ehh..chances?

<p>I'm in my senior year at Cornell University (I transferred here), and I'm thinking of attending PSU Dickinson school of law. I haven't taken the LSAT yet, and my GPA is currently pretty high at 3.79. I'm taking a really tough class this semester that will definitely knock my GPA down a couple of notches (4 credits at C+ or B-). I saw that the avg. admission criteria for last years class was 3.30 and LSAT of 155. Despite what seems like pretty low averages, the entering class size was fairly small compared to the number of applicants.</p>

<p>I'm not necessarily expecting to get in on the name of my undergrad college alone, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt. Also, Penn State was one of the colleges that I attended (for a year) as an undergrad and I had a 3.98 GPA there. What do you think my chances might be of getting in (how concerned should I be when I apply that I WON'T get in?). What do you think is the bare minimum LSAT score that I need to have a shot? Any other help or advice is most appreciated.</p>

<p>Is there a reason why you want to attend PSU in particular? I mean, you have a 3.8 GPA from Cornell. If you get a 165+ on your LSAT, you have a shot at the Columbias and the Chicagos. With a 170+, I would say Yale and Harvard would be within your reach. You are obviously in at PSU, but unless you have a great reason for going there, I suggest you use PSU are your safety and take that 3.8 GPA for a spin!</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your advice-it makes me feel much better about applying to law school. As I said, I haven't taken the LSAT yet, so I'm not sure what I'd get (I'm not good at all at standardized tests-seriously!). I'll definitely see what I can do; I've had to work really hard to get where I am, so sometimes it's a little hard for me to believe that I'd use penn state as a safety. I will still apply to psu, but I'll look at others as well. Thanks again!</p>

<p>The LSAT is a test you can prepare for. You may not ace it, but the more you practice, the better you will do. But I cannot stress how impressive a 3.7+ GPA at Cornell is. Everybody knows how tough Cornell is. You probably have a guaranteed spot at Cornell's law school. But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Keep up your GPA and practice hard for your LSAT. Once you have your LSAT score, come back and we'll all give you some feedback.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I don't have any information on Cornell prelaw students specifically. But I do have information on Berkeley prelaws. I don't think there is a significant difference between Berkeley and Cornell prelaws.</p>

<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Law/lawStats.stm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.berkeley.edu/Law/lawStats.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>In 2003, the stats of the average Berkeley prelaw who got into Harvard Law was a GPA of 3.98 and an LSAT os 171. The stats of the average Berkeley prelaw who got into Yale Law was a GPA of 4.03 and an LSAT of 173 (you can get a GPA over 4 because LSDAS counts an A+ as worth 4.33 points). Columbia Law? 3.80 GPA and 170 LSAT. Chicago? 3.70 GPA and 170 LSAT.</p>

<p>I'd like a GPA like that, blaker :-). Good luck with law school and the LSAT.</p>