African-American female, low GPA - chances for T14?

<p>Hi everyone, I'm considering the possibility of applying to law school but am concerned that I wouldn't be able to get in anywhere decent due to my extremely lame GPA. Here's my backstory:</p>

<p>I'm a recent graduate of Harvard, and am currently obtaining my masters in Journalism from Columbia. A course I took in J-school has piqued my interest in media law, and I'm considering that as a possible career avenue that would parlay my interest in journalism to a higher earning potential. I'll graduate from Columbia this coming May. </p>

<p>I'll have no GPA from Columbia, the journalism school is entirely Pass/Fail. The problem is my undergraduate GPA, which is a 3.42. I'm not sure if this makes any difference to law school admissions, but it's a case of improving performance rather than steady mediocrity: beginning with freshman year, my GPA for the individual year was a 3.16, then a 3.33, then a 3.47, and an awesome 3.85 senior year. </p>

<p>I was an English concentrator, and did manage to graduate cum laude. As I mentioned in the subject line, I'm an African-American female. Activities during college included leadership in the black community and heavy involvement in the school newspaper. </p>

<p>I took a diagnostic mini-LSAT and got a 165, and would presumably take a course before attempting the real thing. </p>

<p>So, if I decided to apply to law school, would I have any reasonable shot at any of the Top 14 schools? Particularly Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, NYU, Columbia, Duke? </p>

<p>Thanks for any insight!</p>

<p>Yes, you would have a shot....</p>

<p>I think you have excellent chances, especially for HYS if you can get your LSAT to 170.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies. Does anyone else have more in-depth thoughts or insights?</p>