170/3.86 Where do I have a shot?

[benh2os]

I am looking at IP Law and maybe International Law as well. On my list so far are Columbia, Duke, GULC, GW, UMN, and Washington University in St. Louis. Also George Mason and American as Safeties

[justjeffrey]

I wish I started this thread.

[Laura Roslin]

Hey Ben -

Wow, diverse list you have there!  I detect an interest in the NY-DC corridor, the DC area...but then we get UMN and WUSTL, perhaps indicating Midwestern roots like my own.   

I'd say you have a very small shot at Stanford, which is well-regarded for IP - good enough reason to apply, IMHO.  If you're interested in IP, you should also look at Berkeley (they like GPAs). CCN is feasible but not guaranteed - your LSAT might be a bit low, but maybe not.  NYU is your best chance of the three.  Unfortunately, Columbia tends to love high LSATs, which may make it an uphill struggle.  I like your odds at Duke and you should get GULC easily; everything below GULC is a lock.  You don't need the safeties unless you need to stay in DC or want $$$; I'm 95% sure you'll get into GW.  But if you want to be super-safe, I'm sure the other two will give you fee waivers.   

You might want to explore the rest of the T14; I think Michigan, UVA, and NU are all potential options - especially NU.   That said, if you're patent-bar eligible, you're going to be in great shape at a wider range of schools than we lowly social science majors.     So there might be some sense to taking a scholarship at a lower-ranked school.  GW has a well-regarded IP program, so that might present a good balance.  Good luck!

[VirusNY]

Out-> HYS

Chances if you ED:
Columbia (30% accepted, 65% reserved, 5% rejected)
NYU (50% accepted, 45% waitlisted, 5% rejected)
Chicago (45% accepted, 50% waitlisted, 5% rejected)
UPenn (70% accepted, 30% waitlisted)
Berkeley (80% accepted, 20% waitlisted)

Chances without ED:
Columbia 20%
NYU 40%
Chicago 40%
UPenn 50%
Berkeley 60%

There is a chance that you might get waitlisted at every single school listed above. Thus, look at the bottom of the t14 as well. I'd say you'll definitely be in at GULC, Duke, Cornell, and maybe Northwestern depending on WE. Out of Michigan and Virginia I think you will be able to definitely snag one and maybe both.

Anyway, good luck.

[schmoo]

Given your numbers, you're shooting too low.  You safety schools will reject you on the correct premise that you'll end up going to a much better school.

Assuming money is no object, apply to all top 15 or so schools.  You may get money at some places.  Someplace like Texas will very likely give you a fat chunk of change.    You may not have a particularly high chance of admission at HYS, but it's certainly high enough that it's worth applying.

I really wouldn't worry too much at this point whether a school has a strong reputation in intellectual property.  Employers aren't going to worry about this in their hiring decisions -- unless you want to TEACH intellectual property at a law school someday, in which case the issue deserves more weight.

[schmoo]

Given your numbers, you're shooting way too low.  You safety schools will reject you on the correct premise that you'll end up going to a much better school.

Assuming money is no object, apply to all top 15 or so schools.  You may get money at some places.  Someplace like Texas will very likely give you a fat chunk of change.    You may not have a particularly high chance of admission at HYS, but it's certainly high enough that it's worth applying.

I really wouldn't worry too much at this point whether a school has a strong reputation in intellectual property.  Employers aren't going to worry about this in their hiring decisions -- unless you want to TEACH intellectual property at a law school someday, in which case the issue deserves more weight.  But if you want to work in Silicon Valley and don't have a connection to the area, Stanford or Berkeley might be good choices.

[meggo]

I agree with the idea of just plastering the top 15 with your app's since you are a bit of a splitter. You're on the low margin of some top schools, but you also have a pretty decent GPA. What I would do in your case, is to make my supporting app's as compelling as possible. OBviously there are those who make up the 25% margin, and the people who do (ie those with lower gpa's and lsat's than the margin but who are still accepted) are generally accepted on the merits of their supporting documents. So make a compelling case for yourself, apply everywhere, and then judge where you want to go after.

[hollowman988]

I agree with the idea of just plastering the top 15 with your app's since you are a bit of a splitter. You're on the low margin of some top schools, but you also have a pretty decent GPA. What I would do in your case, is to make my supporting app's as compelling as possible. OBviously there are those who make up the 25% margin, and the people who do (ie those with lower gpa's and lsat's than the margin but who are still accepted) are generally accepted on the merits of their supporting documents. So make a compelling case for yourself, apply everywhere, and then judge where you want to go after.

He's not a 'splitter.' And his GPA is more than 'pretty decent.'  I guess his LSAT score might be a point or two below your average student at the top handful of schools, but that doesn't mean loads. Plenty of people are getting into Columbia and NYU with those #s. 

[meggo]

yeah I said "bit of a splitter" but I guess what I meant was he was right on the edge of some school's (like Columbia's) median and while his GPA is going to most likely be the median or higher for some top 6 schools, his LSAT will most likely be lower. Hence the 'bit of a splitter'.

[benh2os]

Do you think I have a shot at GW ED with the full ride?