How relevant is prestige of undergrad institution? Forum

[magnolia18]

I have an LSAT of 167 and a GPA of 3.92 (3.96 as calculated by LSAC). I think these numbers make getting into top 10 law schools (or top 20 with $$$) possible but not guaranteed. However, I graduated from a highly selective and well-regarded liberal arts college (ranked in the top 10 among LACs by US News and the top 5 among colleges overall by Forbes). Would this provide a significant boost to my applications and make admission and scholarships more likely, or does it not really matter because most other people applying also went to prestigious colleges? For context, I'm not URM, my softs are average and I have 1 year of work experience.

[sparkytrainer]

Wont make a drop of difference

[Barack O'Drama]

I disagree that undergrad prestige doesn't make a drop of difference. It won't make any substantial difference, but it may give you a bit of a boost.

[Pozzo]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

[AaronCarter]

A 3.3 at Berkeley means more than a 3.3 from a po-dunk school in the middle of nowhere.

Either way tho, get the best gpa you can.

[april_ludgate]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

HYP but not Columbia, Penn, Darthmouth?

[cavalier1138]

A 3.3 at Berkeley means more than a 3.3 from a po-dunk school in the middle of nowhere.

Does it? There's really very little objective evidence that school pedigree receives much (if any) weight in decisions. It's another correlation/causation issue.

OP: retake. Your numbers give you ok chances at the T13 (T10 is a dumb cutoff), but you're literally leaving tens of thousands in scholarship funding on the table with that LSAT.

[Pozzo]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

HYP but not Columbia, Penn, Darthmouth?

I dunno. You're talking to StateU here, so I may not appreciate the finer points of Ivy prestige. Bottom line is it doesn't really matter.

[pancakes3]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

HYP but not Columbia, Penn, Darthmouth?

Lol, by far.
Stanford is also more prestigious than nominal iveys.

[april_ludgate]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

HYP but not Columbia, Penn, Darthmouth?

Lol, by far.
Stanford is also more prestigious than nominal iveys.

As someone from one of those schools you hurt my feelings /s

[sparkytrainer]

It makes very little difference. HYP does sometimes move the needle (or so I'm told), but a top 10 liberal arts college likely will not. With your GPA, though, please consider taking the LSAT again. If you're graduating from a top college with a near 4.0, you should be able to pick up at least a few more points on the LSAT which will give you a much better chance at top programs than any imagined prestige boost will.

HYP but not Columbia, Penn, Darthmouth?

Lol, by far.
Stanford is also more prestigious than nominal iveys.

So are a bunch of other schools, like Duke and MIT. Stanford, Duke, and MIT are much tougher to get into than some Ivys.

Back on point, it wont matter for OP. There is some evidence that you get a bump for Princeton and the Service Academies because of rampant grade deflation. Otherwise, there is no evidence a person with a 3.5 at Amherst has any easier of a time getting in than someone at U of Georgia.

[poptart123]

I think it makes a drop of difference at some schools. Overall it's likely nothing you can change and doesn't matter close to enough to worry about at schools where it might matter.

[BlendedUnicorn]

This might be the most discussed topic in the history of TLS. Use the search function and if you can't find all the discussion you could ever desire PM me and I'll unlock this thread.

e.

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