<p>I started off my undergrad as an engineering major so my GPA has fallen down to a 3.3 this sophomore year. Back in Freshman year, I had a 3.8. I currently go to Cornell.</p>
<p>Let's assume I get a perfect LSAT, or a near-perfect LSAT. I'm pretty good with tests like this because I had a near-perfect SAT, so I feel I can make a high LSAT as well. What are my chances of making it into a top-tier Law school, like Georgetown or even Cornell? I know Yale and Harvard are out of the running because my GPA isn't acceptable for those guys.</p>
<p>I def. get what you're saying but, at this time, im wondering if I should forget about law school and move onto get an MBA instead or continue with engineering. What if I got a perfect LSAT?</p>
<p>You can still pull up your GPA. Not to be trite, but you should go into law because you enjoy it. However, assuming your GPA stays the same (which it doesn't have to, you can increase it) then getting a perfect LSAT would likely guarantee (or come close to) admission into a T14.</p>
<p>When I was at Cornell a few decades back, the career center had information it provided to students about recent graduates' GPAs, LSAT scores, and results from law school admissions committees. If they still do, you're likely to find more concrete information there than you will here.</p>
<p>The good folks at the career center might also help you sort through the questions you have about what you'd like to do after school. You're describing three very different paths right now (focus on business management? engineering? law?), and they're good at helping people sort through these options.</p>
<p>By the way, if you're thinking about doing patent law (a popular choice for people with engineering degrees), it's not likely to matter all that much how highly your future law school is rated by people who take surveys of such things.</p>
<p>You don't even need a 180, maybe early 170+s.</p>
<p>Also if you mean you got a 3.3 this year that's not that bad if you average everything in. If you mean 3.3 cumulative you can still bring it up.</p>
<p>Although don't get obsessed with what score you "need" before you take the LSAT, it will stress you out big-time and potentially affect your score. </p>
<p>It's not too late to bring up your GPA. This may sound cynical, but take more courses with professors who are known to to give higher grades. Really, law schools have no idea whether course X is a blow-off or a real challenge. Your UG transcript will be converted into a 1 page form by the LSDAS when you apply. It will show your converted standardized GPA, a progression by year to show trajectory (not semester), and credit hours. A lot of info is lost. Although some admissions offices may still see your full transcript, your LSAT and your standardized UGPA are the most important two numbers. Take fewer hours per semester if you can, don't worry about minoring (doesn't matter), and get the GPA at least to a 3.5 if you want a solid chance at a T14. </p>
<p>Also, the LSAT is very dissimilar to the SAT. Time pressure is far more intense and you can't just learn a lot of vocab and algebra and expect to do well. Prep hard, take a course, whatever it takes, you cannot underestimate its importance: a couple of points could mean the difference between your top choice with $$ and a waitlist at your safety. I'm a 1L now at HYS, so feel free to ask any questions . . .</p>
<p>wavebk,
Please just think about what type of career you'd like better. Don't worry so much about your odds based on a test. I had an average undergrad gpa & very high LSAT & I got in to a good law school. I attended school with some people who went into law because 'they didn't know what else to do' or something like that. They were not at all happy & didn't end up doing that well.</p>
<p>It's a big decision---don't let the odds re: tests or other factors govern. What do YOU love to do all day long? Would going to law school let you do this? Or would biz school? It's worth some thought. :-)</p>
<p>I think you're underestimating how difficult it is to get a perfect score...even a 170 is harder than I thought it would be. A near perfect score on the SAT in no way guarantees you a 180 or anything close to a 180. The SATs are mostly knowledge-based and are really not that difficult. The LSAT isn't "difficult" per se, but taking the time to study and really learn the test is much more important for the LSAT than for the SAT. I don't think you can just wing it and get a 170 or 180; nor do I think you should only rely on the LSAT (you still have time to fix your GPA, I screwed up freshman year then pulled straight As the last 4 semesters). Maybe I'm wrong, and you're really good at test-taking. If so, then good for you.</p>
<p>I agree with post #2. A near perfect SAT I probably suggests that you will score at least a 164/180 on the LSAT. Again, the best advice, in my opinion, is offered in post #2.</p>
<p>A near perfect SAT will guarantee this guy way more than a 164. A person with the perfect SAT should target the mid-170s with high potential of hitting the upper 170s. Not everyone who studies for the SAT can get a perfect score.</p>
<p>Just an addendum, but a 164 may be the 90th percentile but that's a pretty horrible score in the grand scheme of things and will eliminate the Top 14 unless the OP is a URM. </p>
<p>My predicted LSAT (using that equation in another thread) was a 169. I ended up pulling a 172 on the real deal. This is because I did not study for SAT at all but of course like everyone else I ended up studying for the LSAT. My first diagnostic was a 163, and my SAT was in the 1400s+ on the old scale (by no means a perfect sat).</p>
<p>The difference between the SAT and the LSAT is that with the SAT, you can wing it (not study a single thing) and easily get 1400s+ (out of 1600) if you are a decent test taker.</p>
<p>However to get past a 170 on the LSAT takes a couple months of study and dedication. You actually have to work on it.</p>
<p>Also, I know a couple of students who had diagnostics in the upper 150s but ended up still in the early 160s on the real LSAT. They are now going to Tier 2 law schools...</p>