<p>I apologize for adding to the numerous "does the rank of the school matter" threads, but they all seem to deal with choosing between some top-ranked and lower ranking schools. I have already made that decision and am currently attending a state university: University of Delaware. I had the opportunity to attend some top-10 undergrad schools but had to take into account financial considerations (and I love it in Delaware).</p>
<p>My question: What are my chances at the top law schools? Will the ranking of my school hurt my shot?</p>
<p>I'll probably end up with about a 3.85-3.9 GPA and I recently took a practice LSAT cold (had not seen the test or kinds of problems before) and scored a 172. So, I'm hoping I can pull that number up a little. </p>
<p>I have heard of people with similar stats get into top schools... but they always semm to be from top undergrads. I'm just looking to get a measure of where I stand.</p>
<p>You UG isn't going to matter. Just try to get the best grades and LSAT score you can. There's really nothing anybody can tell you until you have an actual score.</p>
<p>"I'll probably end up with about a 3.85-3.9 GPA and I recently took a practice LSAT cold (had not seen the test or kinds of problems before) and scored a 172. So, I'm hoping I can pull that number up a little."</p>
<p>With a 3.85 and a 172 (let's call it "worst case," although clearly it isn't), you can legitimately apply to every top law school out there, and you'll have a strong chance at most of them (mostly meaning that for you, it shouldn't be any more of a toss-up than for others). With a 3.7 and a 170, you could still apply and probably make out well. You're predicting very optimistically, but the point is, you certainly have the potential to do well, and going to Delaware won't change that.</p>
<p>I was at a T14 admit weekend last week where I met students from Rutgers, UW-Madison, Kansas State, and UCSB, just to name a few respectable, but non-Ivy, non-Berkeley/Michigan undergrads.</p>
<p>"You UG isn't going to matter. Just try to get the best grades and LSAT score you can. There's really nothing anybody can tell you until you have an actual score."</p>
<p>It does matter. There is one student from U Dalaware in YLS and none in HLS.</p>
<p>college2go -- We all have the stats. Without knowing how many applied, what their stats were, and how those stats compared to the admits from other schools, there's no conclusive argument there. Delaware is a respectable school, and a 3.9/172 (going on the OP's dangerous but nonetheless illustrative assumption) is going to override any undergrad name-value that might or might not be an issue.</p>
<p>There have been a number of recent threads about whether or not undergrad matters and your point has been well-debated. No one's saying "Yes, Delaware will feed you straight into HLS." Basically, what's being said is that if you do well enough there, it won't keep you out.</p>
<p>Excuse me ... T14? Would someone please uncode for me. </p>
<p>Thanks! </p>
<p>Zebes, whose S will be a freshman at a large state school, and I'm trying to learn all I can about Law School admissions before he needs to apply. :)</p>
<p>t14=U.S. News and World Report's top 14 law schools. Places like Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Georgetown, Upenn, etc. The general consensus is that unless you a) come from money b) get a scholarship at a sub-t14 school c) are absoultely committed to work ONLY in the region of your sub t14 school or d)work as a public defender or in small practice, a law school below the "top 14" is a very risky venture.</p>
<p>That is to say, the top 14 are in a class by themselves. A degree from any one of them practically ensures a very lucrative career.</p>
<p>oh, and blue hen...the sky's the limit. Really. Providing your score wasn't a fluke or freak accident or something and you keep your grades up, you are in unbelievably good shape. I have never heard of anyone breaking 170 on their first LSAT diagnostic. I've heard of people scoring mid 160's, but that's it. Those people usually go on to get 175's or so on the real deal. So yeah, you're a genius.</p>
<p>"The general consensus is that unless you a) come from money b) get a scholarship at a sub-t14 school c) are absoultely committed to work ONLY in the region of your sub t14 school or d)work as a public defender or in small practice, a law school below the "top 14" is a very risky venture."</p>
<p>I'd characterize this as an exageration rather than the "general consensus."</p>
<p>The opportunities one has after law school depend on a number of factors, including (among others) the reputation of the school, law school grades, law review membership, work experience, and other academic background. An electrical engineer who earns a law degree from a second tier law school may have more job opportunities after graduation than an art history major who barely graduated from Harvard.</p>
<p>It is true, though, that the legal profession is more hierarchical than most, and that the status of a practitioner's law school alma mater plays an outsized role in determining her/her place in the hierarcy, particularly in the first few years after graduation.</p>