Help!!! Low LSAT/High GPA Splitter?

HLS or bust

So I took the LSAT for the first time last month and got a VERY average score. I'm freaking out because my dream school is HLS, but the score I got is way off from the benchmark. Do I still have a chance of being admitted? I'm an undergrad, URM (African American woman) with a 3.8+ GPA. I also have a lot of extracurriculars (Student Body President, Magazine editor, etc.).

VerdantZephyr

@reneebttrsn To answer this at all we will need more information. Specifically what your LSAT was and secondly when you want to apply. Also, I assume your GPA was around a 3.8, but if it was a 3.89 that is a huge difference. If you want to apply for next year, everything is going to hinge on that LSAT score you got. If you want to or are willing to apply farther in the future than no worries, you have plenty of time to improve. I will also say that unless your dream is just to say that you went to Harvard Law, you probably do not have to go to Harvard to make your dreams happen. Even if you are looking for BigLaw or a federal clerkship there are other schools that will accomplish those things equivalently to Harvard. First though, when do you intend to apply, is that flexible, and what was your LSAT?

VerdantZephyr

It looks like their GPA medians are 25th percentile 3.78 and 50th 3.88. I will assume your GPA is between those, but if it is right around 3.88 or above that is important as well.

Also, I meant to post this earlier, 7sage has a admit predictor you can utilize. Google 7sage law school predictor and you can put your numbers in to get a picture. With that said however, I think the community can provide both some context and advice that the predictor will not.

HLS or bust

@VerdantZephyr I'm applying for admission next Fall and was hoping to submit everything by November, but now I'm wondering if I should try to retake it in January and apply then... My GPA is 3.81 currently, and I scored 152 on the exam insert crying. I'm applying to a few other schools as well, but I really want to go to a T14. Do you think that's still possible considering? Would I even have a chance if I applied in January?

VerdantZephyr

The bad news. With a 152 you have effectively no chance at Harvard. On top of that, while your 3.81 is incredible and you should be very proud of it, that is a below average GPA at Harvard. The good news, that LSAT score can be improved. Retake in January, it is not ideal but it is your best option. I will caution you, it will be a big ask to improve enough to be Harvard ready in January, but you have 2.5 months. I really can't say what number you would need to get in there as a URM, since that is a soft factor that is hard to quantify. 7 sage's predictor says that if you can get a 165 and apply in January (and still have that 3.81) you have an approximately 11% chance at admission to Harvard. The same numbers yield a 50% chance at Georgetown, 43% at Cornell, 42% at NYU, and 39% at Duke, 36% at Northwestern, and 30% at Michigan. If you waited a whole cycle and applied as soon as applications open next September by the way, those percentages would go way up: 66% at Georgetown, 60% at Cornell, 58% at NYU, and 19% at Harvard.

For perspective, applying next week in November with that 152 yields a 0% chance at Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and only a 4% chance at # 14 Georgetown. I do not say that to further upset you, just to let you know that the one thing that separates you from your goal of Harvard is the LSAT. It can be learned and you have 2.5 months until January or 9 months until next July to get ready for it. You will have to grind extra hard, but improving from a 152 to a 165+ is definitely doable. Given that you are still in the low 50's I assume you have lots of room to make up in LG. Fool proof them. Drill them until you can do them in your sleep. Read the Economist, The Atlantic, Scientific American in your down time to practice for RC. Study the 7 sage curriculum to really get at how LR problems work. You can do this, it will take a lot of work, but you can.

With that said, if you are looking to go T14 for BigLaw or clerkship purposes know that you can certainly do that outside the T14. Many schools in the teens and 20's and even down to the low 30's have excellent numbers in BigLaw and some are nearly as good at federal clerkships as T14 schools. HLS is not the only way to have an awesome career in law. If you have a 3.81 I assume you are the sort of highly organized, hard working person that excels in the classroom. If you graduate near the top of your class from a non T14 school plenty of doors will open for you as well. This is just the very start of your journey.

VerdantZephyr

@reneebttrsn Here is the link to the predictor I mentioned. https://7sage.com/predictor/