high LSAT mediocre GPA

[lucy8888]

 
I have another question, if i got 3.2 for average,but it is because my gpa was rather low in the first year,it was only 2.49
but after that my gpa was >3.7
and i got >170 in lsat,is it possible for me to get admission from t14?

[legallyliz]

yes, it is possible.  my friend got into upenn last year with 2.9/170.  she had 1.5 yrs WE, great LORs and PS. Non-URM.  so it does happen. 

[dconrad]

I have a 170 and a 2.14 GPA.  I'm in at WUSTL and Illinois so far.  I am fairly sure I didn't get rejected out of hand at Columbia or UVA.  The essays were  incredibly important though, and I've been out of school for 5 years or so. 

[Sister Funkhaus]

here's my story (again)

LSAC GPA:  3.13
LSAT:  164

I'm at a top 25

Perhaps my engineering curriculum helped me get a GPA boost or something.

What is an LSAC GPA? I know what LSAC is, but what is an LSAC GPA? Also, do they count all four years, or just upper level GPA?

[greycat12]

I was exalted when I got a 171, but the old doubts are creeping back since I've started wandering about this board and xoxo.  It is certainly in my abilities to score mid 170s, I did it consistently on practice tests-my range was somewhere between 170 and 175, so I'm on the lower end of my capabilities.  I promised myself if I broke 170 I'd never give it another thought, tattoo it on my ass, etc.  But since I put the M in mediocre with a 3.44 gpa in Literature, I'm starting to get the fear.  I did have a 4.0 my last two years of college and a 3.5 sophmore year--and I'm sure my mid-2-gpa first-year debacle can be explained somewhat in an addendum.  But people are talking about a 174 being the new 171 and the scale moving up every year. 

My question is, should I retake the LSAT or is it too much of a risk since I'm not scoring high 170s consistently?? 

I'm not enough of a fool to even consider HYS with my poopy GPA, but I feel like CCN are ALMOST within my reach.  I can almost taste them and its killing me.  If I had got a 175, I feel like I would have been in.  I mean, I'm not quite even a lock at Michigan. 

I see three options,

1.  Get crazy and take the LSATs again - (high risk, biggest possible pay-off).

2.  Focus on securing the best possible job this summer.  I'm currently teaching English in Paris--good for diversity essay, or even regular PS, but not exactly stellar WE.

3.  Since I have no prospects in the way of great jobs and would probably never be quite as prepared for the LSAT as I was in February (even if I did underperform), I should stop posting annoying, long-winded questions, make friends with a few sommeliers and go try to kiss as many French girls as possible before I leave.

Any suggestions?

greycat

[scc]

I vote 2 and 3.  I really don't think it's worth taking again when you have a 171 unless you were practicing consistantly at a 179-180.  Then I could see taking it again for kicks (see burgh or franz).  Try to get a cool job and have fun in France!

[Eptisam]

I’m just fighting it because my GPA would get me into most any T1 but my LSAT (those damn games specifically- I hit 80-85% on LR and RC but 30-35% on games) are keeping me away.

I have to second the opinion voiced above. Here are some "funny" stats:

University 1: 75th gpa: 3.72 | 25th gpa: 3.48 | 75th LSAT: 168 | 25th lsat: 165
University 2: 75th gpa: 3.83 | 25th gpa: 3.31 | 75th LSAT: 158 | 25th lsat: 152

Can you tell how many ranks separate these two universities?

People obsessed with numbers will have recognized University 1 as Cornell (12th USN) and the second one as University of Nebraska College of Law (89th USN tied with 4 others.

The LSAT is what separates the bulk of the students. Take a look at all the graphs on LSAC (gpa vs lsat score, per school), you will notice that as you go down in school ranking you also go down in LSAT score. (This might me a circular conclusing because I think USN uses LSAT to generate rankings!)

Compare how the lsat affects you getting here (USC):

http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/lsac4852.pdf

versus here (Nebraska again):
http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/lsac6877.pdf

Anyways my point is that the LSAT is factor 1. Once you clear it, then the GPA and other factors matter. And it makes sense because its the most "fair" of comparing candidates.