<p>Alright, I went to an Ivy for undergrad and I'm about to graduate. I've decided to take a few months off off and maybe work a little bit before applying for law school.</p>
<p>What are my chances for a T-14?</p>
<p>My undergrad grades are:</p>
<p>First Major: Computer Science; Final Major: Political Science
Freshman Year: 3.4
Sophomore Year: 2.0 (including one UW, which would've been an F and one D)
Junior Year: 4.0 (after changing majors)
Senior Year: 3.8</p>
<p>LSAT: 176 - taken once.
Final GPA: 3.39</p>
<p>What are my chances for a T-14 school? Particularly Columbia and Penn or Cornell? (I'm sure Harvard is out of the question)</p>
<p>First of all, you didn’t almost flunk. As for t-14 chances, you are very low, if not out of range, on the GPA spectrum of those schools. I would start to look at other schools.</p>
<p>He is not out of range… His super high LSAT will make him a contender for a top 14 school. He is what they call a “splitter.” “Splitter” cycles are very hard to predict.</p>
<p>I agree with NDJake–if you were to apply to all 14 top-ranked schools you’d probably get into at least one. But which one? No one can say, though your odds are better the further down the list you go. Apply to every T14 you’d be willing to attend (for example, if you hate snow don’t bother with Cornell, Michigan, etc.) and a few other top-25 schools (or top 50 if they’re in a state in which you know you want to practice) and let the chips fall where they may. Luckily, you’ll probably get a bunch of application fee waivers because of your high LSAT score.</p>
<p>Anna Ivey’s book has good advice about writing addenda for various situations including a change in major/positive GPA trend. </p>
<p>Your personal statement, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation, especially those from professors, may be the deciding factor for you so make sure they’re as good as possible.</p>
<p>bcmcghee, all law schools have to report the cumulative GPA to US news, so they care a lot about it. They make take note of the major gpa, but it won’t be a big factor in admissions.</p>
<p>Woah I didn’t expect 10 responses. Your posts are quite the encouragement! Actually, that’s an understatement. I was sure my T-14 cause was lost because of the fact that my GPA barely meets even the 25% GPA median for the lowest T-14. </p>
<p>And yes, the “UW” means “Unofficial Withdrawal.” On the transcript it’s defined as “a mark given to a student who hasn’t attended class or has done little or no coursework at all.” My adviser says it’s one step higher than an “F” but one step lower than a “D-”. So it’s still pretty bad, not to mention in addition to that I have a “D”. Thought I’d be ruined for sure! I figured after the bad economy, more and more people are desperate to get more degrees to compete for jobs and I figured their applicant pools would be overflowing with 3.8 GPA + 170+ LSAT people.</p>
<p>But I’ll definitely look into the admissions and maybe call up some adcoms because from what I hear from you guys, I still have a chance! Thought I was already dead-man-walking. Thanks!</p>
<p>good posts here… what if somebody had a 3.3 ug, with a 4.0 junior/senior year… plus a masters degree in philosophy with around a 4.0 … then scored over 170 on the lsat? chances at t-14 or t25? is that a strong enough recent trend to get in?
this very well might be my situation soon…so just asking.</p>
<p>I think that in the OP’s case, the transcript is less than mediocre, particularly since there seems to be a lack of effort and caring in the first couple of years, as evidenced by the UW (as its meaning is explained by the OP). While the OP is certainly capable of achieving very good grades, his or her hopes of attending law school will rest on whether a law school believes that the last two years were the beginning of a healthier attitude towards school or that what is evidenced by the OP’s transcript is a smart, but lazy student with a blase attitude towards structure, administrative necessities and diligence. </p>
<p>The OP will have to write one heck of a personal statement/additional statement putting his or her transcript in perspective in order to be seriously considered for admission.</p>
<p>As should be obvious, flunking out of school requires a bad year, not a terrible cumulative GPA. Had he not used two W’s his sophomore year, he would have failed out. The OP is correct and your insults are mildly ironic.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t read every post in the thread. I’m very sorry bluedevilmike! Truly I am! Please forgive me!!! Please!!! :'(</p>
<p>HELP PLEASE FORGIVE ME BLUEDEVILMIKE. YOU ARE MY SAVIOR. I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HURT YOU. PLEASE FORGIVE ME NOW!!! WAAAHHHHHH. :'(</p>
<p>BLUE IS MY FAVORITE COLOR AND MY T-SHIRT SAYS SCHIESSER ON IT AND IT IS BLUE. I LOVE IT SO VERY MUCH, JUST LIKE I LOVE BLUEDEVILMIKE HE IS MY GOD.</p>