University of Virginia

[ProsecutorWM]

I'm going to be applying for early admissions at UVA next fall.

I'm a Virginia resident.  I graduated from William and Mary with a double major in history and government.

I also have a master's degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. 

I did internships with one of the larger police depts. in Virginia.  I also interned in one of the largest juvenile courts.  I did both of my internships for graduate school  Right now I'm working with those judges and I'm handling all of the juvenile criminal dockets.

I also work full-time in another government job.  I've also done additonal coursework in psychology, sociology, and anything else you can think of for criminal justice.

I want to go to UVA for their prosecution clinic and their criminal justice concentration.  Does anyone have an idea what kind of LSAT score I should get?  I tend to score about 160 on pre-diagnostics.  I'm going to be studying for the June LSAT.

My GPA undergrad was like a 3.0 and for my master's it was a 3.84.

[heartbreaker]

Check out this graph: http://uva.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0708/

It looks pretty rough for your GPA - you're gonna need to blow the LSAT out of the water (175+, unless you are a URM)

[Imperial Russian Stout!]

Your softs will only matter if you're in the ballpark.  They look good and I have no doubt that you are fully committed to your career path, but remember that everyone, no matter how ho-hum their softs are, play themselves up to be the next Warren Buffet or Eugene Debs.

I mean, I've seen employment at Taco Bell be described to law schools as "inventory management, advanced client relations, management experience in a service oriented environment."  You get what I mean.  The dude probably took Drive-In orders, grabbed extra tortillas from the back and wrapped up burritos.  Anyways, my point is that you can't rely on your softs making a bigtime impact for you unless A) you've cured cancer or led your football team to a Rose Bowl or B) you're already in the ballpark with your numbers.  I'm channeling Anna Ivey here.

Schools only consider your undergrad GPA.  And with your GPA, you're looking at NEEDING a score of 168+ to have a decent shot (I mean, theoretically everyone has a shot no matter what, but to have a higher percentage chance).  Especially if you're non-urm.  This sounds rough, but we're talking about a Top 10 school, if people could get into Virginia with a 3.0 and a 164 on a regular basis, they wouldn't be a TOP 10 school.  Good luck to you.

[mathlete]

You won't be going to UVA. Sorry.

[wiseowl]

Being a VA resident should help.  If you weren't a resident I'd say no shot - but if you can get 166+ with good recs and good essays you might at least have a shot off the WL or something.

[bloomlaw]

a 173+ and you won't be golden, but I wouldn't really bet against you. I don't know where most of these people get there numbers. With a 172 and above, you'll get into at least one T14, and if you apply ED with a 173, I don't see alot indicating you are a sure rejection. The problem is, there aren't a lot of people with your numbers to compare. But I think I did a stat form last year that 8 out of 10 people with a 3.0 to 3.25 and a 170 LSAT got into a T14.

[allyp]

Actually, if you are ED and a VA resident, I think a 170 would put you in solid.  Practice practice practice!