I'm at a T20 as well, and I second what T. Durden said.  Save for a few people that sit in the back row, everyone has pretty much been on point with their answers. I know class prep. doesn't equate much to exam success and I've been anywhere from top 25 to top 50% on our practice exams, but I'm nevertheless worried about the "competition" on finals. 

Kris, I found your post helpful; thanks for sharing.  I think telling us your rank helps to put your success perspective.  Law school is all about numbers, so it is helpful for you to tell us where you finished.

this is my problem too. i miss undergrad when i could look around the class and know that i'd be getting a better grade than most people because they weren't doing any work. of course i realized that law school would be different, but i also though there'd be a greater percentage of slackers. i was wrong.

on the other hand, we were discussing midterm answers yesterday in class and some of the people who spoke and asked questions had no clue what they were talking about. i know things will be different by finals when everyone becomes a super gunner and lives in the library, but  yesterday's class really made me feel that continuous reading/briefing/outlining/study groups have been of signficant beneift. now i just have to start the practice exams...

if you never skip class, read everything assigned, brief every case, partake in a study group (which you believe does more good than harm), and read supplements...what are the chances that you'll end up at the bottom of your class? is the bottom reserved for those who don't work hard, or are law school exams a total crapshoot, where those who know the material AND take exams well are the ones who end up on top? i guess what i really want to know is, is there any way you can know you won't end up at the bottom?

Nate - you don't truly seem to be agreeing with antwan.  His point was that the 3.3 was so egregious that no 1L GPA could overcome it.  Which, frankly, I disagree with.  Note that I posted the original WL.  Truly Harvard didn't see it as SO egregious.

My understanding is that law schools are much more heavily focused on your 1L GPA, almost to the exclusion of the LSAT/GPA.  (However, yes, YHS do specify that you should have had numbers which would make you competitive originally - which obviously H considered me to have.)  So I don't think the 3.3 will be a largely negative factor.

So what 1L GPA, or alternately class rank, do you think it'll take for me to meet the civil standard of proof - more likely than not?

when i said "this is definitely true", i meant that antwan was correct that places like harvard say your numbers should have allowed you to originally have been a candidate. i didn't mean antwan was absolutely right in everything that s/he said. i apologize.

i would say you should make top 5% for a real chance, though maybe there's a little leeway. that's just my  estimate. but check out the database of that yahoo group, transferapps, to see the numbers and schools of others who transferred to YHS. that would give you a much better idea.

hey, i'll tell you what though...when you decide it's a good idea to transfer to GW, let me know, and i'll trade you my spot for yours at michigan.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transferapps/


last i knew, baylor was still tier 1, though i don't know for sure. it was right around 50, so it might have slipped to tier 2.

Well my understanding that the percentages accepted are quite small, but since transfer admission depends heavily on 1L grades, if you do well you can end up getting in somewhere much higher up than where your LSAT/U-grad scores put you initially.  One friend of mine just transferred from GW (having low-160s LSAT, maybe 3.5 u-grad GPA) to Columbia-- based on his 1L performance and a really interesting resume (fluent in several languages, many leadership activities). Another got waitlisted at U Michigan from Brooklyn law.

So it's certainly possible.  But from what I hear, to have a good shot you want to be near the top 10% of your class.

i also go to GW. did you friend place top 10%? at first i had figured that this would be necessary to do in order to transfer, just as others looking to transfer have to do. however, when i got to school this year, i heard from others that lower T14's will take people from GW who place only in the top 25-30%. i wonder if this is true. though i'm sure that columbia is a much different story than, say, georgetown.

but another question. with a 3.5/low 160's LSAT, did you friend by chance start in the PT program at GW?