advantage of being a minority

[ostatejb]

i am a registered member of a Native American tribe. i was just wondering how much this might help me get into law school? is it that big of a deal? i have a 3.8 gpa and expect to make in the 167-170 range on the lsat. assuming i make around a 167-170 on the lsat, what are my chances of getting into a top 10 law school? 

[Nemesis]

Barring a major flaw in the rest of your application...like submitting a resume written with red crayon, you have a 99.9% chance of getting into a top ten school.

[ImVinny!]

I think you have a great shot on merit alone

[ostatejb]

thanks for the help. so is being a native american much of an advantage?

[ImVinny!]

I actually don't think it is. From what I have heard it seems that the only major advantage would be af am, then followed by hispanic, but they don't always get a huge advantage that much, and then native american, I think that that is just a box on there to check because they want to know how many go to their school.

[angmill08]

I actually don't think it is. From what I have heard it seems that the only major advantage would be af am, then followed by hispanic, but they don't always get a huge advantage that much, and then native american, I think that that is just a box on there to check because they want to know how many go to their school.

I don't know about that. Aren't Native Americans very poorly represented in law schools, esp. top 10 schools? I think it may help quite a bit. But since no school (to my knowledge) actually has a formula that determines how the apply the AA advantage (or if they do, they don't admit it!) it's hard to know for sure. But an upper 160s/low 170s LSAT with your GPA give you a good chance anywhere.

[SkullTatt]

From what I have heard, Native Americans are about the most sought-after of URM's. So it should help you anywhere you apply. I would aim very high if I were you...

[pop_tort]

I actually don't think it is. From what I have heard it seems that the only major advantage would be af am, then followed by hispanic, but they don't always get a huge advantage that much, and then native american, I think that that is just a box on there to check because they want to know how many go to their school.

UHHHH, nooooo. Native Americans have a way better advantage than Latinos and African Americans. Native Americans are largely under-represented in law schools and in the legal field.

To the OP, keep in mind based on prior posts, Vinny is clearly against racial/ethnic headcounts on applications, and isn't too in love with the idea of AA. But everyone is entitled to their opinion. Anyways, check that box, not because you want to be part of the 'NA body count', but because that is your heritage and also because it will most certainly contribute to your application.

[Denny Crane]

To the OP:

Even if you weren't a native american, your chances would be very good to get into a top 10 (certainly top 14) school.  As a strong native american applicant, you will likely get into all the top 10 schools, except for maybe yale, but only because it's so tough to get in there regardless of race (but you do have a strong shot there). 

Now as for preference of NA students over black/hispanic:

Contrary to what logic might bring us to believe, native americans ARE NOT highly sought after by adcomms from the top schools.  In fact, the AA applicant most sought after are black males because they are so grossly underrepresented in all higher education fields and because there is such a premium placed on their advancement (not to say that NA's aren't in a similarly dire situation, but their plight is not nearly as politicized or focused on by the media/politicians as that of African Americans and Hispanics (to a lesser extent). 

[inthesun]

To the OP:

Even if you weren't a native american, your chances would be very good to get into a top 10 (certainly top 14) school.  As a strong native american applicant, you will likely get into all the top 10 schools, except for maybe yale, but only because it's so tough to get in there regardless of race (but you do have a strong shot there). 

Now as for preference of NA students over black/hispanic:

Contrary to what logic might bring us to believe, native americans ARE NOT highly sought after by adcomms from the top schools.  In fact, the AA applicant most sought after are black males because they are so grossly underrepresented in all higher education fields and because there is such a premium placed on their advancement (not to say that NA's aren't in a similarly dire situation, but their plight is not nearly as politicized or focused on by the media/politicians as that of African Americans and Hispanics (to a lesser extent). 

I have heard a t14 adcom say that native americans are highly sought after (at a ls forum).  Therefore, you are incorrect when saying that native americans ARE NOT highly sought after by adcomms from the top schools.  There is at least one.  I think, like with any URM, it just depends on the school and the location.