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

[Adoumbia]

Hi All, I am a 24 year old African American male with a pretty diverse background (Was born in Mali, raised partly in Western Europe, but grew up in NYC since the age of 6) My Undergraduate GPA was not spectacular during the last year of schooling (I started my undergrad career with a 3.3 and slowly went down to a 2.92 (This was due in part to the fact that senior year my grandfather died and I was busy aiding the family with estate arrangements and grieving). I have been out of school now for almost 2 years working in Commercial Real Estate Development in New York, and realized with my background in International Studies, and minors in both French and Japanese (Speak both languages near fluent) and keen interest on international corporate law, Columbia law School would be the best option for me. Especially since I hope to eventully hope to practice international law between Japan and the U.S. In addition to being an active leader in several community organizations, and Gay alliances & sports in New York, I'm wondering with my LSAT score of 177 how my chances fair with Columbia Law? Should I even bother with the school? Should I go ED? Many thanks for all your input!

[A.]

Although it's almost impossible to predict splitters, you'll probably get in.  If I were you, I'd apply to all of the top 6.

[Byakuya769]

I'm back after a long time of lurking.

I'm 26 y/o AA male, almost finished with a MS in finance
167 lsat
2.97 lsdasgpa (bio/pre-med)

I didn't apply to any schools until the middle of January, due to problems obtaining good letters.  I applied to Harvard, Columbia (invite/fee-waiver), Chicago, Duke (invite/fee-waiver), Emory, Vanderbilt, and Stetson.

I recently received a notice of being Wait-listed at Vanderbilt.  However, I am seriously contemplating waiting out this year and retaking the lsat.  If I could score a 170, and maintain my 3.8+ gpa in grad school.  How would my chances improve?  I also would work, and put more time into a local non-profit I work with, also I would be the first application in the mail for every school I apply to.

[Jamie Stringer]

Hi I was on this thread a while ago and ended up taking a (great) job, retaking the LSAT and applying this year (3.5+/high LSAT 175). I was just wondering - from the UVa students - what is it like? How are the living costs? I have a full tuition scholarship there and am leaning towards it.

Wow, great score! Do you have admission to other schools that you might be considering as well?

I'm back after a long time of lurking.

I'm 26 y/o AA male, almost finished with a MS in finance
167 lsat
2.97 lsdasgpa (bio/pre-med)

I didn't apply to any schools until the middle of January, due to problems obtaining good letters.  I applied to Harvard, Columbia (invite/fee-waiver), Chicago, Duke (invite/fee-waiver), Emory, Vanderbilt, and Stetson.

I recently received a notice of being Wait-listed at Vanderbilt.  However, I am seriously contemplating waiting out this year and retaking the lsat.  If I could score a 170, and maintain my 3.8+ gpa in grad school.  How would my chances improve?  I also would work, and put more time into a local non-profit I work with, also I would be the first application in the mail for every school I apply to.

It's not the LSAT; it's your UGPA. My personal belief is that for AA people, the GPA seems to matter more than the LSAT, to some extent. Even if you have a good grad GPA, I don't think it matters as much to schools. Plus, retaking the LSAT is very risky. I retook to get 170+, but I also prepped for it just as hard as I did for the first time (maybe more so since I had a free summer to work on it). You might try to apply early next year, but I can't say that retaking the LSAT is your best option.

[Byakuya769]

It's not the LSAT; it's your UGPA. My personal belief is that for AA people, the GPA seems to matter more than the LSAT, to some extent. Even if you have a good grad GPA, I don't think it matters as much to schools. Plus, retaking the LSAT is very risky. I retook to get 170+, but I also prepped for it just as hard as I did for the first time (maybe more so since I had a free summer to work on it). You might try to apply early next year, but I can't say that retaking the LSAT is your best option.

The first go around I only used a princeton review book, if I retake, I plan on taking a full course on it or getting private tutoring.  I do realize that my main detrimental factor is definitely th ugpa, though.. but I can't change that   

[A.]

It's the UGPA + applying so late.  With a split, you do need to be first out of the gate and have to apply widely.

[Byakuya769]

It's the UGPA + applying so late.  With a split, you do need to be first out of the gate and have to apply widely.

I guess back to the drawing board.  Do you guys think it's not that important to retake the LSAT then?  I think I can make a pretty strong improvement.

[A.]

Retake only if you're certain you will improve.

[Ambesa87]

Hello All,

I have not taken the LSAT yet, but would like to know how high of an LSAT score do I need in order to gain admission to a top 10 ranked law school (really interested in Harvard and Columbia). The following is a short summary of my background:

- African American male
- Attended a top 25 undergraduate institution in California
- University GPA 3.94 (summa cum laude), LSDAS GPA 3.72
- Studied for a year at the American University in Cairo as an undergraduate
- Served as a Legal Intern (7 months) for a Cairo based NGO that specialized in refugee law (worked with mainly Iraqis and Sudanese). My duties included documenting testimonies of refugees, drafting legal arguments for resettlement through the UNHCR, and translating from Arabic to English
- I speak Arabic (Egyptian dialect and Modern Standard)
- Lastly, I'll be heading off to Egypt in the summer to participate in a M.A. program at the American University in Cairo

Obviously I will try my best to score a 180, but I'm just trying to get an idea here.

Thanks for your time,

[Byakuya769]

Ambesa, I'm in the same boat as you.. so take my word with a grain of salt.  But I think I've seen people advised with 165+ as having excellent chances with stats like yours.  You're looking pretty good, just work you tail off on the LSAT.

(wishing I could travel forward in time a few weeks and get my June score!)