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

[Miss A]

Hi Guys! New to the boards:

- AA female
-165 LSAT/3.16 GPA--Top 20 UG
-Graduated in 2007 with biochem/cell biology degree....went on to work for a financial tech firm, transferred me to London, been working in London for almost two years, now time to go to law school. 
-founded minority orgs on UG campus, and highly involved in community service, tutoring inner city, basketball/mentor volunteer, etc--in England....i guess pretty typical stuff 

i pretty much need to live in a big city (NY, PHILLY, CHICAGO would be most ideal) for personal family reason

I have my sights set on UPENN, CORNELL, DUKE, COLUMBIA, NYU, NORTHWESTERN, and want to throw HARVARD in for fun, with my school choices i realize a higher score is nearly a requirement 

What do you "gurus" make of my chances? 

I am strongly strongly considering retaking the exam in December...sucks that i cant see my answer sheet since i have to take it internationally, but I know that my first test was not truly indicative, all practice exams were >170, and test atmosphere was lets just say sub par....all opinions welcome!

[captainkyoraku]

Hello everyone. I am a black male with a 3.06 GPA (will be a 3.1 when I graduate in December) and a 164 LSAT. I spent the first two and a half years majoring in microbiology premed and it destroyed my GPA. Afterwards I switched majors to Econ--which was still tough but I did do a lot better than before. I founded an on campus group specifically for enhancing retention and academic success amongst black males and I was heavily involved in tutoring and community service programs throughout college. I am from a low income background and was able to get an LSAC fee waiver so I can apply to a lot of schools. I would really like to go to Columbia or Chicago even though I know they are HUGE reaches. I was thinking of going ED at one of them. If not them then I would prefer NYU,Michigan,UVA,and Duke in that order. I actually did some research for a Harvard and UChicago professor last year as well. What do you guys think my best choice for ED should be? Thanks!

[A.]

Hi Guys! New to the boards:

- AA female
-165 LSAT/3.16 GPA--Top 20 UG
-Graduated in 2007 with biochem/cell biology degree....went on to work for a financial tech firm, transferred me to London, been working in London for almost two years, now time to go to law school. 
-founded minority orgs on UG campus, and highly involved in community service, tutoring inner city, basketball/mentor volunteer, etc--in England....i guess pretty typical stuff 

i pretty much need to live in a big city (NY, PHILLY, CHICAGO would be most ideal) for personal family reason

I have my sights set on UPENN, CORNELL, DUKE, COLUMBIA, NYU, NORTHWESTERN, and want to throw HARVARD in for fun, with my school choices i realize a higher score is nearly a requirement 

What do you "gurus" make of my chances? 

I am strongly strongly considering retaking the exam in December...sucks that i cant see my answer sheet since i have to take it internationally, but I know that my first test was not truly indicative, all practice exams were >170, and test atmosphere was lets just say sub par....all opinions welcome!

I think you have a shot at all of those.  Harvard might be a stretch.

[A.]

Hello everyone. I am a black male with a 3.06 GPA (will be a 3.1 when I graduate in December) and a 164 LSAT. I spent the first two and a half years majoring in microbiology premed and it destroyed my GPA. Afterwards I switched majors to Econ--which was still tough but I did do a lot better than before. I founded an on campus group specifically for enhancing retention and academic success amongst black males and I was heavily involved in tutoring and community service programs throughout college. I am from a low income background and was able to get an LSAC fee waiver so I can apply to a lot of schools. I would really like to go to Columbia or Chicago even though I know they are HUGE reaches. I was thinking of going ED at one of them. If not them then I would prefer NYU,Michigan,UVA,and Duke in that order. I actually did some research for a Harvard and UChicago professor last year as well. What do you guys think my best choice for ED should be? Thanks!

I don't really follow ED stats and don't generally recommend ED.  But if you're dead set, might as well do it to the school you like best.

You should probably focus on 7-14.

[captainkyoraku]

Hello everyone. I am a black male with a 3.06 GPA (will be a 3.1 when I graduate in December) and a 164 LSAT. I spent the first two and a half years majoring in microbiology premed and it destroyed my GPA. Afterwards I switched majors to Econ--which was still tough but I did do a lot better than before. I founded an on campus group specifically for enhancing retention and academic success amongst black males and I was heavily involved in tutoring and community service programs throughout college. I am from a low income background and was able to get an LSAC fee waiver so I can apply to a lot of schools. I would really like to go to Columbia or Chicago even though I know they are HUGE reaches. I was thinking of going ED at one of them. If not them then I would prefer NYU,Michigan,UVA,and Duke in that order. I actually did some research for a Harvard and UChicago professor last year as well. What do you guys think my best choice for ED should be? Thanks!

I don't really follow ED stats and don't generally recommend ED.  But if you're dead set, might as well do it to the school you like best.

You should probably focus on 7-14.

Thanks! So you think that even for someone with my stats going ED at a top 5 school is a bad idea? How much do you think things like a strong personal statement and addendums help?

[Miss A]

Hi Guys! New to the boards:

- AA female
-165 LSAT/3.16 GPA--Top 20 UG
-Graduated in 2007 with biochem/cell biology degree....went on to work for a financial tech firm, transferred me to London, been working in London for almost two years, now time to go to law school. 
-founded minority orgs on UG campus, and highly involved in community service, tutoring inner city, basketball/mentor volunteer, etc--in England....i guess pretty typical stuff 

I have my sights set on UPENN, CORNELL, DUKE, COLUMBIA, NYU, NORTHWESTERN, and want to throw HARVARD in for fun, with my school choices i realize a higher score is nearly a requirement 

What do you "gurus" make of my chances? 

I think you have a shot at all of those.  Harvard might be a stretch.

thanks...what do you think about retaking in December, and sending all apps in then (considering everything will be complete by then) OR do you think I should just send in by MID-November.  In other words i am choosing between:

retaking, getting a 170+ and applying Mid-Dec VS. applying Mid-November with the 165.

[A.]

Hello everyone. I am a black male with a 3.06 GPA (will be a 3.1 when I graduate in December) and a 164 LSAT. I spent the first two and a half years majoring in microbiology premed and it destroyed my GPA. Afterwards I switched majors to Econ--which was still tough but I did do a lot better than before. I founded an on campus group specifically for enhancing retention and academic success amongst black males and I was heavily involved in tutoring and community service programs throughout college. I am from a low income background and was able to get an LSAC fee waiver so I can apply to a lot of schools. I would really like to go to Columbia or Chicago even though I know they are HUGE reaches. I was thinking of going ED at one of them. If not them then I would prefer NYU,Michigan,UVA,and Duke in that order. I actually did some research for a Harvard and UChicago professor last year as well. What do you guys think my best choice for ED should be? Thanks!

I don't really follow ED stats and don't generally recommend ED.  But if you're dead set, might as well do it to the school you like best.

You should probably focus on 7-14.

Thanks! So you think that even for someone with my stats going ED at a top 5 school is a bad idea? How much do you think things like a strong personal statement and addendums help?

Schools don't usually take anyone ED who they wouldn't take otherwise, and you lose out on the prospect of money.  A good personal statement is always key.  I think addenda are a waste of time (I never wrote any); others disagree.

[A.]

Hi Guys! New to the boards:

- AA female
-165 LSAT/3.16 GPA--Top 20 UG
-Graduated in 2007 with biochem/cell biology degree....went on to work for a financial tech firm, transferred me to London, been working in London for almost two years, now time to go to law school. 
-founded minority orgs on UG campus, and highly involved in community service, tutoring inner city, basketball/mentor volunteer, etc--in England....i guess pretty typical stuff 

I have my sights set on UPENN, CORNELL, DUKE, COLUMBIA, NYU, NORTHWESTERN, and want to throw HARVARD in for fun, with my school choices i realize a higher score is nearly a requirement 

What do you "gurus" make of my chances? 

I think you have a shot at all of those.  Harvard might be a stretch.

thanks...what do you think about retaking in December, and sending all apps in then (considering everything will be complete by then) OR do you think I should just send in by MID-November.  In other words i am choosing between:

retaking, getting a 170+ and applying Mid-Dec VS. applying Mid-November with the 165.

Statistically, you probably won't do any better on a retake.  But people always feel like they will, and occasionally a few do.  You should get into the mid-t14 regardless of when you apply; the only question is the upper end.  I say go ahead and apply now and see where you get in, then retake if you're set on doing so, and if your score improves, send in the updated score/apply again next year.

[mbw]

I noticed a number of people are including Cornell on their lists, so I figured I'd pipe in:  Cornell will often take mid-to-upper 150s URMs IF you have a high GPA from a well-respected school.  They'll also take the reverse, to some extent.  And a really high GPA will generally get you $$$.  Cornell is also really kicking up its diversity focus (went from 29% to 39% minority this year, while most T14s dropped, some significantly, see NYU, GULC, etc.) but again, most of the AAs in my class (2012) have top tier undergrad credentials, very high GPAs or 160+ LSATs.

[Kirk Lazarus]

Hello everyone. I am a black male with a 3.06 GPA (will be a 3.1 when I graduate in December) and a 164 LSAT. I spent the first two and a half years majoring in microbiology premed and it destroyed my GPA. Afterwards I switched majors to Econ--which was still tough but I did do a lot better than before. I founded an on campus group specifically for enhancing retention and academic success amongst black males and I was heavily involved in tutoring and community service programs throughout college. I am from a low income background and was able to get an LSAC fee waiver so I can apply to a lot of schools. I would really like to go to Columbia or Chicago even though I know they are HUGE reaches. I was thinking of going ED at one of them. If not them then I would prefer NYU,Michigan,UVA,and Duke in that order. I actually did some research for a Harvard and UChicago professor last year as well. What do you guys think my best choice for ED should be? Thanks!

I don't really follow ED stats and don't generally recommend ED.  But if you're dead set, might as well do it to the school you like best.

You should probably focus on 7-14.

Thanks! So you think that even for someone with my stats going ED at a top 5 school is a bad idea? How much do you think things like a strong personal statement and addendums help?

Schools don't usually take anyone ED who they wouldn't take otherwise, and you lose out on the prospect of money.  A good personal statement is always key.  I think addenda are a waste of time (I never wrote any); others disagree.

I think addenda help. The High Priestess wrote an addenda and got into several schools that many predicted she wouldn't. So, I think they help.