179/below average international GPA. (2.7) no shot at T-14? :( Forum

[nuuke31]

I have my heart set on Colombia or NYU. I love the city, I love the culture of both schools and I really want to do BigLaw, not just as a pathway to being in-house, but ideally for good. I have family and friends in BigLaw, and I do know what a life in it entails.
Unfortunately I scored a 2.7 GPA at my Australian university doing B.Com, which LSAC classified as "below average" (The international GPA number itself isn't reported).
I scored a 179 on my LSAT on my first try, and I'm hoping it'll be enough to get me into NYU/Colombia, or at least a T14.
I have 2 years of WE after my undergrad, and my GPA was due to some fairly extenuating medical circumstances out of my control. I will be writing an addendum explaining this, and my last year of study I was the highest ranked student in my undergraduate class of over 1000.
Do I have no shot at the T-14?

[LSATWiz.com]

You'll get a t-14. I'm not a 100% sure if this is still the case, but I don't believe that foreign GPA's count for USNews rankings purposes so you may just be a blank slate applying with a 179. If so, this is probably better than having a 3.5 at an American university. Even with the 2.7, you're virtually a shoe in for at least one t-14. Feel free to PM me if you have interest in tutoring the LSAT while you wait out your cycle.

[QContinuum]

It's hard to say for sure, because foreign-educated students tend to have more unpredictable/challenging cycles than their domestic counterparts (barring Oxbridge and maybe a few select top universities). And your "below average" will certainly make things even tougher. But still, you have a 179 - based on that spectacular LSAT alone, I think you have a realistic shot, and I definitely recommend blanketing the T13/T20.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.