I have a GPA averaging between B+/A-, 3.45 as a Junior in college planning ahead. I’ve taken the LSAT, my score was 176. I’m a history and international studies major at a small liberal arts college in Iowa. I have letters of recommendation from six professors, several supervisors, and several advisers. What schools could I get into with a GPA averaging B+/A- and an LSAT score of 176? I’m not worried about tuition costs because no matter what law school I go to, loans are going to have to be taken out. I would prefer B10 schools, maybe private schools, and catholic schools like Boston College, Fordham, Georgetown and University of Notre Dame. In general, with the criteria above, what schools are a good chance?
Honestly, the world is yours. That LSAT is your golden ticket. I have friends in T14 with lower LSAT scores than you and similar GPAs. Good luck and early congrats!
Thanks!
You should receive many scholarship offers.
Normally, only two letters of rec are permitted or accepted.
Apply from Harvard on down. (GPA is too low to waste $ on an app to Yale or Stanford.)
Negotiate merit aid. Prosper.
The Catholic schools that you list are all fine law schools, but they are not known to be generous with financial aid. If you are interested in NYC, Fordham is worth a shot, however, as they do offer a full ride (Mordecai, but it is very competitive). Best bet is to apply to LS after graduation so you get one more semester with (hopefully) all A’s, and that puts Northwestern into play. (NU can be extremely generous with merit aid.)
My daughter went through the law school admissions process last year. An LSAT of 176 is very, very rare. Some schools will have issues with your GPA (someone above posited that Yale and Stanford might have issues) but other than that you will get into a lot of T14 schools and have a lot of scholarship offers. Despite the fact that you may plan to take out loans cost needs to be a consideration. Law school will cost anywhere from $250K to $300K all-in. You don’t want to be forced to working in big law just because of student loans
Northwestern Law is generous to ED applicants. I believe all who are admitted ED receive generous awards.
Also, in the not-too-distant past, Northwestern Law has been kind to splitters (LSAT above median & GPA below median).
176 is way up there, you will get in most Top 10 because LSAT is weighted much more heavily than GPA in general. And if you decide to look at some Top 20 or 30, you will get full tuition offers…