The Official BLSD "What Are My Chances?/Where Should I Apply?" Thread

[Slow Blues]

I'd say you definitely have a fighting chance. T14s may be out of the question, but Tier 1 definitely. If not, a couple years' good work experience would be really helpful.

[Slow Blues]

What explains the 10-pt drop?  Was one section surprisingly difficult?  Do you get test anxiety?  Lots of people work themselves into a tizzy the day of the test, hindering their performance.

I feel like a good rule of thumb is to deduct 5-7 pts. from your practice score. I was testing at 170-172 consistently in real-life conditions and ended up with a 165. My friends fared similarly.

I've heard good things about the LR Bible.

Would you consider taking an LSAT class?

[chrisfield]

FYI, I think a 158 is good for a T14.  All I have is anecdotal evidence, but it indicates that 160+ is unnecessary provided you have a good backstory.  That said, the sub-160s I know had higher GPAs (but not 3.8s or 3.9s; more in the 3.6-3.7 range.)

are you being serious?

[THE BLUE SWEATER]

Heres the Deal. I got a 157 LSAT and a 3.88 GPA 4 yours military black male so we are pretty similar. The schools I hit were

Reaches
Columbia
Harvard
Yale


Possibilities
Cornell
Northwestern
George Washington
Georgetown
Virginia
NYU

Reasonable
W&M
W&L
BU
American
George Mason

Safties
Howard
Baltimore
Catholic

If I were you Cornell and Northwestern should the top schools you should be gunning for. Honestly I consider Georgetown a reach for me, its good to be optimistic but it pays to be realistic.  INTERVIEW AT NORTHWESTERN!! Give them as many reasons to take you as possible.It's cool to reach man but you should always apply to schools where you would have a good shot at if you WERE NOT A URM. That is what I would definie as a safety. Applying to top 14's is great but if you are serious about law school you are going to have some safties on there.  I haven't heard anything back yet but when I do I will keep you updated.

[THE BLUE SWEATER]

I don't think to many schools are out of your reach man. Sure it was a 3.3 but it was a 3.3 at PRINCETON. what was your major that may help you? Good luck man

[doris72]

hehe - from the last post - it seems as if you all think that i am a male - nope - black female.

anyway - thank you - i have sent out several apps  - i really hope that i get into nyu - i hope to stay in the city but we will see...

and fyi - the firm that i work for is one of the more liberal firms in nyc -accepting of gays, blacks, etc - can i tell you that there are only 13 black associates in a firm of over 200
i am the only black paralegal - essentially on the track to pursuing a law degree - you all - the reality is bleak - its few and far between - this board is anomolous with all the urm support - its crazy when you actually see how few black lawyers there are.

and what else is really funny is that when there are minority pro bono cases - the teams are comprisesd solely of minority attorneys  --

[lex19]

yeah i don't know too many guys named doris (if that is your real name) or that would go by doris or chose doris as screen name of any type, well unless they were....you guys see where i'm going with this, and good luck D!

[Rudy Huckleberry]

FYI, I think a 158 is good for a T14.  All I have is anecdotal evidence, but it indicates that 160+ is unnecessary provided you have a good backstory.  That said, the sub-160s I know had higher GPAs (but not 3.8s or 3.9s; more in the 3.6-3.7 range.)

are you being serious?

Yes.

[lex19]

saxby where is that in montauk, i read it a while ago but don't remember seeing anything about urm's & lsat scores, thanks in advance

[JGB]

If someone has a 3.32 and a 158, this is showing an average academic ability, correct? However, the URM thing gives them extra points on the scores?(Still do not get that).

My point is, the schools that you are discussing are the highest ranking schools within the world of law schools. They gained the prestige through admitting higher level applicants as well as forcing their students to endure a rigorous 3 years of higher than normal course work.

Has anyone ever considered that if average scores from average course work would be a major disadvantage to getting into a top school? Could you possibly be mentally prepared to keep up with the elite?

I am not saying you won't get in, I hope you do. This post just seemed like a good place to bring up the question.