First Time Poster

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hello All,</p>

<p>I was surfing through the web, doing my daily "Law School Search" like a crazy person, and I stumbled across this website. I was pleased to see a forum full of likeminded individuals, ranging from undergrads to high school-ers to law students, all helping each other out. So here I am to join, ask for help and possibly give some in the future!</p>

<p>Now, for the meat and potatoes of my post:</p>

<p>I am currently a Junior undergrad, double majoring in Political Science and Economics, with hopes of being an attorney. I've come here to ask you guys if it is even a remote possibility of my getting into a Top Tier (preferably T14, obviously) school, with my credentials, listed below:</p>

<p>Major(s): Political Science and Economics. Also, my school has an Honors College which I am part of, and will graduate from, in Spring of 2011 (with my 2 BA's).
GPA: 3.77
School: University of South Florida
LSAT: Haven't taken yet, but I am extremely good at standardized tests, and a practice LSAT posted at 169. </p>

<p>Other things that I've seen might help/hinder me:</p>

<p>First Generation American in a family of Cuban immigrants.
Pretty young (18 years old, technically a "senior" with 110 credits).
Plenty of volunteer experience in HS, not much in College.</p>

<p>With that being said, what do you think my chances are for a T14 school? I've heard that my ethinicty might be important, but I'm not banking on that in the least...though anything helps!</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any assistance, and hope you all have a great night/day!</p>

<p>JLima2</p>

2

<p>Your numbers are fine for a T14, and likely a T10. Your age might hold you back, though. For that, I recommend doing some substantive work after graduating from college and before applying to law school. Don’t believe me?</p>

<p>[LSN</a> :: donbarzini](<a href=“donbarzini | Law School Numbers”>donbarzini | Law School Numbers)</p>

<p>A first time practice score of 169 is great. With some solid practice, you should be able to attain a 173+. This will give you a serious shot at the top 6. 178-180 range and you’re looking at at least one of HYS, and if not those, you’ll get substantial scholarship money from a T6.</p>

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<p>That site is very useful, OP just be sure to apply to atleast 4-5 schools. You will get in atleast 1 all of them do not have to be T14. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that guys stats are from 2004, admissions may have loosened up.</p>

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<p>No concrete data but from what I’ve seen I would argue the contrary: this cycle has been significantly more competitive than cycles of the past few years. </p>

<p>With a ~3.8 and a 170+ you will definitely make it into a T14. </p>

<p>Like flowerhead said however, your age can be a detrimental factor. With your GPA you should be able to find substantial work experience, and doing something like that for a few years would GREATLY boost your chances. Something like TFA even would give you a huge advantage in a few years.</p>

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<p>Hello again everyone, thanks for your quick and helpful answers. Much appreciated!</p>

<p>How big of a hindrance is my age? I was dead-set on graduating and going straight to Law School, not working or volunteering or anything. I’ve seen people who “wait”, and end up never going. That one link you posted, Flower, scared the crap out of me. That was an amazing application, yet he was turned down! </p>

<p>Could it be that something more than just age stopped him? Maybe a felony conviction? Haha…just hoping!</p>

<p>JLima2</p>

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<p>Nah, Barzini was pretty normal for a law school applicant, aside from age. </p>

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<p>That’s probably a good thing.</p>

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<p>Why would that be a good thing? Keep the Lawyer market from becoming (more) over-saturated? </p>

<p>So basically, despite my application having good numbers, and lets say I theoretically score a 178, which is pretty unrealistic, I am prone to get the same amount of T14 rejections as Barzini? That’s depressing. I would think being this far along my academic career at a young age would fare well for my application.</p>

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<p>That’s one way of looking at it. Another way is that most people who go into law do it with little reflection, and that a few years off gives them some perspective and a finer understanding of what they want to do in life. That said, I think the majority of top law students take at least a year off after college, so it’s not as if you won’t go to law school if you do the same. Moreover, the notion that you will somehow not go to law school after taking time off because others around you haven’t is pretty silly to me. </p>

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<p>There’s no harm in applying. If you get rejected, you can apply with your same stats a few years later (though I’m pretty sure there’s a time limit on the LSAT score–cannot remember what it is).</p>

<p>Intelligence is one component of submitting a successful application. Another component is maturity, intellectual and otherwise. This quality is, unfortunately, not at all coextensive with intelligence. And even more unfortunate for you, people at your age rarely possess it.</p>

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<p>It’s not so much that I am worried that I won’t want to go, I have been certain about law school for quite some time, it’s the fact that life doesn’t always coincide with what I want to do. Maybe a family member dies, maybe I get a job offer I can’t refuse, maybe the sun turns off. Respectively morbid, unlikely and just plain stupid, but I hope my point comes across.</p>

<p>Speaking of silly notions, it’s silly that law school applicant readers, be they deans or members of some board, cast me off as being emotionally, intellectually or professionally immature without meeting me, knowing about me off paper, or taking into account my stats; all because the majority of people my age are immature. Maybe they should excercise some maturity in judgement before casting it on me, or anyone else in my position.</p>

<p>Either way, I’m going to go froward with my plans of taking the LSAT and applying this Fall, and just hope for the best. I’ve been going through some numbers and applications, and under-represented minorities do seem to have much wiggle room. It’s so incredibly stupid that because I’m brown, I have a better or worse chance, but if there is a remote possibility that I would be rejected because of my age, I could care less: here comes the race card.</p>

<p>JLima2</p>

10

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<p>The mere quantity of applications to top law schools means that law schools, unfortunately, have to make some rash generalizations. The same argument can be made from an applicant with a 140, saying that the LSAT does not adequately determine his or her ability to succeed as a lawyer or in law school. Again, law schools would be similarly unreceptive to such an argument, though they are probably a little more receptive to proof of intellectual maturity. The onus to prove that, however, falls on you.</p>

<p>Regarding intellectual maturity, let’s just say that you’re not exactly the most impartial source for determining whether your possess it. Admittedly, neither are we. However, the odds are stacked against you.</p>

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<p>Adcoms were undoubtedly aware of his countless, ridiculously juvenile posts on XO, which could easily have hurt his chances. He also tended to make things up, so it’s entirely possibly he lied about the score. I wouldn’t say he’s proof that no 19-year-old can get into a top school. Though it is the case that they’re going to face tougher odds.</p>

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<p>Something can always come up, and plans can always change, but it doesn’t mean you should make an ill-advised decision to apply to law school rather than waiting until you would have a better chance. And frankly, I think adcoms will realize that you either didn’t seek out advice, or were probably advised to wait and went ahead anyway, neither of which indicates a great deal of maturity.</p>

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<p>1) If the death of the family member would hypothetically be serious enough to prevent you from going to law school, would you still want to be in law school when this happened? </p>

<p>2) If the sun turns off, I think you’ll have bigger problems than law school. </p>

<p>3) If a job offer comes up that “you can’t refuse”, assuming that you’re a rational human-being, the reason you can’t refuse it is because the opportunity cost of accepting that job (the payoff of going to law school) is less than the opportunity cost of attending law school (the payoff of the job)-- in essence, accepting the job is more beneficial than going to law school. </p>

<p>You just said the equivalent of “I’ve wanted to be a Congressman all my life, so I should run in 2006 because if I don’t I might become President in 2008 and then not be able to leave that to be a Congressman in 2010.” </p>

<p>Further, the fact that you know you want to go to law school because you’ve been certain for a long time seems to be begging the question a bit, doesn’t it? </p>

<p>I think what flowerhead is getting at is that there is no harm in taking a few years off to see what’s out there in the rest of the world, especially since you are 19 and haven’t had the same experiences as a 22 year old out of college (or more specifically a 25 year old, which I believe was the average age of a 1L at Yale this year).</p>