Which path would be the "best" to get into a top law school harvard, stanford etc.

Graduate School Law School
1

<ol>
<li>169 LSAT and 3.9gpa from Pomona College with a double major in economics and politics (political science)

<ol>
<li>169 LSAT and 3.8gpa from Pomona College with a double major in economics and politics (political science)</li>
<li>169 LSAT and 3.7gpa from Colorado school of mines with a double major in economics and petrolium engineering</li>
<li>169 LSAT and 3.8gpa from Colorado school of mines with a double major in economics and buisness.</li>
<li>169 LSAT and 3.6gpa from Colorado school of mines with a double major in economics and petrolium engineering</li>
<li>168 LSAT Yale University econ/poly sci major
This is a theoretical question but responses will help me decide which route i want to go.
Please rank these from 1-6</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>

2

<p>*Stanford</p>

3

<p>This is kind of a goofy question. Are you really asking which of those schools you should apply to for undergrad if your ultimate plan is to go to a good law school?</p>

<p>I’m particularly curious to know why you think going to Yale would knock two points off your LSAT.</p>

4

<p>Whatever the highest LSAT is.</p>

5

<p>I dont think it would however, I was wondering if it would be worth more than a higher lsat at a different school.</p>

6

<p>So major and undergrad school would barely matter?–Im not disagreeing, I am surprised.</p>

7

<p>This is a ridiculous hypothetical question, not only because you have no idea if you’ll end up with that GPA/ LSAT combo, but also because you don’t know if you’ll get into Yale or Pomona. And really, you’re comparing a major in poly Sci with petroleum engineering? I can’t imagine that a student who would be enthralled studying reservoir rock properties and drawing complex ternary diagrams would also enjoy writing 15 page papers comparing the development of the Utah legislature with that of the New Mexico one. </p>

<p>What will you do if your plans change and realize that for whatever reason law school is not for you? </p>

8

<p>Maybe its ridiculous but I would enjoy both Poly sci and petrol engineering and I think ill be accepted to both-- I dont intend to sound cocky, but Im a validictorian, and a legacy at yale, and my sat scores would put me in the top 10% of pomonas acceptances.</p>

9

<p>How about none of the above? All those LSATs are <25%ile. <a href=“http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/classprofile.html”>http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/classprofile.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>You realize that pretty much all of those options would get you flat out rejected from Harvard, Stanford, etc.?</p>

11

<p>Here’s the real answer: scores and grades matter a lot for law school. Strength of undergraduate program also matters, but perhaps not as much as with other graduate/professional schools. What barely matters at all is what you major in as an undergrad. So, if your ultimate goal is law school, go to a good school, and major in something that really interests you. It doesn’t matter if it is poli sci or petroleum engineering.</p>

12

<p>Strength of undegrad program is irrelevant for law school admissions purposes. Major matters for some legal hiring purposes, but also not for law school admission purposes.</p>

13

<p>

I don’t believe that this is entirely true. As I said, it’s more true for law school than for other programs.</p>

14

<p>The data do not reflect a world in which law schools differentiate by major. That’s especially likely to be true now, with good LSAT scores disappearing.</p>

15

<p>When I say “strength of program,” I’m not really referring to majors. What I mean is that I don’t believe a 4.0 from Harvard will be considered the same as a 4.0 from Local Directional College, even if the LSAT is the same.</p>

16

<p>While the CW here on CC is that only GPA and LSAT matter, it’s important to note that while those numbers are the key at some schools, it’s also important to note that no one here is on an adcom for a top law school.<br>
And it’s clear some schools-e.g. Yale-take pride in a lot of things in addition to top scores-a diversity of students-from 77 undergrad schools, it notes-most of whom didn’t come straight from college and most of whom had other skills:
<a href=“Profiles & Statistics - Yale Law School”>http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm&lt;/a&gt;.
t</p>

17

<p>@Hunt: Your belief is not reflected in the data. It also is totally implausible, if you understand why law schools care about GPA/LSAT in the first place.</p>

<p>@crankyoldman: Adcoms are about the last place I’d go if I wanted accurate information. They have a vested interest in making their schools look good, rather than being accurate. Admission data is a far better (and unbiased) source. That data show relatively clear acceptance bands relating to GPA and LSAT, with some deviation for URMs. You’re right about Yale caring for things like school, but that’s only because they already screen out by the numbers. It’s not that GPA/LSAT aren’t king, it’s that they’ve already maxed those scores out. </p>

18

<p>While a healthy skepticism is helpful in the application process, where do you think the class profile information for the top schools comes from? Are you suggesting that HLS and YLS are providing inaccurate information regarding their respective class profiles? </p>

19

<p>I’m sure their information is fine. I’m also sure they select for GPA/LSAT first and foremost. And that every adcom in the world talks about evaluating people “holistically” when in fact selecting for those numbers.</p>

20

<p>

It’s a numbers game. All those options would strike you out at HYS. Neither undergrad prestige nor major matters for admissions purposes. </p>