Law Schools... Where to Begin?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I am a University of Pittsburgh sophomore, and have absolutely no idea where to begin with the law school admissions process.</p>

<p>I'm taking a challenging course load, and have a high (3.87) GPA.</p>

<p>I'm a dual political science and creative writing major.</p>

<p>I've done some pretty interesting summer jobs (last year I interned in (PA) Governor Rendell's executive office, and this summer I'm interning in (PA) Senator Casey's Washington, DC office.</p>

<p>I'm on my way to earning a bachelor in philosophy in political science. This is supposed to be a prestigious degree.</p>

<p>I know that Pitt isn't the most awe-inspiring university in the country, but assuming I do well (~170) on the LSAT and keep my GPA around 3.8-3.9, would I have a good chance at getting into a top-ten law school (like UPenn?)</p>

<p>Your feedback is appreciated.</p>

2

<p>The degree is pretty standard, the work experience the norm in a place like Penn, and your GPA and a 170 LSAT put you right in the hunt. Carpet-bomb the T-14 with applications, and unless you write them in Crayon you should come away with some hits.</p>

3

<p>It will largely come down to your LSAT score. (Assuming that you’ll get ~170 is kind of like assuming that a baby will grow up to be ~6’5". The median score for people graduaring from Harvard is 166.)</p>

4

<p>just to give you some ideas…take a look at [LSAC.org</a> Homepage](<a href=“http://www.lsac.org%5DLSAC.org”>http://www.lsac.org). It will explain a lot about the process. You can also download a sample LSAT there. Take it under timed conditions to give yourself an idea of how well you will do on the LSAT. Yes, you can raise your score with studying, but this will give you some idea of how reaonable it is to assume you’ll get a 170 or more. Plug in your gpa and the practice LSAT score into the search available there and you’ll get a better idea of your odds. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>Keep your GPA up and start studying for the LSAT. With your GPA and a 170 you’ll be competitive at all T14s. With a 175 yo’re pretty much guaranteed in at most of them. </p>

<p>The LSAT is a learnable test and there’s no reason to assume you can’t score a 170+ given enough time and effort. I suggest taking a practice test right now and see how far you have to go.</p>

6

<p>Your school offers a detailed pre-law planning guide:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.careers.pitt.edu/resources/pdf/prelawplanner.pdf[/url]”>Request Rejected;

<p>And you’ll note on the intro page there is info. on the Pre Law advising office in the Career Services Office.</p>

<p>They can give you info. on where students got in with similar stats like the ones you have/hope to have. Be sure to take advantage of this resource!</p>

7

<p>

Well other than the fact that 98% of test-takers, many of whom are very intelligent and studied very hard, can’t do it.</p>

<p>Look, take a sample test online and see how it goes. Once we’ve got a ballpark, we can advise you better.</p>

8

<p>does Penn law offer ED? if it does, try that.</p>

<p>P.S. my grandma lives in upper saint clair.</p>

<p>and i wish i went to Pitt.</p>

9

<p>There is ED at Penn, but you will still need a high enough LSAT score to get in. A 170/3.9 would give you very good chances at Penn. If you wind up scoring that high, it would be in your best interest to apply RD because of scholarship money.</p>