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So yeah, I know my GPA is SUPER low. I worked hard during work and my jobs to study the LSAT religiously to get that high score. I'm proud of it, but I don't expect it to waive everything. Not going to argue, excuse it or anything here. I'm going to explain it in the addendum. But I'm curious if anyone has any ideas for chances? I'm thinking of going to a T4 or T3 and transferring, hopefully, of course if I can prove myself. But does anyone have any school ideas of where I should look? I have some more info below. I listed the most "important" things.

State School
URM (African American-Male)
Americorps (2 "terms"/years)
4+ years of political internships in prominent DC orgs (A PAC, Think Tank and Hill Position)
Publication in '16 (keyword here is Agented) Author with a publishing deal with a top-5 publisher
Writing Fellowship in Residence (Novel, Fiction) Fellowship recipient at a well known fellowship
Published personal essays on well known blogs (Buzzfeed, Thought Catalog and A small press) + 1 short story in an anthology
Professional references that know me very well from keeping professional and personal contact for 3+ years (they are mentors).

Possible Soft - I'm 1 step away from becoming a foreign service officer. So we can include that as a possible soft.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Those are some strong softs, I'd say, and AA splitters tend to do pretty well generally. The t14 is probably not out of reach, at least it can't hurt to apply.

georgej wrote:Those are some strong softs, I'd say, and AA splitters tend to do pretty well generally. The t14 is probably not out of reach, at least it can't hurt to apply.

Thanks georgej. Do you think maybe full ride at a t2 or t3 is possible? Obviously getting into a t14 would be amazing, but i'm more than happy (and I think i can do it) getting a full ride to a slightly lower tier school and/or transferring. I'm still not even sure what type of law i want to practice is.

The best advice given to other candidates in similar situations is to apply broadly. Save whatever money you need to blanket the T14 and those schools which you'd go to otherwise, especially with full rides. You represent what amounts to a total wildcard in some ways -- but a 178 in a year with so few 170+ scores -- let alone 175+ scores -- in the pool means you will almost certainly be viewed as a valuable asset for many schools which may not have trouble recruiting comparatively common high GPAs, but which may be struggling to hold on to their LSAT margins (basically the entire T14 right now).

Your application cycle will likely look a bit bizarre (denials and acceptances all over the place), but I think the odds are strongly in your favor you'll have great options.

You should have much better options than T3s or T4s with a 178 LSAT and your softs as a URM. Aim for the t14, you absolutely have a shot. Congratulations on such an impressive score!