Hi please chance me - 3.8 UG GPA, 172 LSAT, 340 GRE, 2 yr work exp Forum

[zzxxxx]

Hi I am an international student who went to a top 15 undergrad in the US (non-Ivy). I majored in IS & Econ and minored in applied math. My GPA was 3.8/4.0. I took GRE back then as I considered going straight to grad school (but didn't) and got a full score of 340/340

After graduation, I worked in IBD but found the work boring. I wanna apply to law school this fall and I got an LSAT score of 172 (will retake). I am not familiar with the current competitiveness of US law school admission, but I am curious as to what kind of law schools should I apply to? I did a quick search on T14 admissions profile, and they all seem absurdly crazy - like for UVA the class this year has a 3.90 median GPA.

Of course I wanna get into the best law schools but I am not sure whether my 3.8/4.0 GPA is good enough for T14. I am also curious as to whether admission committees take into consideration what schools you went to for undergrad when they are evaluating your GPA because my school is known for a cutthroat academic environment.

Thanks.

[decimalsanddollars]

Your chances are pretty good at most of the T14, mostly because your LSAT is excellent. The fact that you have an LSAT score (and a good one, at that) makes your GRE score basically irrelevant unless you plan to do a joint degree program, but having a perfect GRE score *might* weigh as a positive soft factor. Your work experience will be a plus for most schools, especially schools like Northwestern (stated preference for applicants with work experience).

Here's a myLSN output for your figures: https://mylsn.info/j94tjb/
Looks like you have a good shot at the whole T20, minus Yale/Stanford/Harvard (where your LSAT isn't actually at or above the medians), and less of a good shot at Penn and UVA, which tend to be more picky about GPA (as you indicated). Of course, if you retake and improve your LSAT, your chances will be even better.

Could you say a little more about being an "international student"? If you are an underrepresented minority (URM), your chances at admission may be better, but note that you will have some issues later on in finding a job in the US if you need visa support (and certain government jobs will not be available to you regardless of your credentials unless you are a citizen).

[Anon-non-anon]

I don't know if it's possible, but Harvard takes GREs... could you apply with the GRE score only and leave out the LSAT (which is wild to want to do with a 172 but still, it's not a 180)? That way you're a 3.8 (idk if the 4.0 is major but it's LSAC GPA that matters)/perfect admission test score candidate.

[nixy]

Schools that take GRE also generally require people who have LSAT scores to report those as well.

[zzxxxx]

Could you say a little more about being an "international student"? If you are an underrepresented minority (URM), your chances at admission may be better, but note that you will have some issues later on in finding a job in the US if you need visa support (and certain government jobs will not be available to you regardless of your credentials unless you are a citizen).

Thanks for your reply. No I am not an URM (Asian) so don't think admission process will be easier