What are my chances? 2.66 GPA, 168 LSAT Forum

[dam2991]

Hi,

What are my chances of getting into the following law schools? My statistics are below:

University of Maryland: College Park '10-'14 Bachelor of Arts in Economics
2.66 GPA, 2.7 Major GPA, 2.7 +/- GPA
168 LSAT
9 Months work experience as a corporate recruiter in HR. Will have 1 year of research analysis/statistics work experience by the time that I apply--I start my new job in June.
African-American Male
I will have a very strong application, I write well.
Applying to law school for the Fall 2016 semester.

Chance me on the following institutions: Univ of Maryland Law, Howard University, Rutgers, Temple, Univ of DC. Also, let me know if there are any other colleges I should apply to.

I'll have 27k in undergrad loans by the time that I apply to law school; money is a consideration when I'm applying to these schools.

I was reading the forum and folks noted that if you cannot get into a T30 school then Howard is the best option for the money, is this true?

Thanks.

[MarkfromWI]

Honestly, I have no idea. Usually mylsn.info is going to be the best resource as far as chancing goes, but it seems that there has been approximately 1 person with stats similar to yours (GPA 2.6-2.75; LSAT 165-169; URM Only) applying to law schools over the last 3 cycles.

Needless to say, but you get a huge bump for being an AA male, especially considering there's a very low number of AA males scoring 165+ (I'm sure you can look the number up somewhere; I just got done cite checking so I don't care). The difficult part is your GPA. Your splitter status makes it really difficult to gauge how well you'll perform. Don't limit yourself though. With that LSAT, send a few apps to the lower T-14. You might get a bite somewhere.

Mainly, though, don't make the mistake of not applying broadly enough. Obviously send applications to the schools you want to go to, but also send applications to those schools' peers/competition. The more acceptances you have in-hand, the more leverage you have when it comes to negotiating for scholarship money.

As far as your last question re: Howard- I'm sure there's some subset of people out there for whom Howard is the "best option for the money," but it's a very small subset of people. There is no one-size-fits-all "best law school" for everyone. It's completely dependent on a person's goals, geographic desires, debt tolerance, etc. That leads me to my questions for you. What kind of law do you want to do? Where are you from? Where do you want to practice? The reason I ask is because all of the schools you listed are setting you up for small-firm, local work, and none of them will give you much geographic mobility. And finally, whatever you do, for the love of whatever deity you pray to, do not go to U of DC. http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/udc/2013/

[dam2991]

Honestly, I have no idea. Usually mylsn.info is going to be the best resource as far as chancing goes, but it seems that there has been approximately 1 person with stats similar to yours (GPA 2.6-2.75; LSAT 165-169; URM Only) applying to law schools over the last 3 cycles.

Needless to say, but you get a huge bump for being an AA male, especially considering there's a very low number of AA males scoring 165+ (I'm sure you can look the number up somewhere; I just got done cite checking so I don't care). The difficult part is your GPA. Your splitter status makes it really difficult to gauge how well you'll perform. Don't limit yourself though. With that LSAT, send a few apps to the lower T-14. You might get a bite somewhere.

Mainly, though, don't make the mistake of not applying broadly enough. Obviously send applications to the schools you want to go to, but also send applications to those schools' peers/competition. The more acceptances you have in-hand, the more leverage you have when it comes to negotiating for scholarship money.

As far as your last question re: Howard- I'm sure there's some subset of people out there for whom Howard is the "best option for the money," but it's a very small subset of people. There is no one-size-fits-all "best law school" for everyone. It's completely dependent on a person's goals, geographic desires, debt tolerance, etc. That leads me to my questions for you. What kind of law do you want to do? Where are you from? Where do you want to practice? The reason I ask is because all of the schools you listed are setting you up for small-firm, local work, and none of them will give you much geographic mobility. And finally, whatever you do, for the love of whatever deity you pray to, do not go to U of DC. http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/udc/2013/

I am from Montgomery county, Maryland. I'd really like not to have more than 70k in debt, I'll do 100k at most if I get into a T14.

I either want to become a civil rights lawyer, I know they don't make that much, or practice business law. I'd like to pass the BAR in Maryland or New York. I'm staying in the Northeast. I've done California and not a fan. Also, I know about UDC and it's my safety school.

[ilikebaseball]

you'll be fine for the colleges you're applying to, I'm sure. idk about schools that you probably should be looking at though in the area

[chuckbass]

Getting a job as a lawyer out of any of these schools will be difficult enough, even moreso if you want to get into ~civil rights law~ or ~business law~

You should applying across the T14 and see what they do with you

[Clemenceau]

Frankly I'd be surprised if an aa male with a 168 doesn't get into several t14s. The 2.7 is a little hairy I guess, but I think the fact that 168 will probably be at/above a lot of t14 medians will help.

Keeping debt to ~$100k tho... Wouldn't be too optimistic about that.

Apply very broadly OP. Good luck.

[CanadianWolf]

Your post-undergraduate work experience should put a bit less focus on your low GPA if handled properly in your essays (e.g., low GPA due to lack of maturity rather than lack of intellectual ability).

With a well designed & well written law school application, you should receive a couple of lower T-14 offers based on your AA male URM status & 168 LSAT score. Michigan & Cornell may be your best bets. Also, WashUStL & Minnesota are interesting targets for you if seeking scholarship money. You should be admitted to Maryland & the other law schools (not colleges) listed in your post.

[dam2991]

Does being an economics major mean anything? If I would have done American studies I'd have a 3.6, easy. Economics at my university is the lowest GPA out of all the majors after engineering. The average econ GPA for my class was like a 2.7 when I graduated.

[chuckbass]

Does being an economics major mean anything? If I would have done American studies I'd have a 3.6, easy. Economics at my university is the lowest GPA out of all the majors after engineering. The average econ GPA for my class was like a 2.7 when I graduated.

Nope, sorry.

[TheSpanishMain]

I'd stay far, far away from UDC. You'll have much better options.

[WhyYaCryin]

Just wondering how you managed to find out what the average gpa for econ was...

[dam2991]

Just wondering how you managed to find out what the average gpa for econ was...

Lol. I went to the BSOS department and asked them. They weren't trying to release that information so I set an appointment with a counselor and she told me.

[blsingindisguise]

Howard does have a network though -- Howard grads tend to be protective of Howard grads, for sort of understandable/obvious reasons. I wouldn't totally write that off, especially if you can go there cheap.

[blsingindisguise]

I wouldn't go to Temple or Rutgers unless you really want to work in their local markets (Philly, Jersey). They don't place great in NYC or DC. And even then I'd only go with very very low cost, like almost free. Howard or U. Md in-state (both preferably with scholarship) are the best options you posted, but no reason not to shoot a little higher with your stats and at least see your options.

[dam2991]

Howard or T14 it is then!