Would you rather be......

[mecarr]

If you were an incoming 1L, would you rather have a nice lsat (158) & poor gpa (2.5) , or low lsat (150) & high gpa (3.7)? Which group would be better off or have more of an edge?

[shaz]

nice lsat.  gpa could be product of easy major. 

[4DClaw]

If you look at the LSAC indices, most schools give a lot more weight to LSAT.

[Melinda]

Depends- I had a high LSAT, lower gpa (product of laziness not inability).  I did not get into a couple schools that are gpa whores (UCLA & Boalt).  I also was WL at another school & then they ended up needing high gpa ppl to bring up their stats, so I was SOL.  Also, high gpa you can put on your resume.   

As far as law school success, I don't know which is better- I would argue LSAT but I am biased. 

[wareagle]

High LSAT is better.

[tinyandi]

I can safely say LSAT.  I had a 3.81ugpa and 3.7ggpa from an Ivy and a 157 LSAT and schools like UCLA and GW rejected me and schools like ND and Boalt waitlisted me. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get the choice. 

[mecarr]

I meant to ask whether you would feel more confident starting law school with a high undergrad gpa & low lsat or vice versa. Assume you got into whatever school you wished.

[shaz]

I meant to ask whether you would feel more confident starting law school with a high undergrad gpa & low lsat or vice versa. Assume you got into whatever school you wished.

if i'm already in at harvard, then i would rather be the 4.0/169 cat versus the 3.0/179 dude simply because i can put summa on my resume.

now who would i want to be at the beginning of the app cycle?  no contest 3.0/179.  i would bet the 179 gets more money than the 169.  hell, i bet the 179 could send in his apps sans app fees and get accepted.  a 179 is it's own fee-waiver.

[Melinda]

I meant to ask whether you would feel more confident starting law school with a high undergrad gpa & low lsat or vice versa. Assume you got into whatever school you wished.

I really don't think it matters.  You could say people who do well on LSAT are good test takers and perform well under the stress & time pressure.  On the other hand, writing a cohesive essay on complex issues is a lot different than multiple choice.  The thing is once you get to law school it is really taboo to talk about your gpa/ lsat scores, so I have no way to gauge others performance on their numbers.

[tinyandi]

Once you are in, it really doesn't matter.  I have one of the lowest LSATs in the class and yet, I'm at the top of my class.  Yet, one of my closest friends had a HIGH LSAT and a low GPA and he's not far behind me. 

The LSAT and GPAs become irrelevant once you are in.  It call comes down to how hard you study and practice.