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Hopefully no one bites off my head for posting-I've reviewed the numbers and still would like to get some feedback.

I'm a non-URM woman at a top 20 US News National Rankings undergrad. It's a top public university. 170 June 2017 LSAT (was hitting 173/4 on PTs, but you know the deal). LSAC GPA will hopefully be 3.95+ if I keep up where I'm at-planning to do an honor's thesis.

Softs: I'm mid-20s, so a variety of work experience before and after returning to school, including youth development. Interned resettling refugees, with a U.S. Congressperson, and at a legal aid firm. On-campus work around refugees and poverty. Strongly committed to public-interest law, hoping to provide direct services and potentially move into impact litigation. I don't need any lectures about unicorn jobs, I'm willing to work in the trenches and not particularly worried about finding a way to serve. Truman Scholarship Finalist (I know, but they insisted that we should put being a finalist on our applications and that it would help). Gilman Scholar, and recipient of 5-7 other school-based scholarships. Selected with 10 other US students to participate in a study-visit to the Middle East and spent a year promoting cross-cultural understanding from that visit. Writer for a school political magazine. Volunteer with permanent residents hoping to become citizens.

Taking a year off before law school. Stanford has been my hope because of their public interest law programs. Also will probably apply to Harvard, and Berkeley. That's about it. Thoughts on chances?

You have a shot at Stanford, but a couple more points on the LSAT would make you more competitive.

That said, I don't know why you aren't considering Yale, NYU, Columbia, etc. with your PI focus. You'll probably get in at Berkeley, but I don't think it's wise to cut off so many good options for yourself.

cavalier1138 wrote:You have a shot at Stanford, but a couple more points on the LSAT would make you more competitive.

That said, I don't know why you aren't considering Yale, NYU, Columbia, etc. with your PI focus. You'll probably get in at Berkeley, but I don't think it's wise to cut off so many good options for yourself.

Thanks! I know more points would help, I'm just so done with the LSAT. Thinking I'll take my chances with what I have to offer. Appreciate the tip on other considerations-some of my reluctance is due to geography, but I'll probably check those out too.

tada77 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:You have a shot at Stanford, but a couple more points on the LSAT would make you more competitive.

That said, I don't know why you aren't considering Yale, NYU, Columbia, etc. with your PI focus. You'll probably get in at Berkeley, but I don't think it's wise to cut off so many good options for yourself.

Thanks! I know more points would help, I'm just so done with the LSAT. Thinking I'll take my chances with what I have to offer. Appreciate the tip on other considerations-some of my reluctance is due to geography, but I'll probably check those out too.

If you're not going to retake (which I would still recommend for your goal schools, regardless of how "done" you are), you can't afford to be picky about geography, especially because a lot of the best impact lit jobs are in NYC and DC. I'm not saying there aren't good California groups, but if you're looking to work for Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, etc., you'll eventually want to be on the East Coast.

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Platopus wrote:If you were hitting 173-174 on PT's you must retake. Those 3 points will have a very significant impact on your cycle. I get it, retaking SUCKS, but you have a very real chance at getting very significant scholarships at schools that will be conducive to your goals. You don't have to knock it out of the park on your retake, you just need to perform at your average. You have good softs, with a very clear PI focus and that will help, but not as much as even 2 points on the LSAT.

I echo the statements above. You're as little a two to three points away from admission.

Jmart082 wrote:

Platopus wrote:If you were hitting 173-174 on PT's you must retake. Those 3 points will have a very significant impact on your cycle. I get it, retaking SUCKS, but you have a very real chance at getting very significant scholarships at schools that will be conducive to your goals. You don't have to knock it out of the park on your retake, you just need to perform at your average. You have good softs, with a very clear PI focus and that will help, but not as much as even 2 points on the LSAT.

I echo the statements above. You're as little a two to three points away from admission.

Thanks for the tips-I expected some of that advice, and I'll have to carefully consider it. I also plan on meeting with admission officers and seeing what they say, but definitely aware of how crucial even an extra point or two would be.

tada77 wrote:Thanks for the tips-I expected some of that advice, and I'll have to carefully consider it. I also plan on meeting with admission officers and seeing what they say, but definitely aware of how crucial even an extra point or two would be.

If they're current admissions officers, then don't bother. Their job is to get you to apply to their school and tell you about how holistic their approach is. They will not be honest with you.

But if you meant a former admissions officer (like Spivey et al.), then go for it.