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Hi all!

Feeling a little anxious these days (as is everyone) about my chances, and figured I'd just directly ask instead of trying to lurk the boards and piece together an answer.

Basically, I have a ~3.56 GPA, and a 167 LSAT. Canadian, Canadian undergrad, Asian, but I'm not sure if that counts as a URM. Did my undergrad in medical sciences, I'm also going to be done my Masters soon in Communications (I explain in my PS why I made the switch and why law schools, etc. It's a good PS, but I don't think it's going to be the best thing they ever read, you know?)

I think over four years it was 4.12, 4.0, 3.18, and 3.10. In my third year, I got into a pedestrian vehicle accident that left my leg broken (surgery, titanium rod in leg, was diagnosed with PTSD after, recovery was months and months), and I got put on an antidepressant that really messed with my head and ability to do well in school. I was an idiot and decided to stay in school instead of taking time off and recovering. In hindsight, it was a terrible decision AND hell. The low GPAs aren't all consistently low (ie at 3.18), they're very much 2.0s and 3.0s and 4.0s balancing out to 3.10. It's really all over the board. I wrote a succinct addenda explaining this and I have all the medical documentation. I did really well in my masters, although I'm not sure that counts for anything.

I have family in New York (my biological grandparents, their siblings, aunts/uncles—but unfortunately no one that could sponsor me for a family visa; parents are both Canadian citizens). They're the family I'm closest to, I visit multiple times a year and have wanted to settle down there since I was a kid; hence the applications. I also applied to Canadian schools because some people go to NYC that way, but many people recommended applying to NY schools.

I think this is all fine for Fordham, and a complete crapshoot for NYU, I know. Basically, I was wondering how much an addenda like that can sway adcomms? Any insight is appreciated.

I think you should retake so that you go to a school in the t13 (perhaps one in NY like Cornell, NYC, or Columbia) that will make it more likely for you to get a job at a firm that will sponsor you. Your GPA isn't trash by any means so you would be a standard splitter with a little higher LSAT and could have a solid outcome.

Wubbles wrote:I think you should retake so that you go to a school in the t13 (perhaps one in NY like Cornell, NYC, or Columbia) that will make it more likely for you to get a job at a firm that will sponsor you. Your GPA isn't trash by any means so you would be a standard splitter with a little higher LSAT and could have a solid outcome.

I agree with this. The addenda won't allow OP to substantially overperform their numbers.

Also, I strongly urge the OP to consider (post-retake) applying broadly, across the T13 and/or the T20, instead of restricting themselves to a NYC school. NYC is easy to land from any T13/T20. While I understand OP would prefer to attend law school in NYC, it may not make financial sense to do so (given OP's GPA, with a better LSAT OP's more likely to get in and get $ at a lower T13 like Cornell or Michigan than at Columbia or NYU).

Finally, to be clear, OP won't get a URM boost. URMs for law school admissions purposes are African-Americans, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans. Asians are not considered URMs for law school admissions purposes.

QContinuum wrote:

Wubbles wrote:I think you should retake so that you go to a school in the t13 (perhaps one in NY like Cornell, NYC, or Columbia) that will make it more likely for you to get a job at a firm that will sponsor you. Your GPA isn't trash by any means so you would be a standard splitter with a little higher LSAT and could have a solid outcome.

I agree with this. The addenda won't allow OP to substantially overperform their numbers.

Also, I strongly urge the OP to consider (post-retake) applying broadly, across the T13 and/or the T20, instead of restricting themselves to a NYC school. NYC is easy to land from any T13/T20. While I understand OP would prefer to attend law school in NYC, it may not make financial sense to do so (given OP's GPA, with a better LSAT OP's more likely to get in and get $ at a lower T13 like Cornell or Michigan than at Columbia or NYU).

Finally, to be clear, OP won't get a URM boost. URMs for law school admissions purposes are African-Americans, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans. Asians are not considered URMs for law school admissions purposes.

Hey! Thanks for this insight. I appreciate it a lot.

uneagerbeaver wrote:Hey! Thanks for this insight. I appreciate it a lot.

Happy to help. Best of luck and don't hesitate to post with any additional questions!