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Related Discussions
Super-Splitter strategy and support squad?
VerdantZephyr
Member ⭐
Hello 7sage world. I am a non-traditional applicant in my mid thirties with an MA but an utterly horrible uGPA and what will hopefully be a top few percentile LSAT come October 3rd. I would love to talk with other super-splitters about what your strategy/thought process is regarding program, prestige, and financial aid as well as how you view safety/target/reach. Personally, with one grad degree already weighing me down I am valuing financial aid highly even though it might be hard to come by. I think I will probably sacrifice a shot at my T14 reaches for ED at a school that is more of a target. As much as that label can be applied anywhere with a sub 3 GPA.
Comments
A strong LSAT and GPA addendum, along with a solid resume and graduate school success, can help mitigate the damage of a low uGPA by a considerable margin. I am 39, had a uGPA of 2.8 and an mid-160s LSAT and still got accepted at some great schools with some good scholarships.
Being a splitter yields some unpredictable results. I was rejected at Minnesota but accepted at similarly-ranked Iowa. Waitlisted at Northeastern but accepted at much higher-ranked William & Mary. Given a 50% scholarship at Wyoming but a full-ride at much higher-ranked Nebraska. It all depends on how holistically the school approaches the application process vs their attention to the numbers.
One thing I will tell you is to apply all over the place, including schools you may expect a rejection from. Good luck!
Thanks. I'm waiting for my LSATs of course but am currently weighing ED Wash U versus playing the field. I'd like to pay as little as possible, but I don't know whether guaranteed scholarships through ED or playing the field is better. I am basically looking at a range of schools from #8 UVA to the trio of #31's Wash&Lee, Will&Mary, and Georgia. I have been worried about commanding scholarships at schools overall but especially those in the top 20, which is where most of the schools I am most interested in fall.
@99thPercentileOrDieTryin we have very similar stats! It's good to hear that you are in at some great schools. Being a splitter is so scary! I had to take a bunch of non-major calculus-based courses for my scholarship and it tanked my undergrad GPA to a 2.86. I did a bunch of other things like received departmental honors and I've been serving for 6 yrs now, so I'm hoping that will counterbalance the GPA. Did you write a GPA addendum, and do you feel that it helped you? I have one written and was really careful to state facts and not complain or do the "oh woe is me" trope, but I'm still very nervous. Any tips for splitter applications are appreciated!
Are there any splitters here that have received admission to SoCal schools??
@mrowley91 I do think my GPA addendum helped. As long as your GPA addendum explained underperformance in a way that highlights how and why you'll be a better performer now, I think yours will help too.
And since you asked about SoCal schools, I did gain admission with a 60% scholarship to the University of San Diego.
I'm not at applications yet, applying for 2021. I am also not looking at any California schools at all. I am trying to minimize expense and am avoiding schools in areas with high cost of living. I can't control what I am offered in scholarships but I can control the rest. The only school in an expensive CoL city I'm looking at is Northwestern, possibly Boston U, but I'm not sure I'll even apply there.
@VerdantZephyr I totally understand. I'm looking at SoCal schools because my husband and I are trying to settle down there and he has orders to be stationed there for the next 4 years. Cost of living is definitely high! As for Boston and Chicago: they're both such great cities! Might the job prospects outweigh cost of living in the long run?
Well, I'm weighing job placements pretty highly. I moved U of Minn down my list despite liking their program well just because of it. My main targets are Duke, UVA, NU, Washington, Vanderbilt, and Texas and UNC is my main "safer" school. Below that first tier I have Emory, W&L, Notre Dame, and W&M as targets which, despite their lower ranking, have great job prospects. Those aren't the only schools I'm interested in, I have others that I like despite poorer job stats, but program, cost (including Fin Aid and CoL), and employment stats are the three things I'm highly valuing. I don't think you have to be in a major city to have job prospects. In the case of Washington, they're the only elite law school in the middle of the country. Texas is the only elite law school in Texas, which is a pretty big legal market. UVA, W&M, and W&L are all well connected to the DC market despite being hours outside of it. Vanderbilt also manages to bridge the distance between an East Coast school and that under-served middle of the country market I think. UNC is the dominant school for the decent sized and diverse NC legal market and of course Duke has an international reputation. While US News puts them down at 12th their industry reputation is much higher. In the end, while geographic proximity helps open doors I think it is the connections and pipelines that schools build that gets grads jobs. It is unfortunate that there are many other great schools that hit below their ranking or the quality of their program, and those certainly come with a cost. ASU, Minnesota, and Wisconsin come to mind, but all offer excellent financial aid for those more willing to roll the dice. I may end up applying to ASU and Minnesota despite that, though my odds of accepting are lower and definitely contingent upon getting considerably better scholarship support there.