<p>I don’t claim to be an admissions officer either. I would suggest that the OP talk to the pre-law adviser at Dartmouth, who ought to know what (s)he is doing. But , frankly, I haven’t a clue as to why Anne’s niece’s experience is relevant. </p>
<p>Stanford is Stanford. Harvard is Harvard. It is quite common to get into one and not the other. From what I can figure out, they use different admissions models. Stanford emphasizes gpa. It ranks second among all US law schools in terms of median gpa. While the LSAT is a very important factor there, it is less important than it is at Harvard. Stanford’s median LSAT is SIXTH among US law schools. The median LSAT is 170. That at Harvard is 173. I don’t know when Anne’s niece was accepted, but the most recent stats on the admissions site show a 25th% LSAT of 167. So, if Anne’s niece had a 167 or better, as Mike said the admission isn’t really that startling. Moreover, the niece is female. While I can’t give you a citation to prove it, my impression is that the distribution of LSAT scores among females is somewhat different than that among males. It follows the distribution pattern on the SAT. Women “bunch.” Fewer women have really high scores and fewer women have really low scores. The end result is that IN THE AGGREGATE women at the very top law schools have slightly lower LSATs than their male classmates and slightly higher median GPAs than their male classmates. The niece’s “issue” was the LSAT. The OP’s “issue” is gpa. The niece’s master’s is in science. The OP’s would be in economics–one of the most common pre-law majors. Moreover, Yale and Stanford are known to weigh the soft factors more heavily than Harvard does.</p>
<p>Bottom line: I honestly don’t see why anyone would think that Anne’s niece’s experience getting into Stanford off the waiting list with a lowish (by Stanford stardards) LSAT is relevant to someone else getting into a different law school with a lowish (by Harvard standards) GPA. The fact that the niece got into Stanford with a LSAT below 170 and a master’s in science is not even anecdotal evidence for the argument that someone else will be more apt to get into Harvard with a master’s degree in economics than (s)he will if (s)he can raise his/her gpa above the 25th percentile. </p>
<p>For the Class of 2013 at Harvard Law School, the 25th percentile for gpa is 3.78. The OP is predicting an undergrad gpa of 3.79. There is a good chance that the current 3.78 will increase in the next two cycles, in which case, the OP’s gpa will fall either right at or below the 25th percentile. </p>
<p>Can I say that this will keep him/her out of Harvard? Of course not. I’m guessing. In this case, I think after reflection that it’s particularly important for the OP to talk to the pre-law advisor and ask to see the grids, which will show the range of gpa’s/LSATs of Dartmouth students admitted to Harvard Law. If HLS routinely dips somewhat lower into the class at Dartmouth gpa-wise , then maybe my advice is wrong. </p>
<p>But I also think there’s a good chance that the OP can arrange things at Dartmouth so that (s)he gets both degrees simultaneously. If (s)he can, then I think that’s probably the best path to take. </p>
<p>If not, then --while I agree with you that for every other purpose in the world it makes more sense to get a master’s–I suspect that when your gpa is right on the cusp of the 25th percentile for the current class, it’s more important to get your gpa safely above that unless the 25th % ile gpa accepted from Dartmouth and/or the median gpa of students accepted from Dartmouth is markedly different than those for the class as a whole. </p>
<p>We do know for a fact that the LSDAS gpa is frozen once that first bachelor’s degree is received. We also know that of the 3 top law schools, Harvard places the most emphasis on pure numbers. So for this particular candidate, I think boosting the gpa is more important than getting the master’s. </p>
<p>If the OP’s gpa were higher, I’d give different advice. I might give different advice if the OP had already taken the LSAT and had a sky high score. But with an unknown LSAT and a gpa just barely clearing the 25th percentile, I’d focus on boosting the gpa. </p>
<p>Again, I admit this is pure speculation on my part. But I hope that makes my reasoning clear.</p>