How qualitatively do schools look at GPA?

checht14

In college I had a shaky first semester (had a c and a b+ for a 3.4) but then maintained a 3.9+ average the rest of the way with nothing lower than an A-. My GPA isn't bad (3.85), but for top law schools, I'm wondering if they care more about stats (3.85 is 3.85) or if they pay more attention to trends. I'm shooting for a top 3 law school or a scholarship (my preptests are generally in the mid 170 range and I'm trying for high 170s to have a shot at Yale). My GPA doesn't really hurt me, but is still slightly sub 50 for those schools. Are schools primarily concerned with their stats, or would it not matter as much for a borderline 50ish percentile GPA?

Cant Get Right

They primarily are concerned with stats. They may notice trends and realize that you are a better student than your GPA suggests, but ultimately it's their stats that determine their rankings and it's their rankings that motivate their admissions decisions more than any other factor. Except maybe Yale. Yale is frequently exempted from these types of generalizations. They're so tiny and so exclusive, they can kinda do what they want. That said though, they still get their stats, lol.

Alex

Stats > Trends for sure. If you can nail a mid-to-high 170s LSAT, I wouldn't count yourself out of H/S. Y's always a blackbox and quite softs dependent.

You have a good GPA and a strong upward trend. Kill that LSAT and finish up UG strong!