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I’m a URM with a 3.0 GPA( rising junior and will be taking the LSAT next summer in 2020) I have junior year to boost my GPA, but assuming it stays the same, how well do I need to do on the LSAT to get into my target law schools? George Mason, American, Richmond, and SMU are my target schools. Looking at Georgetown and GW as reaches. UBaltimore is my safety.

Mr. De wrote:I’m a URM with a 3.0 GPA( rising junior and will be taking the LSAT next summer in 2020) I have junior year to boost my GPA, but assuming it stays the same, how well do I need to do on the LSAT to get into my target law schools? George Mason, American, Richmond, and SMU are my target schools. Looking at Georgetown and GW as reaches. UBaltimore is my safety.

Your target should be to get the highest LSAT you can because until you have an acceptance to YSH, you can always do better. I know that's not the answer you want, but it's the reality you face.

Now, that said, your goal should be acceptance to the best law school that's affordable. You recognize your GPA is important and now is the time you have control over that. Given your 3.0, I would strongly suggest putting the LSAT out of your mind and spend the next couple of years focused on maximizing that GPA. And extra couple of tenths could mean a massive difference in outcome.

Let's say you get a 168 on the LSAT and your GPA stays the same. Here's what your cycle looks like:



Now let's say you get your GPA into the 3.2 range. Here's the difference:



Admittedly, the numbers here are small, but the change is consistent throughout the T-13 and below. A higher GPA means a better school at a lower cost. And now is the only time you can influence it.

Mr. De wrote:I have junior year to boost my GPA

You have a junior and a senior year. And it's generally best to take at least a couple of years off between undergrad and law school, especially if you have a lower GPA.

Also, stop thinking of "safety schools." There's no such thing. There are law schools that will set you up for the career you want at an appropriate price point. If you only get admitted to a school that won't give you a shot at the career you want or that won't give you enough of a scholarship to justify attending, you can retake the LSAT for better options or simply not attend at all. But you shouldn't be worrying about that until later. Focus on pulling your GPA up.