<p>I have a ~3.63 from Columbia University undergrad with a double-major in Econ-Math and History and a double-minor in Religion and Philosophy. I have also been working ~15-20 hours a week since my freshman year of college (New York Center for Psychotherapy). I have a 177 LSAT score and am looking to apply at the top law schools. I still have 3 more semesters to pull that 3.63 up (i'm finished with my hard econ-math classes and tend to do MUCH better in religion/philosophy/history). How does it look for me? </p>
<p>I am considering taking a year off since Columbia undergrad is so cut-throat and I want a break from it before diving back in. Is this a good idea?</p>
<p>with your lsat score you're probably getting in everywhere except HYS. you have 3 semesters left, so you'll probably get your GPA up to at least a 3.7, and then you'll be more competitive at Harvard. if you take a year off make sure you're doing something productive. law schools will want an explanation if you take a year off to do absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>I think I might have been still drunk there. You have one semester left that counts, but you can still get your GPA up to a 3.7, probably. With a 177 it doesn't really matter.</p>
<p>Well, if I take a year off, then don't I actually have all 3 semesters to make my GPA much better? I actually just received an A+ (4.33) this morning, which should pull up my GPA significantly the next time my cumulative is refreshed...</p>
<p>Since I'm already done with my Econ-Math major, would it be better for me to just take the most ridiculously easy classes and try to get A+'s for the rest of my stay at Columbia or should I continue with challenging courses and get A-'s/B+'s? (The problem is that a lot of the challenging classes have STRICT bell curves, making solid A's very difficult. To get an A instead of an A-, you would have to dedicate an extra ~10 hours weekly per class which, frankly, I don't have the time for. Also, an A on the final is a must, which means no life for 3 weeks before finals--I actually stayed in my room for 9 days without leaving once. But the easier classes require almost no work except during mid-term/term paper/finals time and the A is much more easily attainable. Since law schools don't discriminate between the classes, wouldn't it be better for me to take the easy classes? But I don't think I could live with myself if I settled for that since I AM taking out heavy loans and should take advantage of the education instead of just taking the easy road. Maybe I just need to find a good balance.....)</p>
<p>Sorry about that incredibly long and unnecessary tangent--------------catharsis.</p>
<p>Honestly, in terms of law school admissions, it's probably better to take easy classes the rest of the time you're in college. I personally tried to take some easy classes and some interesting difficult classes each semester, that way you don't feel like a total waste of life, but you aren't ruining your GPA for the sake of an education. Your numbers are almost identical to mine (3.64, 175). I guess it would be advantageous to wait a year and get your grades as high as possible, but with the numbers you have, you're probably going to get into almost every school to which you apply, with the exception of HYS, unless you do something horribly wrong on your applications. If you want a break for your mental health, that's also understandable. Either way, you're an extremely competitive applicant, so I wouldn't worry too much.</p>
<p>what sounds like an easy course, or a "guaranteed A" may turn out not to be. Professors aren't idiots and they don't feel obligated just to pass along a high grade. I've heard many stories from kids who take that interesting sounding music course or other elective- that they had to work extremely hard to get their B+. In fact my d often had to work harder in her electives than in her major, as she had less background in the subject area of the elective course.
take a class, cause you want to learn something about the subject matter- not cause you want it to boost your GPA.
a 3.6+ with a 177 LSAT is not going to keep you out of any school. The chance of getting an acceptance to HYS is not a sure thing for anybody.</p>
<p>IMO- I would tell you to think about completing your UG degree, keep your senior year grades up. (though a 3.6 is totally fine too) and then take a break. You can then apply in the fall right after graduation for the following year of law school. This way the law school has your entire 4 year gpa to consider and you may get a further boost with 1 year work experience. Just to take a year off now, may not be the best course of action, unless you really need it for emotional/mental health purposes. Also- if you do take that leave of absence, you may not be covered for health insurance if you are under your parents health plan.</p>
<p>Personally- I think with a 177 LSAT and a 3.6 +GPA UG degree from Columbia, you're "golden" and you will get several acceptances into a top 6 school. </p>
<p>spanks- congrats to you on your lsat!! I hope all your applications are in, and you only have good news during the next few months.<br>
ps- restaurants start taking graduation reservations in January- so if family is coming to Ithaca for graduation, you may want to start getting those reservations now.</p>
<p>Thanks, marny! I got my applications in about a month ago, so now I'm just waiting. I've only heard back from Georgetown (acceptance) so far. </p>
<p>That's good to know about the restaurant reservations. My parents got a hotel room 3 and a half years ago but we have not made restaurant reservations. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>congrats on Georgetown. I'm sure the first acceptance is a major joy and a relief at the same time.
check out Taughanauk (?) Farms. It's a guest house and restaurant. We had a really nice dinner there- and it was reasonably priced. They didn't jag up the prices for graduation (unlike the hotels).</p>