Stats?

lawschoolkid

Guys, I've taken the lsat 3x and my highest was 167. I'm applying early decision as a URM to UPenn or Cornell and Georgetown as the I'll receive decision before the ED deadline. I'm in a tough spot because my gpa is 3.0 calculated by the LSAC. I was a double major i and worked full time as well to pay tuition all four years. There is an upward trend in my gpa with multiple dean's list awards. I am almost 3 years out of college and worked full time for Goldman Sachs with assets under management in excess of 300MM. Personally, I've worked on promissory note drafts, operating agreements, and creditor's rights with judgments over 6 MM.

You think I honestly have a shot at t-20 w/ my experience or the holistic approach is bs and it comes down to numbers?

goingfor99th

...
(misread)

Seeking Perfection

I think it is a stretch. Northwestern really likes work experience so maybe if their median dropped to a 167 this year you might have a shot there. However, it seems like LSAT medians are more likely to rise than fall this year with the increased number of applicants.

I think your work experience could give you a solid bump at some schools, but not enough to compensate for those numbers in the Top 14. With an LSAT at say 170 you would be a splitter at many schools, but because of your experience I would expect you to outperform the average splitter and have a really good shot at schools like Northwestern which like work experience.

lawschoolkid

@"Seeking Perfection" damn, so no shot at UPenn or Georgetown? I don't want to take the LSAT again given that it's my third time and I started in the low 150s.

Alex

@lawschoolkid said:
@"Seeking Perfection" damn, so no shot at UPenn or Georgetown? I don't want to take the LSAT again given that it's my third time and I started in the low 150s.

What kind of URM are you?

lawschoolkid

South Asian dad and AA mom

10000019

I think you have a good chance of a T15 school. If you look at available data for the last few years, it's plausible that someone with your stats would be admitted.

studyingandrestudying

Sorry, but does AA stand for Asian-American?

Seeking Perfection

@lawschoolkid said:
@"Seeking Perfection" damn, so no shot at UPenn or Georgetown? I don't want to take the LSAT again given that it's my third time and I started in the low 150s.

I missed that you were a URM. That would change things. I'm not sure how much of a boost you might get as a URM with that good work experience. I know each can provide a significant boost with URM being the more significant boost on their own, but I don't know if those boosts tend to stack. I'd recommend applying broadly. For splitters, URMs, and people counting on work experience thing are usually more unpredictable.

You still will face the problem that neither number helps top 14 schools medians at all. Have you condidered retaking in February? Just the fluctuation in test scores could get you a better score. If 167 was your true score then there is a fairly good chance of scoring anywhere from a 164 to a 170 on any given day and the higher scores would help a lot more than the lower scores would hurt. That's assuming that any practice wouldn't help you improve at all, but you just count on test day luck. In reality you would probably study at least a little more.

Also, definitely include almost all the schools just outside the top 14 for the scholarship negotiation leverage if nothing else. I would expect negligible initial scholarship offers from any top 14 that accepts you, but if you can get schools bidding over you that could change.

lawschoolkid

@lsatplaylist African American

Seeking Perfection

@lsatplaylist said:
Sorry, but does AA stand for Asian-American?

I'm pretty sure it stands for African American. People list it separately from other URMs because on average the boost is higher for African Americans than Hispanic URMs. It is harder to tell exactly the size of the boost with Native American URMs.

Asian Americans are not really under-represented though they are not over-represented the way they are in undergrad.

markmam

ok

Seeking Perfection

@markmam
I think you should still apply ED to Penn. If you get rejected and then perform better on the Febrauary LSAT then you won't have Penn in your cycle. However, you would still get some good result in the lower part of the top14. However, what might be more likely is that they will hold you for further consideration in which case they will be in your cycle. Then of course you might get admitted in which case you don't need the February LSAT except to try to get a little bit of a scholarship.

lawschoolkid

@"Seeking Perfection" yeah, 167 true score. There's a dilemma here. If i were to apply ED with current score and rejected , I wouldn't be able to leverage Feb. score as you can't re-apply same cycle once rejected to Penn. Alternatively, I can wait until Feb. but it's a gamble given my high variance among my PTs. I can request Penn for further review with Feb. score.

lawschoolkid

Sorry guys, I have two 7sage accounts but yeah @"Seeking Perfection" that's what I was thinking.