I know I'm ahead of myself ... but humor me :D

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi guys ... I know I'm about to cause an all-round groan because I'm only a rising Junior, but I really want to make sure I'm doing all the right stuff to get into a top law school (preferably Penn, NYU, Northwestern, UChicago, although I can't say I'd turn town Harvard or Yale either, heh). </p>

<p>I'm a Political Science/History major at Northwestern. So far I have a cum. GPA of 3.66 but that should be up to a 3.7 by the end of this year (I still have another 3 weeks of school, boo quarter system). </p>

<p>I interned at a small Dallas law firm last summer doing mostly clerical work. This summer I have an internship at the NU Law School Legal Clinic's Center on Wrongful Convictions where I will be doing research.</p>

<p>Assuming I keep my GPA at or slightly above a 3.7, which is very likely, what sort of LSAT scores do I need? Specifically for Penn and Northwestern. I know Northwestern doesn't like to take kids straight out of undergrad, but I don't want to take off any time in between unless I absolutely have to. What schools are known for taking a high proportion of their incoming class straight out of undergrad?</p>

<p>FYI, I'm fluent in Spanish and French, and will have taken 3 years of Portuguese and 2 years of German upon graduation. I also grew up in Mexico, if that makes any difference (I'm an American citizen though). I'm interested in immigration and criminal law (but I also want to be able to pay off my huuuge law school debts so I will definitely want to go into some lucrative area of law at least for a few years -- I heard this was fairly common).</p>

<p>Suggestions???</p>

2

<p>For Penn, your GPA is just about at the median (their's is 3.68). Their median LSAT is 169 or 170. So you should hope to score above that to have a great shot. If you score at median, of course, your chances are good as well. However, don't expect an admit from NU--I believe only 20% of their latest class was admitted out of undergrad.</p>

3

<p>Penn's LSAT Quartiles are 167-171. Their mean would appear to be around 169. Their GPA Quartiles are 3.47-3.84, so your current GPA is almost exactly in the middle of that range (3.655). Unless you have race on your side -- and it's racial/ethnic makeup, not citizenship or background, that matters -- then you should aim for the middle of their range, or approximately 170.</p>

4

<p>To clarify, I wasn't suggesting that growing up in Mexico gave me some kind of URM status. I know it helped me get in to a top undergrad school as a sort of 'hook' factor, I wasn't sure if it would also help with law school. I'm assuming not >.<</p>

5

<p>Lawschoolnumbers.com, look up the graphs.</p>