my school is 3.01 I believe. I'm not sure if i should include an addendum about it...

I don't think that's much different from a lot of US colleges, still if the graph on this page is accurate: http://www.gradeinflation.com/

Sure Harvard's is a 3.4 or whatever, but I think most are closer to 3.1

james.bungles wrote:

fidan.karimli wrote:

james.bungles wrote:won't LSAC consider that GPA international?

it's an American Institution only abroad, I don't think it counts international. Although, my college does have a policy against grade inflation, and the average GPA of my school is 3.01 I believe. I'm not sure if i should include an addendum about it...

I don't think that's much different from a lot of US colleges, still if the graph on this page is accurate: http://www.gradeinflation.com/

Sure Harvard's is a 3.4 or whatever, but I think most are closer to 3.1

Does that mean I have a tiny tiny chance for HLS or YLS?

Your chances will generally follow this graph:


If you want NYU consider a re-take, you'd have a good chance at UVA (in with ED), and good chances at Michigan, NW, Cornell, and GULC

james.bungles wrote:Your chances will generally follow this graph:
[img]http://myLSN.info/xn5n8e_1-14.jpg

If you want NYU consider a re-take, you'd have a good chance at UVA (in with ED), and good chances at Michigan, NW, Cornell, and GULC

Looks like 171 is not attractive at all next to my "killer" GPA :/ i guess, i can give it a shot and retake it, hoping i wouldn't get less than 171...

Even if your undergrad is an "American University," I'm pretty certain that LSAC will consider it as a foreign institution. If this is indeed the case, the good news is that your low GPA will not hurt you as much (but you're still out at HYS - I've never heard of their accepting a foreign candidate with anything less than a "superior" GPA, which requires at least 3.6).

I'd say blanket the T14 from CCN down and see what happens. It's always very hard to make predictions with international applicants. I don't imagine they get many applications from Azerbaijan, so you might benefit from being a diversity candidate, so to speak.

heythatslife wrote:Even if your undergrad is an "American University," I'm pretty certain that LSAC will consider it as a foreign institution. If this is indeed the case, the good news is that your low GPA will not hurt you as much (but you're still out at HYS - I've never heard of their accepting a foreign candidate with anything less than a "superior" GPA, which requires at least 3.6).

I'd say blanket the T14 from CCN down and see what happens. It's always very hard to make predictions with international applicants. I don't imagine they get many applications from Azerbaijan, so you might benefit from being a diversity candidate, so to speak.

I really hope my diversity statement will help me get into one of the T14. Columbia or NYU would be ideal in this case, since there is no way i'm getting accepted to HLS, turns out...

If that's your real name, I would make a new account after this.

riverwater wrote:If that's your real name, I would make a new account after this.

it is my real name, why would I wanna create a new account again?

fidan.karimli wrote:

riverwater wrote:If that's your real name, I would make a new account after this.

it is my real name, why would I wanna create a new account again?

Admissions committees use these forums

Pneumonia wrote:

fidan.karimli wrote:

riverwater wrote:If that's your real name, I would make a new account after this.

it is my real name, why would I wanna create a new account again?

Admissions committees use these forums

Are you serious???! :O I had no idea..! What would they do with the info, you think?

Thanks for telling me though!

Should I just disable this account permanently before fall? No wonder why, everyone uses different nicknames here...