<p>Simply soliciting opinions on my chances at Harvard Law, Yale Law and Stanford Law. If you want to hazard a guess on my shot at Columbia or UPenn, I'd appreciate that, too. Thank you to everyone in advance.</p>
<p>My Stats:</p>
<p>Currently a rising senior at Harvard College; transferred to Harvard from Vanderbilt University for Fall 2006.
Economics concentrator at Harvard; History and Economics double major, mathematics minor at Vandy; Took mainly history classes during my Freshman and Sophomore years, which required a heavy load of reading and writing
GPA at Harvard: 3.66
GPA at Vanderbilt: 3.98
Predicted LSAT (based on several practice tests I have taken): 175-178
Involved in many activities ('soft factors')--particularly active as a writer for student newspapers both at Vandy and Harvard and in politically-oriented student groups
Have completed some unusual internships as well.</p>
<p>I know my GPA at Harvard is a tad low vis-a-vis the averages at HYS. I have a few questions on this point. Will my two undergraduate GPAs be averaged by LSDAS? Averaging would leave me with around a 3.9, which is much more in-line with the HYS median. Of course, the strongest component of this 3.9 would be from Vandy, not from Harvard, which could work against me. I know that statistically one's chances of getting into HLS from Harvard College are much higher than one's chances of getting in from most other undergraduate programs. What are your thoughts on how this will play out for me?</p>
<p>I slacked off most of my junior year (especially the second semester of it)--a result, I suppose, of being at a new school and going through some personal drama. Would it be worth the effort to attach an addendum to my application explaining this personal drama (which was substantial)? I don't want to sound querulous or as though I always make excuses. Do I run this risk?</p>
<p>I have contemplated heading overseas next year for a Masters in either Economics or International Relations. The LSE has a one-year program in Economics that is vy appealing. I would shoot for Oxford for the IR degree, which would take 2 years. Would completing another degree significantly increase my chances of admission to HYS? At the very least, I am thinking that a year's postponement would allow the admissions offices to see my senior year grades in their entirety. What would working for a year or two as an investment banker or consultant do to my chances? What about a program such as the Peace Corps?</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to read my rather long post. Any and all comments/suggestions are welcomed.</p>
<p>If your LSAT is in the range you've predicted, I think you're in at HLS. SLS is possible but the GPA may get you and I never predict anyone's chances for YLS. Just try to keep that GPA up and do as well as you predict come test day.</p>
<p>Definitely. I am shooting for around a 3.85-3.9 this year, which would bump my aggregate Harvard GPA up to a 3.75-3.8. This would pretty much leave my overall GPA unchanged at around 3.9. I am also planning on writing a senior thesis. I don't know, however, if this plays into law school admissions at all.</p>
<p>It can help a little, but your main goal is a high GPA + high LSAT. The fact that you're at Harvard College, as you've said, already gives you a major boost for HLS and a decent boost for SLS/YLS. With an overall GPA at Harvard of 3.7-3.8 and your predicted LSAT, I think you'd be well qualified for any of those schools. Harvard seems to be the most numbers oriented and incestuous; Stanford too loves numbers and you'd very likely be in there. Yale does whatever they want so you'd be in the running but it's impossible to say.</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence/LawSchoolNumbers.com suggests that Harvard tends to prioritize high GPAs (along with high LSAT scores, of course). Transcripts from Harvard, Vanderbilt, and any other colleges you've attended (if you took a class at a community college in high school, summer school at your local university, etc) must be submitted to LSAC. They aggregate your GPA data from all of the institutions you've attended, apply their own formula (A+=4.33, A=4.0, A-=3.6666, etc) and supply you with a recalculated GPA that is provided to admissions offices. Still, your recalculated GPA + your anticipated LSAT score would give you a very good shot at HLS, especially having graduated from Harvard. As the previous posters have said, SLS and especially YLS are a bit dicier.</p>
<p>The master's degree couldn't hurt, though it won't help significantly (it's seen as a "soft factor" where LSAC GPA and LSAT score are "hard factors"). Your undergrad extracurriculars are nice, but they likely would not exceptional enough to overcome low numbers should your high LSAT score not pan out. A senior honors thesis is always impressive, though not required; however, my own experience along with the experiences of others suggests that the director of admissions at HLS takes a particular interest in them. If you don't think that it will negatively affect your coursework in your other classes, it'd probably be a good idea to pursue it. If you anticipate a enough of a rise in your GPA that it would significantly impact your LSAC GPA to wait a year, it might be a good idea (though it doesn't seem to me like it has a whole lot of room to improve). Good luck!</p>