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I would probably put your t14 chances right at zero

D1 track and field is a negligible boost, if anything at all

So go ahead and retake

Dedicate yourself to studying for the LSAT and retake it. If you can get into the 170s, you'll have a strong shot at the t14.

hbartlett wrote:I'm a Division 1 two-sport athlete (cross country and track and field) at an ACC school. I'm not an NCAA Champion or All-American or anything like that, but I've traveled and competed all four years of undergrad. I have a 3.65 GPA and a 164 LSAT, both of which might be slightly higher if not for the huge time commitment of athletics. What kind of boost (if any) would this give me? Shot at T-14? Thank you in advance for the help!

DIII XC/Track guy here. I've seen no noticeable boost from being an athlete in general in the admissions process (and even less so in any hiring situation). Though DI and DIII are different beasts for sure, it doesn't seem like it carries a lot of weight, or less weight than I would have expected. Definitely try and get your LSAT up because the GPA is good; however it is not enough to compensate for your LSAT. Even 2-3 points higher makes you significantly more competitive at Cornell, for example.

But unlike what a poster above said, I don't think your chances are at zero, either. If you'd apply I think you'd at least have a small chance at GTown or Cornell...but it's just not worth it either at the sticker price tag you would inevitably pay.

I was D1 track, don't think it helped too much. I personally feel like it should be a stronger soft considering the level of dedication, but that's just how the cookie crumbles. In the end, most softs just aren't a big enough deal to make a huge difference.

I pmed OP and spoke to him but athletics can significantly help, but only in rare cases. PM me if you would like.

fredfred wrote:I pmed OP and spoke to him but athletics can significantly help, but only in rare cases. PM me if you would like.

Yes, in the rare case of being an olympic medalist, etc.

General rule with softs- if softs are actually great enough to help you outperform your numbers , then no need to apply for LS,

Broncos15 wrote:General rule with softs- if softs are actually great enough to help you outperform your numbers , then no need to apply for LS,

Broncos15 wrote:General rule with softs- if softs are actually great enough to help you outperform your numbers , then no need to apply for LS,

Legit. Though it can help with signaling to get into a top one.

Even if you were on the football/basketball team it would still be a pretty negligible soft imo. If you were all American or something then yes, but then youd be going pro anyway probably.

Just focus on retaking the LSAT

Are you still in Ugrad? My advice would be to wait at least a year and work on that LSAT. If you really only got a 164 because you had a serious travel athletics commitment on top of school, I bet you could raise it to 172+ while working. Then you could be looking at T14 with money. As it is, I don't think you can get T14 unless you're a URM.

You have a shot at Georgetown with your current numbers.

CanadianWolf wrote:You have a shot at Georgetown with your current numbers.

Dude where do you get this stuff?

There isn't a single non-urm to get into gulc with < 167 and < 3.7 last cycle

Edit: on lsn

LSN is a small sample & a bit ridiculous to use in support of your statement.

D1 track here as well. Didn't matter with getting into schools, but I'm positive that it helped with getting a job at OCI. So you'll have that (which won't matter if you go to a bummer law school).

Mack.Hambleton wrote:If you were all American or something then yes, but then youd be going pro anyway probably.

Most All-Americans in track are definitely not going pro.

CanadianWolf wrote:LSN is a small sample & a bit ridiculous to use in support of your statement.

You're right, I'm sure a larger sample size would show gulc dipping well below both medians to snag white male kjds

Nice to see that you're so impressed with yourself. Regardless, using small samples from LSN to make sweeping generalizations is foolish.

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hbartlett wrote:Just to clarify-- I am a white female, and I am still in undergrad. I only studied for 4 weeks for my 164 (on the June 2015 LSAT) but I had been getting 160-162 on my practice tests so I was actually pleasantly surprised when I got my score. Thanks for all the advice and responses so far.

I had a 3.65 and did real well with my cycle. I also retook twice, so I know its painful, but you can have a great cycle with a solid retake. Good luck.

(and sorry for saying you were a guy)

Nice! Another D1 XC/Track applicant haha. I'll be applying this cycle too. I would recommend a retake to give yourself a better shot. That's what I'm planning on doing. Also, try and kick some arse during season to add more credentials. I'm not sure if it helps but it would be pretty bad ass to say you are the school record holder in the XC 6k or that you qualified for nationals. Regionals is a pain though, good luck with applying and your season!

Even if you got lower T-14 at sticker, which might happen, attending would be a mistake.

OP: Your original post in this thread focuses primarily on whether or not your D-1 athletic participation will give you any boost in the law school admissions process. I think that you are asking the wrong question. Your focus should be on getting into the best & most suitable (located in the geographic region where you want to live & work after law school) law school with a substantial scholarship (putting "retake" advice aside).
With your numbers (3.65 GPA & 164 LSAT), you should be able to get several full tuition scholarships to Tier One (top 50) law schools. Your numbers are above both medians for the law school at UNC, for example. This should result in an offer of admission with a substantial tuition scholarship (admission to Duke, for example, is unlikely because your numbers are well below Duke's median LSAT score for matriculated law students & well below the median GPA. An offer of admission is not impossible, but not likely. Law school admissions focuses heavily on one's LSAT score & on one's GPA in addition to URM status. D-1 athletics may give a slight boost, but that probably isn't enough to overcome your numbers for almost all lower T-14 law schools & scholarship consideration would not occur.

In another thread you asked whether or not paying sticker price for Notre Dame or GWU is a worthy investment. It is not. Focus on getting scholarship offers. (You should retake the LSAT since you have only taken it once.) Putting retake aside, where do you want to live & work after law school ? Any specific career goals ?

With your current numbers, you are a scholarship candidate at just about every law school ranked from #19 Emory on down (with USC being the exception). If you want to remain in Florida, FSU & the University of Florida should offer you substantial scholarship money. WFU, SMU, Utah, Arizona State, Alabama, Iowa, Wisconsin, Boston College & BU among dozens of other regional law schools should offer you substantial scholarship money based on your current numbers.
Nevertheless, retaking the LSAT is the best course of action in order to enhance your chances at higher ranked law schools.