<p>Hello everyone. I am a pretty smart kid, but no Ivy League quality (though I will be applying to a few). I am mostly shooting for good private universities (BU and NYU mostly), but I am also looking at "different" ones (The New School).</p>
<p>I am a dedicated student and I will work my butt off for a good GPA/LSAT score. Would going to a college like the New School or even BU/NYU give me a disadvantage compared to Ivy League/Top 20 kids even if I have a great GPA/LSAT/others?</p>
<p>No.
Law Schools don’t really care about your undergrad. Focus on 3.7-4.0 GPA. and a 165+ LSAT.
Don’t go to law school unless its Teir 1 or top 14 in my opinion. This economy is very bad for legal profession. Do your best for a 4.0. Dont be hindered by your undergrad.
Study logic, read articles from tough academic journals and journals such as The Economist to improve your reading comprehension and take easy classes for a 4.0</p>
<p>I agree with the previous comment on all grounds except for the part about taking easy classes to earn a 4.0. Law schools look at your GPA, then they look at what your major was and what classes you took. If you have a 4.0 GPA but were a Legal Studies, Criminal Justice, or Basketweaving major and didn’t take hard classes, they won’t like you. But if you have a 3.3 GPA and were a Physics major, it’ll be just fine. They like to see that ambiguous “rigorous course schedule” when looking at your GPA.</p>
<p>Having a 3.3 GPA from any major will take you out of the running at several law schools (and will make admission to most of the top ones an uphill battle). While such a GPA might receive a modest admissions bump through a more rigorous major, it in no way will ever match up to a 4.0 from legal studies and other similarly easy disciplines. In fact, all things being equal, the 4.0 will have a better shot at any law school.</p>
<p>Additionally, law schools favor high GPA applicants because admitting such applicants boosts their U.S. News and World Report ranking. While they might frown a bit if your class load is too easy, it is much better to have a high GPA and easy classes than a significantly lower GPA and a challenging course load. Law schools care about their rankings first and foremost; all other considerations are a distant second.</p>
<p>I think not going to an Ivy League school helps your chances.</p>
<p>I’m a rising senior at Yale (taking time off) and I’m pretty much out of the running for a T14 with my 3.4 in Philosophy. I should have majored in History if I had known that GPA matters as much as it does. Fortunately, I know the dean of Yale College fairly well and could perhaps have her write a recommendation for me. </p>
<p>Thing is: I think I might want to go to law school but I sure as hell do not want to go into law as a profession. Or maybe I simply do not know enough about careers in law. (But if careers in law are anything like my sister in law, I won’t like them.)</p>
<p>“I’m a rising senior at Yale (taking time off) and I’m pretty much out of the running for a T14 with my 3.4 in Philosophy. I should have majored in History if I had known that GPA matters as much as it does. Fortunately, I know the dean of Yale College fairly well and could perhaps have her write a recommendation for me.”</p>
<p>Law school admissions are much more LSAT-centric than GPA. With GPA around 3.4 and 170+ LSAT, you stand a solid shot of getting a low end T14. But, any kid with 4.0 GPA and 165 LSAT, you’d need a URM status to get in…</p>
<p>“Thing is: I think I might want to go to law school but I sure as hell do not want to go into law as a profession.”</p>
<p>Why would you want to go to law school if you don’t intend to practice law… You are essentially throwing out 200k on school tuition to get a job that you can get w/o a JD.</p>
<p>“Law school admissions are much more LSAT-centric than GPA. With GPA around 3.4 and 170+ LSAT, you stand a solid shot of getting a low end T14. But, any kid with 4.0 GPA and 165 LSAT, you’d need a URM status to get in…”</p>
<p>I didn’t go to Yale and knew several classmates with GPAs at your level and lower who managed to get into T14 law schools. </p>
<p>In fact, one classmate ended up at Georgetown with far less than a 3.4…and she wasn’t a URM. </p>
<p>In fact, if you took time off for something big, that could be made into a compelling personal statement which could greatly enhance your application. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you’re not sure about a legal career, do a law firm internship and/or work as a paralegal before going to law school.</p>
<p>“Law school admissions are much more LSAT-centric than GPA. With GPA around 3.4 and 170+ LSAT, you stand a solid shot of getting a low end T14. But, any kid with 4.0 GPA and 165 LSAT, you’d need a URM status to get in…”</p>
<p>Not true. 4.0 165 is pretty much a slam dunk at Cornell and has a shot from Penn down.</p>
<p>“How about a 3.65 GPA at NYU’s Stern School of Business with a 168 LSAT score?”</p>
<p>LSAT is for law school. You take GMAT for business school.</p>
<p>“Not true. 4.0 165 is pretty much a slam dunk at Cornell and has a shot from Penn down.”</p>
<p>I talked w/ an admissions counselor at Cornell Law, cuz I go to Cornell. He specifically told me that the school rarely accepts any sup-par LSAT scorers even with very high GPA, on the other hand, accepting candidates with ok-ish GPA with 170ish LSAT is quite common at many top law schools. Many of the people I’ve talked to, who are in law school now, would confirm this… And no matter how high your GPA is, 165 LSAT ain’t slam dunk for any T14 school. (you can maybe count on getting in at low tier T14, barely, by using early decision route at lower T14)</p>
<p>^^^ to the above. You have a possibility at Cornell but not a lock. You are probably looking at schools ranked 15-20 at sticker and schools ranked lower with some money.</p>