<p>I am applying for law school admissions in 2013. What is the relative importance (in percentage factoring into admissions decision) of these areas: LSAT, GPA and difficulty of undergrad school, personal statement, letters of recommendation, work experience. I don't have any publications or impressive extracurriculars so would like to rule those out. My understanding (mostly based on other posts found online) is that it is about LSAT (60%), GPA and difficulty of undergrad school (20%), personal statement and work experience (15%), letters of recommendation (5%). Any thoughts? Anybody find other posts online that have good analysis?</p>
<p>I would like to get into a top 30 school. I did my undergrad at Stanford. My practice LSAT range is around 170-175, undergrad GPA was 3.2 in electrical engineering, and have 5 years industry experience. My GPA is rather low, but I guess they might factor in the engineering curriculum difficulty level. Any advice on my chances? </p>
<p>Also what schools offer the most financial aid? What are my chances of getting some funding given my statistics? I would like at least $20k to be covered in financial aid. Not sure if it matters, but I would probably be most interested in patent, intellectual property, or corporate law.</p>
<p>I have seen law school numbers. I guess to be more specific, I would like advice on my chances at these schools: UPenn, Northwestern, Cornell, Georgetown, Washington University in St. Louis, UC Davis. I heard that these schools also give more financial aid so I would like to factor that in.</p>
<p>With the exception of Northwestern, the schools you’re considering probably put 95% of the weight on LSAT and GPA. Your personal statement and letters of recommendation would likely only matter if either was so bad to give them serious concern. Your work experience will help marginally–that’s the missing 5%.</p>
<p>Northwestern puts much more weight on work experience.</p>
<p>LSN will really be your best bet for relatively accurate chances.</p>
<p>Larry25 Here is my take from what I have seen:</p>
<p>LSAT, This depends on the school. Certainly it is worth at least 50% and in many school can be as much as 75% or more. Do a search for “law school predictor.” It is well known that a sterling LSAT but a mediocre GPA such as a 3.2, will still get you into a very decent law school and probably a top 20 school. A sterling GPA, such as a 4.0 and mediocre LSAT, will get you into a mid tier law school at best, if you are lucky!</p>
<p>GPA: Only undergrad GPA counts. Say that five times. Generally it is worth between 25% and 50% of the admission process.</p>
<p>and difficulty of undergrad school: Generally this doesn’t count for much, if it even counts at all. I would say less than 2%.</p>
<p>personal statement: This can count for applicants who are on the fence. It won’t overcome a bad GPA or bad LSAT. However, if you are close, it can make a difference.</p>
<p>letters of recommendation, Unless from President Obama, probably worthless. Everyone gets sterling recommendations.</p>
<p>work experience. Again, almost worthless. In fact, it may surprise you to know that even work experience at law firms don’t count for much.</p>
<p>As a lawyer from a top school, I would advise you not to go to law school. You have a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford. Why would you want to go to law school, and spend three years, and all that money doing it? And borrow money to boot !!! There is a vast oversupply of lawyers out there. </p>
<p>My advice to you would to get a job in engineering, and perhaps one day go for an MBA, or get an MBA at night.</p>
<p>"As a lawyer from a top school, I would advise you not to go to law school. You have a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford. Why would you want to go to law school, and spend three years, and all that money doing it? And borrow money to boot !!! There is a vast oversupply of lawyers out there. </p>
<p>My advice to you would to get a job in engineering, and perhaps one day go for an MBA, or get an MBA at night."</p>
<p>Unfortunately, even new law school grads with engineering degrees are having difficulty landing IP positions these days. No sector of the law is being spared the grief. If one were looking only at today’s market for new grads one could be shocked into rethinking whether to go into law. Even those at T14s in upper half of class are having trouble. </p>
<p>However, what you also have now is that law school applications have plummetted, this year saw a 15% drop from last year. Also many who cannot get employment are turning to different career paths and a lot of those may never return to the law. Moreover there will be a lot of baby boom lawyers retiring over the next ten and more years. In other words, assuming economy eventually improves, someone applying for law school to begin in 2013 and graduate in 2016 might see a very different kind of employment market than the one that exists today.</p>
<p>Hello, I have always wanted to go to law school. I did my BA in Philosophy but my GPA was not that good. I have been in the professional world for 10 years including multiple military deployments and two Master’s Degrees with outstanding GPAs. I know to weigh candidates schools take into account LSATs and Undergrad GPAs because these are common denominators. Will my poorly focused undergrad GPA kill me when applying??? If I kill the LSATs do I have a shot??? My goal is to continue to work in the government for international law.</p>