<p>Background: I am a sophomore at William and Mary, but am graduating in 3 years with majors in government and philosophy. I currently have a 3.57 GPA; 3.63 first semester, 3.18 second semester (took some GER courses that I got screwed on), and 3.95 summer session this summer. I think it is probable that I will graduate with around a 3.65. I have taken practice LSATs, and score around 170, although I will take a prep class and hopefully will get that to around a 175+ (got a 1580 on SAT in high school so I do well on these tests). </p>
<p>To summarize
GPA: 3.57 now, ~3.65 upon graduation
LSAT: ~175</p>
<p>Questions</p>
<li>Where can I reasonably hope to get into, and is there a good site for tracking this? </li>
<li>Obviously GPA is what is holding me back, so what should I shoot for at minimum if I want to have as good a shot as possible at the top tier schools (Harvard, Yale, etc)</li>
<li>Does having a double major help? </li>
<li>Does graduating early help?</li>
<li>On transferring, is there a reason I should/shouldnt consider it? I am thinking about applying to transfer now, although I couldnt then graduate in 3 years if I did this.</li>
</ol>
<p>Bonus question: My plan right now is to apply after I graduate, and if I dont get into a top school then get a Masters and apply again. If this fails, then do Teach for America and try a 3rd and final time. Thanks for considering this, and hopefully this will help others as well as me.</p>
<ol>
<li> Don't assume the 175 LSAT. Five points is about half a standard deviation.<br></li>
<li> Look at lsac.org and their acceptance calculator.</li>
<li> Absent other info (where you want to practice, if you want merit aid, if you want to leave Virginia but return, if you want a school that is good for clerking), it's hard to say where you can get into.</li>
<li> Yes, GPA may hold you back, but a 3.65 is completely respectable. Consider spending another year to raise your GPA - space out your courseload and take some easier courses. W&M is known for grade deflation. On that subject, transfer because you want to, not because of law school.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>The best source is your own college. Ask if William & Mary has scattergrams showing where its alums were admitted and the median gpa/LSAT of W&M students/alums admitted to each law school. Barring that, try <a href="http://www.lsac.org%5B/url%5D">www.lsac.org</a>. and <a href="http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com%5B/url%5D">www.lawschoolnumbers.com</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>There is no cut-off at most LSs. Its the combination of LSAT/gpa that matters. The higher your LSAT, the lower GPA required. </p></li>
<li><p>No in your case. (It helps a smidge when the majors are wildly different, like Asian Studies and mechanical engineering.) </p></li>
<li><p>No. In fact, if anything, it hurts, especially if you got advanced standing through APs or college courses taken in high school. </p></li>
<li><p>At the top LSs, recs are important. Will you be able to get to know profs well if you transfer?</p></li>
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<p>BONUS: Courses taken after you get a BA/BS do NOT count in your LSDAS gpa.ONLY undergraduate courses will be factored into it. f If your gpa is low, it's better to spend more time as an UG and boost it than to graduate and take courses for a master's degree. Graduate degrees , especially master's, don't help much at all in terms of getting in. (Yes, lots of people have them. That's in part because some people have the credentials to get into top Ph.D. programs and then change their minds and quit with a master's. It's also because lots of academic stars get both degrees simultaneously. Another reason is that some students get foreign master's as Rhodes, Marshall, etc. scholars.) Teach for America does help a bit--certainly more than a master's does.</p>
<p>I had two very different majors (sort of like the ones Jonri described) and I'm not sure if it helped me very much. I think the only thing is that it can help an engineer to demonstrate writing and research ability.</p>
<p>Check out lawschoolnumbers.com. Check the results law school by law school for gpa and lsat scores. Will give you exactly the answer you are looking for.</p>