<p>Hello.</p>
<p>I feel a bit like I have wasted four years by not doing my best academically. I have a 3.3 at an Ivy but I realize that will probably not get me into an Ivy Law School.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me realistically what my options are at this point? I have not taken the LSAT. I do realize that in terms of financial aid and scholarships I am probably out in the cold.</p>
<p>I have always made in the 99th percentile on standardized testing so not sure the LSAT would be a whole lot different.</p>
<p>I feel like a slacker now who blew a great opportunity -- but have decided on law school, maybe a couple of years too late.</p>
<p>Advice, direction and help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>1) The LSAT is most unlike any standardized test you’ve already taken. It’s generally considered one of the most difficult standardized tests, far superior in rigor when compared to the SAT/ACT, and even the GRE and GMAT. Having scored in the 99th percentile on prior tests is not indicative of how you’ll end up doing on the LSAT, though it’s good to know that you aren’t bad at test-taking as a matter of principle.</p>
<p>2) A 3.3 doesn’t lock you out of an “Ivy League” law school, though I’m unsure why you would prefer to attend an “Ivy League” law school over one that isn’t in the Ivy League. Schools like Chicago, Berkeley, NYU, and Stanford are superior to Cornell. Stanford, and arguably Chicago and NYU are superior to Penn. Stanford is superior to Columbia, and NYU and Chicago are arguably equivalent to it. Your aim shouldn’t be to get into an “Ivy League” law school; rather, it should be to get into the “best school you can get into,” which isn’t necessarily a school in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>3) Going on the “best school you can get into” metric, you are definitely locked out of Harvard, Stanford and Yale. With a 176+, you have a solid shot at Columbia. With a 174+, you have a solid shot at NYU and Chicago. A 172+ gives you a solid shot at Northwestern, UVA and Penn. A 171+ gives you a solid shot at Michigan and Duke. A 170+ gives you a solid shot at Georgetown. And a 169+ gives you a shot at Cornell.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree about the Ivy Status. A top law school would be fine.</p>
<p>I have decided to take a year off. Should I work on bringing up my GPA? It might conceivably possible to get it to a 3.6, however, I would take some business courses through a community college.</p>
<p>Also, I do have some community college credits that I have not factored into my Ivy GPA. I was not sure this would be a favored course of action but 16 hours of “A” might help a bit with my current GPA.</p>
<p>Would you know how a law school would look at this if say I had a 3.4 to a low 3.5 (if I get all A’s going forward now) and then I could add in my 16 hours of community college business school A’s?</p>
<p>From looking at the Columbia grades and NYU grades I feel like both would be an incredible stretch for me, now. I think if I do as good as possible this year which means an overall 3.55 and add in the community college A’s that I already have I am really at 3.5 and just do not see how I could get to 3.6 with what I have.</p>
<p>I do understand Stanford is OUT of the question. I can live with that. I am feeling a great deal of regret that I was not more on top of things for my sophomore year although I always had signficant internships (and a social life). </p>
<p>I was never a study machine.</p>
<p>Just curious, will I get a bump at all for an Ivy undergrad? Or any top school such as Univ. of Chicago.</p>
<p>In your case, thanks to your Ivy status, a very high LSAT is doubly important. It will be a positive factor in and of itself as well as an explanation for a somewhat lower GPA. Basically, Ivy status means that if you have a low GPA, you can “shift” some emphasis over to the LSAT.</p>
<p>Thank you Blue Devil.</p>
<p>Do you have an insight on factoring in my community college hours with my Ivy? Or should I just leave them out? I know Ivy’s have had a reputation for grade inflation but I have not found that to be the case.</p>
<p>You don’t have the option of leaving them out, so they’ll be included. LSAC stops after you receive your first bachelor’s degree, so no ability to pad GPA that way.</p>
<p>Oh, that’s good to know. Is there any way to ‘pad’ a GPA?</p>
<p>I see what you mean about not leaving them out but would they be discounted by the law school?</p>
<p>Also, I could take some community college ‘online courses’ over Christmas and snare a couple of “A’s” but would that have an impact? I know it could bump up my gpa a bit — and possibly just the bit I need to almost hit a 3.6. </p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>The system is built to try to discourage GPA padding, but of course it’s not a perfect system. I strongly discourage taking joke options like that. Law schools are likely to focus on the reported LSAC GPA rather than a detailed examination.</p>