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Have two questions I would like some advice on, and would appreciate the insights immensely:

1). LSAC GPA: 2.81/and LSAT 177 what are my chances? any shot at lower Top14?

-gpa lower for a good reason (not for being lazy). in undergrad a bit longer then most. Have an excellent finish. made the presidents list (4.0) last six gpa terms, one term left (college gpa forgiving first course attempts is 3.558). Interests are Corporate law and practicing in New York City. NYU and Columbia obviously not a chance, but do I have a chance at lower Top 14 or Cornell with a 2.81/177?

2). Lastly, I have one more term left and if I get a 4.0, could raise it to a 2.89. My 2nd question is - there is a particular course in the Economics department at my school thats a 4000 level, called Special Topics in economics. Even though its the same course numbering, the topics vary each semester so even though its the same number, its a different course, well will LSAC not count it because its the same course number twice? I know if you get an F in the same course numbering they count both, but what if you get an A in the same course numbering twice?

Apply everywhere, even H / Y / S.

Your cycle will be unpredictable so just apply and see what happens.

http://mylsn.info/3y07vg/
It looks like Northwestern, UVA, and Georgetown are your best shots.

top14dreamer wrote:Have two questions I would like some advice on, and would appreciate the insights immensely:

1). LSAC GPA: 2.81/and LSAT 177 what are my chances? any shot at lower Top14?

-gpa lower for a good reason (not for being lazy). in undergrad a bit longer then most. Have an excellent finish. made the presidents list (4.0) last six gpa terms, one term left (college gpa forgiving first course attempts is 3.558). Interests are Corporate law and practicing in New York City. NYU and Columbia obviously not a chance, but do I have a chance at lower Top 14 or Cornell with a 2.81/177?

2). Lastly, I have one more term left and if I get a 4.0, could raise it to a 2.89. My 2nd question is - there is a particular course in the Economics department at my school thats a 4000 level, called Special Topics in economics. Even though its the same course numbering, the topics vary each semester so even though its the same number, its a different course, well will LSAC not count it because its the same course number twice? I know if you get an F in the same course numbering they count both, but what if you get an A in the same course numbering twice?

Same LSAT, lower GPA. I'm in at everywhere from UVA on down, and was waitlisted at CLS and UC. Your fine. As for your GPA question, no one here will be able to give you a good answer, just call the LSAC.

Apply to HYS too. I caught two waitlists in the trinity with a similar GPA and slightly lower LSAT. Make your application sing your story! Also, apply to WUSTL for potential scholarship leverage with other schools. Splitters can get a lot of money at T14s, they just have to work at it!

top14dreamer wrote:Even though its the same course numbering, the topics vary each semester so even though its the same number, its a different course, well will LSAC not count it because its the same course number twice? I know if you get an F in the same course numbering they count both, but what if you get an A in the same course numbering twice?

Good luck in your cycle. Be prepared for a wild and interesting ride. Something good will come for you for sure.

Anyway to this point, I am sure that LSAC has a process that allows you to appeal their evaluation of your transcript. Be ready with some documentation to share to substantiate your claims that these are different courses. I would not be at all surprised if LSAC is sophisticated enough to know how a seminar type course like this works...you might not have a problem.

fliptrip wrote:

top14dreamer wrote:Even though its the same course numbering, the topics vary each semester so even though its the same number, its a different course, well will LSAC not count it because its the same course number twice? I know if you get an F in the same course numbering they count both, but what if you get an A in the same course numbering twice?

Good luck in your cycle. Be prepared for a wild and interesting ride. Something good will come for you for sure.

Anyway to this point, I am sure that LSAC has a process that allows you to appeal their evaluation of your transcript. Be ready with some documentation to share to substantiate your claims that these are different courses. I would not be at all surprised if LSAC is sophisticated enough to know how a seminar type course like this works...you might not have a problem.

Good luck! This is very similar with my Literature seminars where they often have the same course number. Mine were counted all as different courses. On my official transcript it lists the course number as well as the course name, so the system is sophisticated enough pick up them all being different seminars. I'm not sure how other universities make up their official transcripts, but if yours looks like that, it should be fine I'd say.

top14dreamer wrote: 1). LSAC GPA: 2.81/and LSAT 177 what are my chances? any shot at lower Top14?

-gpa lower for a good reason (not for being lazy). in undergrad a bit longer then most. Have an excellent finish. made the presidents list (4.0) last six gpa terms, one term left (college gpa forgiving first course attempts is 3.558). Interests are Corporate law and practicing in New York City. NYU and Columbia obviously not a chance, but do I have a chance at lower Top 14 or Cornell with a 2.81/177?

You absolutely have a chance. You may even be better off going to a non-NYU/Columbia school because some NYC Biglaw firms will dig deeper into out-of-state T14s to maintain a balance of schools for their summer classes. I was the beneficiary of this years ago--I believe I was hired by my V5 in part because I brought school diversity to their summer class. (I had a law school GPA below their stated cutoff, but I also was the beneficiary of a lottery OCI system.)

I think someone else in this thread mentioned Georgetown, UVA, and Northwestern as the most splitter friendly schools in the T14. That sounds right to me but remember to cast a wide net. You never know, some schools may unexpectedly change their admissions practices or make an exception for you. I've heard stories about splitter unfriendly schools like UCLA or Berkeley accepting splitters although I concede that's far from the norm. Just remember to apply EVERYWHERE and make sure you put together a strong application. Although you have a 177 it's not unheard of for people with your numbers to miss the T14 completely.

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