<p>Hi folks, I've been through plenty of relevant threads full of great info, but apparently no one else has grades quite as bad as mine. </p>
<p>In UG I did the first two years of obligation-free ROTC - does that count as military service at all, incidentally? - fully planning to go regular upon graduation; I foolishly figured that my grades didn't matter since the army wouldn't care about them. I scrounged out a ~3.5 through 3rd and 4th years, but nonetheless lawpad.com says my LSDAS GPA will be 2.91.</p>
<p>I know projected LSAT scores are frowned upon here, but I haven't scored less than 170 in a few practices - and besides, I have no hope if I don't do exceptionally well, so let's just assume I do get 175+ in October. Given that, do I have any chance of getting into a top 25 school? A couple seem to especially favor high LSATs (Georgetown's stats come to mind), but will they just throw my application away because of my sub-3.0 GPA? Are even UT Austin and Fordham beyond my reach?</p>
<p>(For those who care / consider it relevant, knee injuries in training kept me from continuing with the army. I've been working a fairly respectable job for the past 2-3 years while pondering what to do with my life. My ECs are solid but unspectacular.)</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any input.</p>
<p>If you do get the 175, the upside is that you will have some distance between you and your college gpa, showing that you have had time to mature. However, that will still make you a splitter, and chances are so unpredictable when it comes to splitters. You could get in to the t-14, or you could end up right outside of it. I have heard that northwestern is very splitter friendly. </p>
<p>start here</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/UGPASearch/Search3.aspx?SidString=%5DLSATGPA%5B/url">http://officialguide.lsac.org/UGPASearch/Search3.aspx?SidString=]LSATGPA[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Even though most of the numbers are self reported i think you check lawschool numbers.com</p>
<p>If the law school forum is coming to your area next month, I would definitely recommend that you attend so that you can talk to some of the admissions rpresentatives.</p>
<p>2 years of non-obligation ROTC does not count as military service.</p>
<p>Thanks much for both replies.</p>
<p>I still have this nagging sense that 3.0 is a fatal cutoff, but I'll talk to people as suggested. Hopefully I'll get some honest (and accurate!) advice so I'm not applying for a bunch of schools I can't get into.</p>
<p>Both of my sons got under the 3.0 GPA, one a 2.9 something and the other around a 2.8 (I honestly can't remember). The lower GPA got a 164 LSAT, the higher GPA got a 163 (they both tested higher on practice tests every time). Both thought they would get higher LSAT scores, but 163 and 164 are not bad scores. They each got into several schools ranked around #50, some higher, some lower. They each were offered substantial scholarships at lower ranked schools. They each decided on a good state school. They each went to good private universities for undergrad. So far, so good. One finishes in May 2009, one just started. We'll see....</p>
<p>Sorry, didn't see that you were looking at the top 25 law schools. I think the highest my sons got accepted to was around 35.</p>
<p>That's a reassuring anecdote, I appreciate the input. Guess it'll come down to how I do in October, and perhaps how much I'm willing to spend on long-shot applications...</p>