<p>3.5-3.6 undergraduate GPA
Political Science/English double major
163 LSAT
top 40 university</p>
<p>I'm not talking specifics (i.e. loan repayments), I'm just looking for a general overview, some place to start</p>
<p>A good range would probably be around 25 to 60.</p>
<p>If you haven't already done so, go to
<a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/search/cgi-bin/lsatgpa.asp%5B/url%5D">http://officialguide.lsac.org/search/cgi-bin/lsatgpa.asp</a></p>
<p>and put in your numbers there. It's not perfect, but better than any one person's personal opinion.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>Personally, I think I'd have a shot at the top 15-20 schools, outside shot of a top 14 (outside, not necessarily a good shot)</p>
<p>well? ....</p>
<p>Just taking a gander around princetonreview.com, I'd say you'd have a shot at those schools just out of the top 15. As an example, Washington and Lee was ranked 9th by PR in terms of best Overall Academic Experience (and 1st in "Professors Rock!") and the average GPA of acceptees was 3.5 and the average LSAT was 166.</p>
<p>Similarly, Boston Universtiy (ranked 6 and 2, respectively, on those aforementioned categories) has an average GPA acceptance of 3.6 and average LSAT of 164.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>If there is ANY way to get your LSAT into the 166-167 range, go for it. With a 163, you'll be below the LSAT mean for most, if not all, of the top 25 schools. Your GPA is solid, but not amazing... it will help in some respects (esp. with good school and two majors). </p>
<p>Basically, the schools ranked right around 15-30 are good match/reach schools. A LOT of them publish GPA/LSAT grids. (If you don't know, they have a range of GPAs on one side, LSATs on another, and the corresponding block has the chance of getting in. W&M, W&L, Tulane, Fordham, Brooklyn, and a few others in that range publish them on their websites.)</p>
<p>Now, general rule is to either go to a top 14 school OR go to the best school in the region in which you want to practice. (General rule, folks - please don't attack me on every minute exception.) For example, if you want to practice in Atlanta, you should go to a national law school (top 14) or Emory. Barring that, Mercer would be a good choice. Fordham, which has a very similar rank to Emory, would not be a good choice, as it will be harder (harder, folks, not impossible - again, don't attack...) to get a job from there. Likewise, if you want to work in NYC, go to Columbia, NYU, Fordham, Brooklyn, or Cardozo (in that order) and continue on downwards through the ranks of NYC schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming, this is so neat to read.</p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>One clarification, if I may, of Ariesathena's "general rule": go to a top 14 or top regional school if you have the option, but don't reject law school out of hand if you don't have that option. Some regions with robust markets for legal services (L.A, for example, or the San Francisco Bay Area) have a number of schools that are regionally respected, and can lead to rewarding careers, even though they're neither a top 14 school of the best in the region. (It's possible to have a rewarding career after attending any law school, for that matter, unless your definition of rewarding is limited to the "$125 straight out of school" career path.)</p>
<p>Thank you, Greybeard. Keeping me on my toes. ;)</p>
<p>There are also some areas which have very small legal markets and almost too many law schools for them (Boston, in bad economic times, is rough - the Harvard kids get jobs, then some of the BC kids... the kids from third-tier schools (of which there are a handful) have quite a rough time of finding a job)... or markets like Washington DC, where almost everyone going to school there gets a job.</p>