<p>Hello, I'm new to this forum. Anyways, I was wondering if any of you could give me advice as to how likely I would be able to get into a top tier (for me that would be within the top 10-15 law schools)? My current info would be this:</p>
<p>Double major in English and History (Graduated within 3 years with a GPA of a 3.78 from the University of Texas, Austin) (I could have stayed another year and raised my GPA with fluff classes, but I decided not to for financial reasons).
Minor in Korean.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, I made all A's and an occasional B in all my classes starting from my second semester.</p>
<p>My LSAT score is consistently between 167-174. Generally though, I believe I could make a 170. It wouldn't be far-fetched, and I would probably be able to get that score on a real test, as I've been timing my self under a time constraint of 33-34 minutes on each section, to account for loss of time/lack of time/various other distractions and what not/plus the fact that you cannot take an actual timer to the test anymore. (This is under strict testing situations, as in quiet area not at home (library), bubbling in the answers as well, and taking the 10 minute break in between with snack). (I do plan on going to the test site this weekend and trying to take a practice test in the actual room I’ll be in. yes I am aware that the seats are assigned, but I think it will give me a bit of a familiarity factor that cannot be neglected.)</p>
<p>I am a male, 22, Korean-American (as in Asian ethnicity).
Letters of Rec: 2 from my English professors and presumably a couple from working in Peace Corps and in Korea. They should be solid.</p>
<p>My EC:
- I've helped my family out with our business (one of the reasons why I graduated early). Currently, managing a motel with my parents. (I should be receiving a certification for management in December through this training course).
- This spring I should be going to Korea (that is unless I die or get some sort of serious illness) for an official job teaching for the Korean Education Ministry (government job) through a teaching abroad program (I should have my TEFL as well by February)
- I have worked as an intern for a summer for a human rights organization on cases dealing with human-trafficking and translated legal documents from Korean to English and vice-versa for to help these people get green-cards, etc.
- I've ran a small businesses in college and high school dealing with graphic design/web design/gaming.
- I do plan on going to Peace Corps after my stint in Korea for a year (yes I am aware the general amount of time is 2 years in the Peace Corps)
- I speak 3 languages fluently and currently studying 2 more (The three would be Korean, Spanish, and English) The other two would be Japanese and French.</p>
<p>I don't plan on applying to law school immediately after taking the test (This Oct. 4), but rather get my application done and out of the way as I'm coming back from Peace Corps in three years. (I'll be applying for law school in the Fall of 2011 for the class of 2014 and will probably be applying early to one of these schools). This will be my first test on the LSATs by the way, and I think respectably the worst I'll do is about a 164 and the best I could do is about a 172.</p>
<p>So with this information, how likely do you think I could get into say NYU, Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, etc.? Personally, I'd really like to get into NYU, Columbia, or Harvard, because I want to specialize in a field of law dealing with international business/trade and being in proximity to Wall Street would probably be a good idea. The most important thing for me right now however, is the probability and likelihood of getting into a large/prestigious law firm, business connections, as well as flexibility to be able to practice wherever (presumably passing the bar).</p>
<p>Yes, I do like law, I like the legal-jargon, technicality, and the concept of dealing with people and clients. Long hours, annoying clients, strict-deadlines aren't really a big deal. I would think I would thrive in the environment as I'm an extremely competitive person and work really well and hard under pressure and strict deadlines as well as a rigid structure. I believe I have a solid passion for it, and seriously feel as though this is an ideal calling for me. </p>
<p>Any genuine feedback would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>PS: I have taken A LOT of practice tests. (Meaning around 20-30, and consistently been placing within that range) I have finished Kaplan 180 Perfect Score book thing, Powerscore's full course + both Logical Reasoning and Games Bible, I've also finished McGraw-Hill's LSAT, Master the LSAT, and various other books.) My starting score was about a 155 and I've boosted it about to where it is now. Generally, my strongest sections are reading comp (miss 0-4) and games (depends on the games which is why my score is so variable) (0-4 on average but about 1 out of every 6-7 tests I'll just get screwed and missing like maybe 8-9), LR is consistent with about (2-5 on each section). I've gotten pretty good at detecting how well I'm doing in the middle of taking the test, so if I feel like I'm doing poorly, I'll probably cancel my score so that I can get just one solid high, score. Basically, yes I have been anal about this test and I can pretty much take like 2-3 tests in a row and hit within my range mark consistently for all 3 tests. So I'm pretty confident about my score being between about a 164-172 (not bragging, this test sucks and I've just put in LOTS of work into studying for it, my girlfriend could attest to that <em>sad face</em>).</p>