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I am proposing the following theoretical stats (both possible for me): 3.6 GPA and a 169+/170+ LSAT.

With these stats, I would have a good chance at some T20s/T25s (maybe not T14, but a good shot at T20's and T25's). And that would be great!

However, I have "other factors" that I think will actually bring down the chance I have with a 3.6 GPA and 169+/170+ LSAT.

1) I have a C & F "problem". I had a lit candle in my dorm room freshman year, which violated fire safety, and because of this I was suspended from campus housing for 1 year.

2)My classes were all over the place:
- I took a leave of absence my first semester (before deadline so no W's, just blank)
-For my first 3 years (or 2.5 if you don't count the leave of absence semester), I didn't even have a MAJOR. My classes were random and all over the place. Most of those semesters I only took 4 classes, and one of them I only took 2 classes!!

3)My "softs" will be below average:
-I will have only started these softs after my first 3 years (after these first 3 years I will still have 2 summers, a fall and a spring, and one extra fall semester). During these first 3 years I had 0 softs of any kind. And when I say 0, I truly mean 0 not a single thing--not even a tiny club, job, anything not even 1 thing.
-Once I start these softs, they won't be particularly strong and I won't have leadership roles in them, and I will only have a pretty short period of time to be active in them.


How much will these three factors lower the chances I would normally have with a 3.6 and 169+/170+ LSAT?

I don't think you're going to have much of a problem as long as you explain your C&F issue clearly and just own up to it. Otherwise, you'll go where your stats take you.

fliptrip wrote:I don't think you're going to have much of a problem as long as you explain your C&F issue clearly and just own up to it. Otherwise, you'll go where your stats take you.

Not to piggyback on this guy's thread, but, in general, is it fair to say that softs can only help, not hurt, in the admissions process? Barring a complete lack of any at all.

I think that's the right way to look at it. Most softs that people think are terrific are pretty standard and not terribly meaningful. It's your numbers above all else pretty much.

i think with a 169-170 + a 3.6, you would have a shot at some T14s. i had mixed results among T14 schools with similar (actually slightly lower) stats, so it's definitely worth applying to some.

You got suspended from housing for having a candle lit? That's insane.

Tempo wrote:You got suspended from housing for having a candle lit? That's insane.

It's all fun and games until someone burns the mutha to the ground.

Tempo wrote:You got suspended from housing for having a candle lit? That's insane.

I get that response from pretty much everyone I tell. But I'm OK with it now, death by fire/burns are horrific things. Some of the people I encountered during it (disciplinary people from my school) were kinda crappy about it, though.