Top Law Schools

Hey there,
This is my first time every posting on a law school forum. Basically, I wanted to know what people think my chances would be at top law schools.

I graduated from a large public university in the Honors college with a lot of leadership and involvement experience and an honors thesis. I would say I have above average softs... nothing spectacular that a school like Stanford would want me based on my experiences but enough to help me stand out. I've also held 3 internships and am doing a pretty cool legal assistantship with a large company before I apply to law school. I'm thinking of sitting out this cycle to study more and retake the LSAT, and then apply in fall of 2018.

My dream schools are H, S, CCN, and Berkeley. UCLA or USC are my backups in case I can't improve my LSAT score. I know that H and S are pretty unrealistic (even if I do get my LSAT up, not expecting much above a 170), and that Columbia is big on high LSATS. But what about Chicago, NYU, or Berkeley? Anyone have any insight on why Berkeley's LSAT numbers are slightly lower than UCLA? Also, does being a white male hurt my chances at Berkeley? Any advice from those who have experience would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. --- I am from Arizona but recently moved to California and have established CA residency. The main reason UCLA is my default fall-back is because it's a great school and I would love to practice in California (although I'm not opposed to NY, Chicago, or D.C.). I'm not in any way opposed to schools like Vandy, Georgetown, Cornell, etc.... but it's hard to imagine foregoing in-state tuition for a similarly ranked school in the state I am hoping to live in (unless of course those schools offer $$$).

Thanks in advance.

-Fellow aspiring law student

First, stop thinking of law school like undergrad. There are schools that give you a good shot at your goals and schools that don't. There are not "backup" schools. So what are your career goals?

You have little to no chance at H, S, or Columbia. You have decent odds at Chicago and NYU, but you would have much, much better odds (and a chance at some decent scholarships) if you could bump that test up in to the 170s. "Not much above a 170" is literally worth $100,000+ in scholarship funding at this level.

Also based on what you said I would say you have pretty average softs compared to most applicants at top schools. Sounds like typical "I'm applying to law school" type stuff that people pack their resumes with. LSAT is going to be the make or break here, as it almost always is with the vast majority of applicants.

Had very similar numbers my first cycle and applied to about half those schools. White male.
I was in at UCLA with $80k
USC with $157,500
Berkeley is a coin flip. They're weird and I'd definitely do the supplemental stuff. I didn't (thought my PS screamed Berkeley) and got rejected.
Stanford reject
Harvard WL ---> reject