<p>So I've been doing research about law school admissions, and since I'm fairly fresh off of college admissions they seem so simple in comparison. Is it true that as long as I graduate with say, a 3.9 and a 170ish LSAT in a legit major from a top 20 school, I'm pretty much a lock at most/all top 10 law schools? I feel like it makes no sense considering the acceptance rate is so low, are there just that few people with those qualifications?</p>
<p>1) Admissions is simple and predictable for the vast majority of schools, except for the traditional black boxes (Stanford, Boalt, and Yale). This fact is attested to by [Law</a> School Predictor](<a href=“http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com%5DLaw”>http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com).
2) I wouldn’t say a 3.9/170 is a “lock” at most/all top 10 law schools. You’d be somewhat iffy at the top 5.
3) Your intuition is correct. There are few people with such qualifications. A 172 is the 99th percentile, after all. In years where there are more applicants, however, the distribution of students per score becomes larger. Thus, the 99th percentile in one year doesn’t have the same number of students as does the 99th percentile in another. Correspondingly, admissions may be tougher for years in which there are more applicants in a given percentile.</p>
<p>Adding onto flowerhead’s point #3, maintaining a 3.9 GPA throughout college (especially at a top 20) is not easy.</p>
<p>Yeah, if you get even one B, you’re ****ed in the A, to put it frankly.</p>
<p>Didn’t realize this, so I got myself four. </p>
<p>[sarcasm]Ah, well, will have to rely on my 180.[/sarcasm]</p>
<p>Well, ignoring the +/- effect, it would mean about 10% B’s. Which isn’t a lot, but it certainly leaves you room for one or two.</p>
<p>Even including the +/- effect, it means that you can afford a few if you don’t have too many A-'s. And don’t forget that law school admissions includes A+'s.</p>
<p>A 3.8 is sufficient to put one in consideration at all the top law schools. </p>
<p>I don’t really appreciate the notion of grade-grubbing in college, though. Find something that intellectually excites you and pursue it.</p>