I feel like I see so many posts on this subreddit where somebody had a 3.4/2.9/3.1 GPA or something similar for undergrad and a 4.0 masters GPA. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I saw a masters GPA on this subreddit that was below a 3.9.
is this a matter of self selection, or do masters programs just give out As like candy?
Many students during law school applications (myself included) choose to attend the school with the highest ranking (or near the highest). As a current 1L I just feel the need to give a subtle warning as admissions decisions are coming in of the cons of this choice.
During my application cycle, I got carried away with going to a school that I could proudly wear on my chest and give me the best salary opportunities (even though I knew I didn't want big law). I fortunately got into a top 60 school even though I was 7 points below the median LSAT score and decided to attend regardless that I am now paying near sticker price.
Putting costs of attendance aside, something I didn't realize would be as much of a challenge is the curve. I am now in a pool competing with other students that got admitted to numerous T-14s, who just simply are smarter than me. There are a limited amount of A's and B's that can be go around per section and I now find myself near the bottom of the class even though I am pushing myself academically to a point of sleep deprivation (in a healthy 1L way). So... yes a higher ranked school may promise better opportunity career-wise, but that opportunity is not given and it will be fought over in a brutally intense way. And the unfortunate truth is... your best may not be good enough. I'm grateful that I was accepted but now I know that I am punching way above my weight and if I had gone to a school that matched my previous academic records better, I would not be in as much of a constant state of stress to perform at a level that is incredibly difficult to reach.
Now with applications going out in record numbers and LSAT scores sky rocketing higher than gas prices, incoming 1L classes at a T60 have numbers that would be reflective of the T14 not even 10 years ago — meaning you are competing with students of this caliber. So ultimately — better lawyers for the US, but much more competition while you are in school.
If all you want is a law degree and the ability to help people while working for a boutique firm, go to a solid school that give you a large discount and disregard the rankings. Something I definitely wish I did.
LSAT:180 GPA: 3.91
Softs: unfortunately I'm a bit of a chud, heavily introverted and a bit agoraphobic. So, I don't have any strong involvement in clubs and my one relevant work experience was interning for a state representative.
Ideally I would to go to the upper end of the T14 but considering my situation I'm wondering if I'm better off trying to get a year or two of work experience and get stronger letters of recommendation before applying.
If my ultimate passion is trailrunning and ultramarathons and thus need to live in or very near the mountains to be happy (and I also like mountain biking, snowboarding, fly fishing, etc), and I don’t get into Stanford, UC Berkeley, or UCLA, and not Harvard or Yale either, is it better to go to a school like University of Washington, UC Davis, UC Boulder, U of Utah, etc, or another lower T14?
I looked this question up but all the answers are several years old and the economy has changed alot (for the worse) since Epstein’s best friend retook office again.
Cities I’ve visited, loved, and would be happy to live in:
Denver/Boulder
Seattle
San Francisco
Salt Lake City
Portland
Sacramento, but this is the least desirable bc it gets brutally hot in the summer and I hate the heat
My parents have helped pay for my undergrad significantly (70k ish). However I still worked (pay rent + loans to cover rest if tuition). That being said, they are pretty abusive. I can't really deal with them mentally anymore. I am considering cutting them off in my gap year. I hope to self-finance my own law school. What would you recommend?
My stats: 3.85 gpa, 169 lsat(planning on retaking for 172+)
May your applications be accepted and your gooses be silly 💚
Hi, I am currently working on finishing my personal statement and submitting my apps. I really want to hear what the best personal statements are as I am now regretting my choice. A little background is that I grew up homeschooled, went on to do speech and debate, mock trial, and tons of different things. I grew up working on a vegetable farm LOL. I did mock trial in college and now work at a law firm. I am from a mixed hispanic household. I graduated a year early from college. I have a 3.9 GPA but only a 152 LSAT score. I currently work as a paralegal in an estate and probate firm. My degree was in criminal justice and legal studies. I have always been a very hard worker but I feel like that's the norm for law students.
my first idea that I scrapped was was around my name which boils down to; growing up with a name that was constantly mispronounced taught me the importance of having a voice and standing up for myself. I want to become an attorney because I believe everyone deserves to be heard, understood, and advocated for, just as I learned to advocate for myself.
Because I have a low LSAT I'm very fearful this will not be enough for me to be accepted. No one in my family has ever gone into law so I am kinda at a loss for what to do.
hey everybody. im deciding whether or not i want to apply to any of the t14s (law school apps are so expensive!!!!! lol) i have a 166 lsat and a 3.85 gpa at a top 15 undegrad. i have substantive professional experience, mainly t3 softs.
lmk! the medians went up so much this year not sure if its worth applying
Does Cardozo have a bad reputation to biglaw hiring in NYC? I've heard a NYC biglaw partner say so. But I also have seen statistics that seem to show Cardozo does fine when it comes to biglaw hiring in NYC in the sense that Cardozo performs better than St. John's and even WashU.
Also, I'm not sure if this would be informative to include, but if it is, I'm not Jewish.
Right now my only idea is to recreate the Elle Woods video entry… not sure how much they’d enjoy that from a hairy muscular 235lb guy….
I know people recommend doing all optional essays, but what the are thoughts on skipping the video?
Hi all,
Is applying December 2 too late for potential full ride scholarships? Particularly public interest?
I am taking the November LSAT and plan to have everything ready to apply the day scores come out.
Has anyone applied early December and had good outcomes?
Most law schools have deadlines for their public interest scholarships that typically fall in early January. If I get my apps in before then, wouldn’t I have a fair shot?
Thanks!
Interested to better understand the threshold for what makes an ‘accepted student’ vs. an ‘accepted student with scholarship’ - so from what schools did you get scholarships and what was your LSAT/GPA? Looking for experiences from students accepted at
- schools in the NY NJ PA regions
- 150-170 LSAT range
- above 3.5 GPA
Plus, any recommendations for schools that are particularly ~generous~ in those states when it comes to scholarship money? TIA!
3.4 is from double STEM major (t5); have master's in EE (t5) w/ a much higher gpa but LSAC doesn't care. 1 year WE (swe).
t3 softs - lots of undergrad research, swe internships and a couple conference and journal publications.
want to do patent litigation in biglaw only, so I think washu might be my best bet. I feel like it will be an uphill battle with a lot of the other T20 schools that have good BL placement
I am debating between EDing and not EDing to Penn. With my background, I think I have a fair shot, but it is definitely far from guaranteed. I have heard Penn in particular gives more of a boost for ED than most other schools.
My main dilemma basically boils down to FOMO. If I apply RD and get rejected, I am going to regret not EDing because maybe that would've made the difference. And if I get accepted to Penn ED, then my application was strong enough that maybe I get a hefty scholarship at a different T14, or maybe I even get into HLS/YLS (ultra low odds, but like crazier things have happened, and most of my family and friends are telling me to shoot YLS an application because "you never know").
Basically, unless I'm rejected ED from Penn or accepted RD to Penn, I feel like I am gonna have crazy FOMO/regret.
Any advice?
(Stats: 3.8 from a T25 Undergrad/ 176 LSAT / KJD / T3 Softs (first-gen, low-income) / 3 internships (2 legal) / Good but not insane campus involvement and research / honors thesis in progress)
Hi! I’m considering law school as a 31 year old who finished a master’s this past year. My undergrad GPA was good (3.89) but my master’s GPA (4.0) is better. Does anyone know if most law schools exclusively go off of undergrad GPA or if they would kind of average out my grades? Can’t find any info in here or online. Thank you!!
I’m supposed to take the LSAT in November. I’m aiming for 165+ but I am still stuck at high 150s with the highest of 161. So I’m probably gonna switch to January unless my next 2-3 PTS show significant improvement.
I’m just scared because the January LSAT dates comes out in February.
Has anyone applied before in January/ February with still good outcomes?
I’m fine with less to minimal scholarships if necessary. I just need to get in. My aim is T30 or higher. Predominantly in NYC schools but im applying all over the northeast between Boston down to DC.
The schools I want said they accept January / February LSAT but just still uneasy.
GPA is a 3.low so im striving for that 165+ LSAT score
I’ve already delayed an application cycle so im committed to applying this cycle.
Hey everyone!
I've been fortunate enough to score a 179 on the LSAT, but my LSAC GPA will be a 3.85. I finished college with a 3.9, but a dual enrollment class I took
in high school pulled the LSAC number down a bit.
I'm wondering how realistic it is to get a significant scholarship, maybe even a full ride, at T15 schools with a GPA significantly below all of their medians. I know this is a crazy cycle, and more and more applicants are coming in with high LSATs and stronger GPAs than mine.
Would love to hear from anyone with similar numbers or experience. Also, for context, I am a recent college grad with limited work experience.
Thanks!
I haven’t seen many folks with positive test optional experiences so it’s hard to understand how bad it will be if I apply test optional to GW. I have a 3.0 from a military academy (23 years ago!) and a full successful 24 year military officer career (as a nuclear engineer and then a military diplomat). I know it doesn’t count for medians but I also have two masters (3.77 and 4.0, respectively). I have been studying for the LSAT but feel like I’m spinning my wheels somewhat, trying to learn a new skill set that perhaps isn’t the best way to spend my time. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions regarding test optional after a long first career?
Unless you graduated more than 5+ years ago (really, more than 7-8 at this point, since GPA inflation was bad even before covid), why are you complaining about GPA inflation? You think you were the only person at your school who took harsh professors, and every other student at every other school took interpretative dance for 4 years and twirled their way to a 3.9? You also had the profs grade you softly, give you As for work you didn't deserve, and write BS essays for courses with no exam.
Same deal with the LSAT. Why are you complaining about LSAT scores from 2006? You think if you went back to 2006, studied the LSAT only from paper books, had no algorithmic practice, no online tutoring, no forums, you would have gotten the same score? The meta has completely changed and you benefit from the changes in studying, strategy, cheap retesting, and what advice is available and got a higher score thanks to it. You think accommodations are abused? You also benefit from the same looseness of ADHD diagnoses. Go find a telehealth doctor and tell them you run out of time on exams and see what they have to say. I personally don't think extra time helps and I didn't use it because it can be detrimental but if you want to complain then you should do something about it.
Take the issues as they are, see where you benefitted from the current situation, and make the most of your situation. Don't cope and seethe about how every other applicant did something unavailable to you and you're the only person hurt by this, unless you are unk in which case then you can yell at the kids but only a little bit.