Top Law Schools

I am currently a senior with a 3.1 GPA, and I took the LSAT this past October with a score of 168. My GPA is lower than I would like, but I spent 2 years in a major I hated and I can't change it now. I originally planned on applying this cycle, but have now decided to take a gap year and wait at least one cycle.

I plan on taking again in October with the hopes that I can break 170 and would like to think that I have impressive Softs. I have been the head of an on campus organization where I coordinated events with up to 21 other organizations and had 900 people involved. I have worked every year except for my freshman year while taking a full course load, and have had a wide variety of jobs. I have been in meetings with the top administrators at my university, and will be able to have letters of rec from some of the top faculty.

Currently I am in talks with two law firms, one in D.C. and one in Atlanta, about the possibility of working for them over the next year. Both firms are highly renowned domestically, and also have international offices.

I had always planned on attending school in state because I thought that was the only chance I could have with my GPA, but with my previous LSAT score, and the possibility of working for major firms I was hoping that my chances had improved in getting into better schools.

What would my chances be at schools in the TOP 20?

Your softs are not that remarkable, so don't expect them to get you anywhere that your numbers couldn't.

Your chances are what your numbers say they are. Right now as a 3.1/168 this is what you're looking at:



If you get to 172 on your retake, here's how things change:

This cycle many students with your number got huge scholarships from WashU in St. Louis. You should have ~100k scholarship from Emory and will likely get at least one of either GULC or Michigan.

You mention in-state but you don't mention which state you are in? (Assuming Georgia?)

Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

mornincounselor wrote:This cycle many students with your number got huge scholarships from WashU in St. Louis. You should have ~100k scholarship from Emory and will likely get at least one of either GULC or Michigan.

You mention in-state but you don't mention which state you are in? (Assuming Georgia?)

Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

I agree with the part about the large scholly at WashU, but I really think a 3.1/168 gives a relatively low chance of admission to Michigan. I have two friends who applied this cycle with ~3.3/169 that were Waitlisted at both Michigan and Georgetown.

A 3.1 is really hard to overcome in T-14 admissions unless you have a 170+ in my experience, and, as Fliptrip showed you above, even a 3.1/172 has some pretty grim prospects in the T-14. If you do get in, you will likely be paying sticker or close to it. I would say that if you did manage a 172, ED NU is your best bet. They do have a history of admitting students with GPAs even lower than yours when they snag LSAT scores in the 170+ range. And the 150k scholly that comes with ED admission is nothing to sneeze at.

Also, if you manage the 170+ score apply VERY EARLY. Don't be a fool and hold your dick until January like so many applicants do. It is a well-known and corroborated fact that applying early can increase your chances of admission by as much as 50%. Don't wait until admission season to write your personal statement or "why x" essays. They are not nearly as important as your numbers, but they definitely do matter. Use the time you have between this cycle and next to hammer some of them out and polish them to perfection. Get all your transcripts and letters of rec early (start asking now. It took me about 2 months to get my letters of rec done from asking my recommenders to seeing the confirmation of receipt from LSAC. Don't kid yourself. It takes time.), take the LSAT in June, get a 170, and apply the FIRST day that the app opens up. Cast a wide net. If you nail a 170+, write essays that are not dogshit, and have not murdered someone, you very likely will get into a T-14 with some money. Good luck.

juniorb2536 wrote: I plan on taking again in October with the hopes that I can break 170 and would like to think that I have impressive Softs. I have been the head of an on campus organization where I coordinated events with up to 21 other organizations and had 900 people involved. I have worked every year except for my freshman year while taking a full course load, and have had a wide variety of jobs. I have been in meetings with the top administrators at my university, and will be able to have letters of rec from some of the top faculty.

Currently I am in talks with two law firms, one in D.C. and one in Atlanta, about the possibility of working for them over the next year. Both firms are highly renowned domestically, and also have international offices.

While these accomplishments are impressive generally, for law school admissions they're not impressive at all. Unless you've done something that can be put on a law school brochure (Rhodes Scholar, Olympian, professional athlete, etc.) your softs won't really help. When you apply, avoid saying something along the lines of "I had bad grades because I did a lot of leadership activities" but instead find a way to spin your grades. Look for patterns (like doing better in seminar classes instead of big lecture classes) and use that as a reason. Or you can say that you were immature. That kind of stuff plays well with admissions committees.

Because you're applying next year and have time you should re-take the LSAT to see how high you can go. Cast a wide net and put in a lot of applications to a lot of schools. As a splitter you have to do everything right, but the reward is that you could land several top 20 law schools and some with money.

mornincounselor wrote: Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

I see this one a little differently. I feel like as a splitter, you're already playing the underdog's hand, so you might as well take any chance you can to push your split even further apart. Who knows what might open up if you can push into the mid-170s? Might as well find out.

fliptrip wrote: I see this one a little differently. I feel like as a splitter, you're already playing the underdog's hand, so you might as well take any chance you can to push your split even further apart. Who knows what might open up if you can push into the mid-170s? Might as well find out.

This.

fliptrip wrote:

mornincounselor wrote: Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

I see this one a little differently. I feel like as a splitter, you're already playing the underdog's hand, so you might as well take any chance you can to push your split even further apart. Who knows what might open up if you can push into the mid-170s? Might as well find out.

+1. I figure if you're fighting your GPA, crushing the LSAT is all the more important. Where OP's at right now compared to much of the T14 is median LSAT, <25th GPA. If you can push the split to >75th LSAT, <25th GPA, your chances should be considerably rosier.

tsujimoto74 wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

mornincounselor wrote: Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

I see this one a little differently. I feel like as a splitter, you're already playing the underdog's hand, so you might as well take any chance you can to push your split even further apart. Who knows what might open up if you can push into the mid-170s? Might as well find out.

+1. I figure if you're fighting your GPA, crushing the LSAT is all the more important. Where OP's at right now compared to much of the T14 is median LSAT, <25th GPA. If you can push the split to >75th LSAT, <25th GPA, your chances should be considerably rosier.

Chances for what though? Sticker? A discount off sticker that equals sticker from three years ago? I definitely agree OP should retake because there's no downside, but mornincounselor's post wasn't wrong.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

tsujimoto74 wrote:

fliptrip wrote:

mornincounselor wrote: Honestly, with your stats, the retake gets you a lot less gas than other students. Your GPA kind of prevents the huge scholarships outside of WashU. I mean you might end up pulling Penn or UVA or another t14 school at ~sticker, but one has to ask if they are worth the cost.

I see this one a little differently. I feel like as a splitter, you're already playing the underdog's hand, so you might as well take any chance you can to push your split even further apart. Who knows what might open up if you can push into the mid-170s? Might as well find out.

+1. I figure if you're fighting your GPA, crushing the LSAT is all the more important. Where OP's at right now compared to much of the T14 is median LSAT, <25th GPA. If you can push the split to >75th LSAT, <25th GPA, your chances should be considerably rosier.

Chances for what though? Sticker? A discount off sticker that equals sticker from three years ago? I definitely agree OP should retake because there's no downside, but mornincounselor's post wasn't wrong.

idk where this myth that splitters don't get scholarships is coming from. My cycle as a splitter hasn't been optimal (though I applied kind of late), but I've spoken with several people with similar stats to mine who got $$ from T14 schools. Whether you'll get $ and how much is almost certainly less predictable than if you have the GPA to match, but getting a good deal from a T14 is definitely in the realm of possibility with a high enough LSAT.