Where should I apply? Forum

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richardz0223

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Where should I apply?

Post by richardz0223 » Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:33 am

Posted this on the other forum but didn't get a whole lot of responses. Really need some guidance here.

First time applicant trying to gauge my chances for T14 with the following credentials:

- 3.59 UGPA (conspicuous upward trend)
- 172 LSAT (retaking in Oct for 175+)
- Two years of work experience by fall 2019 as a research manager at a healthcare nonprofit
- OK softs (a few NGO internships, a congressional internship, stugov, resident assistant, etc.)
- Strong personal statement and 2-3 strong rec letters
- US educated international student
- Interested in health law and constitutional law

I realize that my GPA is below the 25% cutoff for most T14 schools in the last cycle. Would you guys give me some advice on where I should apply and have a realistic shot at? Dream school is HLS - do I have a shot? Also thinking about ED at Northwestern- what are my chances there?

Thanks a lot!!

DerKatze

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Re: Where should I apply?

Post by DerKatze » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:24 pm

The standard answers on this forum are:

1. Your GPA is just below the 25% for most T14, and your LSAT is above the 75% for most T14 schools. This makes you a splitter. Typically, people on this forum advise splitters (many with a much worse GPA) to apply to every school in the T14 (minus the top 3). Splitters usually have an unpredictable cycle, but they often get in somewhere, because schools use them to keep their LSAT percentiles high. With your specific numbers, you will probably get a modest scholarship to a T14.

2. Do not apply ED anywhere with your numbers. Because you have to enroll at the school you ED at, you will not get as much scholarship money, and you will not be able to negotiate your scholarship. You will probably get into Northwestern without ED (you aren't even a splitter there), particularly because they like work experience more than other schools.

3. You are not competitive for Harvard, but if you get a 175 or above you might be.

richardz0223

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Re: Where should I apply?

Post by richardz0223 » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:14 am

DerKatze wrote:The standard answers on this forum are:

1. Your GPA is just below the 25% for most T14, and your LSAT is above the 75% for most T14 schools. This makes you a splitter. Typically, people on this forum advise splitters (many with a much worse GPA) to apply to every school in the T14 (minus the top 3). Splitters usually have an unpredictable cycle, but they often get in somewhere, because schools use them to keep their LSAT percentiles high. With your specific numbers, you will probably get a modest scholarship to a T14.

2. Do not apply ED anywhere with your numbers. Because you have to enroll at the school you ED at, you will not get as much scholarship money, and you will not be able to negotiate your scholarship. You will probably get into Northwestern without ED (you aren't even a splitter there), particularly because they like work experience more than other schools.

3. You are not competitive for Harvard, but if you get a 175 or above you might be.
Thank you for your response! Would you say that if money is a big consideration here (i.e. ideally I'd need more than a half tuition scholarship for family financial reasons), I should ED NU? On a somewhat related note, are international students eligible to take out loans? I know federal loans are out of the question but what about loans from schools?

DerKatze

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Re: Where should I apply?

Post by DerKatze » Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:54 pm

richardz0223 wrote:Thank you for your response! Would you say that if money is a big consideration here (i.e. ideally I'd need more than a half tuition scholarship for family financial reasons), I should ED NU? On a somewhat related note, are international students eligible to take out loans? I know federal loans are out of the question but what about loans from schools?
The reason you should not ED anywhere is money. Schools tend to give less (if any) aid to students who ED, because they have to take it. Also, ED eliminates the chance to negotiate scholarships, which is fairly common in law school admissions.

Based on your numbers, I would say you are likely to get a half tuition scholarship somewhere. Although you said your dream school is Harvard--you do realize Harvard doesn't give scholarships, right? And I don't know whether schools themselves will loan you money; hopefully someone else knows the answer to that.

richardz0223

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Re: Where should I apply?

Post by richardz0223 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:53 am

DerKatze wrote:
richardz0223 wrote:Thank you for your response! Would you say that if money is a big consideration here (i.e. ideally I'd need more than a half tuition scholarship for family financial reasons), I should ED NU? On a somewhat related note, are international students eligible to take out loans? I know federal loans are out of the question but what about loans from schools?
The reason you should not ED anywhere is money. Schools tend to give less (if any) aid to students who ED, because they have to take it. Also, ED eliminates the chance to negotiate scholarships, which is fairly common in law school admissions.

Based on your numbers, I would say you are likely to get a half tuition scholarship somewhere. Although you said your dream school is Harvard--you do realize Harvard doesn't give scholarships, right? And I don't know whether schools themselves will loan you money; hopefully someone else knows the answer to that.
Yea I do understand that the reason people don't ED is money, but isn't NU an exception to that since ED admission comes with a 150k scholarship package? I know HYS don't give out merit-based aid.

Thanks anyway though!

DerKatze

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Re: Where should I apply?

Post by DerKatze » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:57 pm

I didn't know that. I don't know much about the program, so I can't answer you there.

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