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Hey everyone,
Just wondering what you think my chances would be at YHSCCN. I go to an average state university, and as many of us have, I screwed up my first semester of college. If you disregard that semester my GPA is near 4.0, and my major GPA is 4.13. I am a former Army infantryman with a combat deployment. My goal is to go to one of the top 6 schools, and money isn't a huge issue (I still have 3 years G.I. Bill remaining). Should I retake the LSAT (my last 10 or so practice tests have ranged from 168 to 178)? Should I write a GPA addendum? Or could I confidently apply as is? Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!

If time and fees are not issues for you, then I would retake, as there is very little to no downside to doing so and if you can get to 173+, you would have a fairly good shot at H and decent money at CCN.

That being said, being a combat vet is a pretty great soft and you already have an outside shot at Harvard. Yale and Stanford are going to be stretches with a 3.75 regardless of what you do.

I am not familiar with the mechanics of the GI bill. Would it cover you 100% at any law school, or just at certain state schools? If it only covers a limited amount, I would look into attending a slightly lower ranked school like UVA for free over taking out loans for schools in the HYSCCN range.

Edit: There's no need for a GPA addendum. A 3.75 is a good GPA for schools outside of HYS, and HYS would likely not put too much stock into an addendum outside of truly extenuating circumstances.

dabigchina wrote:If time and fees are not issues for you, then I would retake, as there is very little to no downside to doing so and if you can get to 173+, you would have a fairly good shot at H and decent money at CCN.

That being said, being a combat vet is a pretty great soft and you already have an outside shot at Harvard. Yale and Stanford are going to be stretches with a 3.75 regardless of what you do.

I am not familiar with the mechanics of the GI bill. Would it cover you 100% at any law school, or just at certain state schools? If it only covers a limited amount, I would look into attending a slightly lower ranked school like UVA for free over taking out loans for schools in the HYSCCN range.

Edit: There's no need for a GPA addendum. A 3.75 is a good GPA for schools outside of HYS, and HYS would likely not put too much stock into an addendum outside of truly extenuating circumstances.

Thanks for the reply! It is my understanding that the GI Bill combined with the yellow ribbon program will cover all, or nearly all, tuition at participating schools.

dabigchina wrote:If time and fees are not issues for you, then I would retake, as there is very little to no downside to doing so and if you can get to 173+, you would have a fairly good shot at H and decent money at CCN.

That being said, being a combat vet is a pretty great soft and you already have an outside shot at Harvard. Yale and Stanford are going to be stretches with a 3.75 regardless of what you do.

I am not familiar with the mechanics of the GI bill. Would it cover you 100% at any law school, or just at certain state schools? If it only covers a limited amount, I would look into attending a slightly lower ranked school like UVA for free over taking out loans for schools in the HYSCCN range.

Edit: There's no need for a GPA addendum. A 3.75 is a good GPA for schools outside of HYS, and HYS would likely not put too much stock into an addendum outside of truly extenuating circumstances.

I agree. Take another shot at the LSAT if you'd like, since there's pretty much nothing to lose. Don't worry about your GPA - at this point, it is what it is, and there are a number of veterans at HYS who have similar/lower GPAs than yours (including myself).

If you haven't already, check out the veterans thread and Service to School, a non-profit that helps veterans with the admissions process. I used both when I applied and found them helpful.

nubcs wrote: If you haven't already, check out the veterans thread and Service to School, a non-profit that helps veterans with the admissions process. I used both when I applied and found them helpful.

I wondered about Service to School, but I was a little unclear about exactly what they were offering. I will have to check it out. Thanks!

I think that schools would be able to tell that one semester went poorly, and would probably assume whatever you wrote in an addendum.

For a lot of these schools, being above the LSAT median would be a big deal. It's likely you'd land one of them as is, but a better LSAT can't hurt and a worse LSAT also can't hurt. You don't really have to study very much. Just take practice tests, and hope for a good day.