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169 on LSAT flex

GoingtolawschoolGoingtolawschool Alum Member
edited September 2020 in Law School Admissions 184 karma

I’m really happy with my score but can I get into some T 20 schools with a 169 on LSAT and a 3.33 GPA? NYU is my dream school and I really want to apply there for ED as an international student (Canadian). I’m not sure if I have a chance into these schools?

Comments

  • Sailor Moon LSATSailor Moon LSAT Member
    200 karma

    I think that you can look at the statistics to get a good chance, but in the end, you never know. I think your score could be enough to get you looked at. In the end, if it's your dream school, try! If you don't try, you'll never know.

  • disindexdisindex Member
    57 karma

    Hard to tell. Go ahead and check LSData if you'd like some idea. There doesn't seem to be many admits with that combination.

    https://www.lawschooldata.org/school/applicants?cycle_id=17&school=New+York+University

  • Law and YodaLaw and Yoda Alum Member
    4300 karma

    There are a few resources you could look to in addition to the one mentioned above!

    1) 7Sage Law School Admissions Predictor
    2) http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Law-School-Predictor-Matcher.htm
    3) https://mylsn.info/r/pre-law/admissions/search/

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    Good news and bad news. First, the bad news. With a 3.33 and a 169, unless you have significant other factors you are not likely to gain admission to NYU. I am not saying it is impossible, but it would likely require additional very impactful soft factors. Being a URM would help, but you would still need other major soft factors like 10 years of very impressive and increasingly responsible work experience or having been an Olympic athlete or something of that sort. I do not want to discourage you. If you really want to go there you can keep working. If you can score a 169 you can probably continue to prepare and improve that to a low 170's which would make an enormous difference. Maybe by retaking in November or January or waiting a cycle.

    That, however, is not the good news. The good news is that right now you are already competitive for schools in the T20 or T25 with your LSAT. I do not have the whole list of LSAT medians for all schools in front of me, but from my spreadsheet of schools I have researched for myself in the T25 you are at or above the 75th at Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Texas, Boston U, Notre Dame, Minnesota, ASU, George Washington, and Florida and probably some others I have missed as well. While your GPA is below the 25th percentile median at all of those schools, for many it is not that much below and it is usually better to be a splitter with a high LSAT than a high GPA. Additionally, if you went to a Canadian university there may be a sense that the GPA is calculated differently there anyway. I do not know if this is the correct tactic, but depending on what is or is not true about GPA calculations in Canada and how that relates to LSAC you may even want to include that in a GPA addendum. You may even be able to get some scholarship aid at them. I will also say that, looking at both employment outcomes and reputation, there are some schools which, while not ranked in the T25, are viewed more highly in industry than some that are. Georgia and Washington and Lee, both rank 31, are examples of these, but check out Above the Law's rankings (which are based on employment outcomes and bar passage rather than admissions stats like US News) for more schools that might want to give you a scholarship with those stats and perform better than many T20 schools despite a lower US News Ranking. UNC and Iowa also usually fare well there, though UNC had a down year on Above the Law's rankings this time around.
    https://abovethelaw.com/law-school-rankings/top-law-schools-2020/

  • LogicianLogician Alum Member Sage
    2464 karma

    Well I’m going to be the optimist in this situation. @VerdantZephyr brings up some excellent points in terms of T25 and T20 schools. However, I don’t quite agree with the degree of softs necessary- though they would certainly help. He’s right in that it’s unlikely you’ll gain admission (the predictor puts you at 25% chance), so it would be a big reach, but that doesn’t mean you have no chance, even without 10 years work experience and not being an Olympian. At this point all you can do is control what you can, which means writing a killer personal statement and DS if applicable, and standing out on these grounds. All this to say, yes you have a chance, about a 1 in 4 chance and I have friends who have gotten in with similar odds (I know, anecdotal) So go for it! If you’re dead set on NYU and you don’t gain admission, study some more and retake the LSAT, like @VerdantZephyr said, I'm sure you could bump that score up (which would help a lot!)

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