Am I naive thinking I'll get into top schools?? Forum

[elyssa]

I feel like asking this question is naive in itself.

3.51 LSAC GPA, June LSAT 155 (retaking November), URM. This combo is less than impressive. As with anyone who checked that "yes" box on LSAC to receiving piles of mail from law schools, I've been getting a lot, and I don't think anything of them. Yesterday, however, I received a packet from Michigan and the letter included a section about their wonderful black law students association and how my profile thus far looks like it'd make a great applicant etc. Mentioned it to a (non-URM) friend at Fordham law who said she only got mail from no-name schools and thinks this is a good sign.

Is this a really good sign that Michigan is sending me mail? Or are they just sending it to everyone and I just received the letter template for URMs? I don't plan on applying there/have no desire to go to school there, but I'm wondering if this is a good sign getting a packet from a T10. NYU is my super-reach school; I don't have high expectations but they are known to be especially friendly towards URMs with lower than average numbers. Other than that, I plan to apply to two in T20, two in 25-50 range, and one or two below #50.

Any insight is helpful. Thanks!

[albanach]

I plan to apply to two in T20, two in 25-50 range, and one or two below #50.

Any insight is helpful. Thanks!

You need to apply much more broadly if you want a successful cycle. Any school that offers money can be used as leverage against its peers. Unfortunately, without an improved LSAT, your cycle doesn't look great. Of course data is limited, so you could out- or under-perform.



Look what happens if you get that LSAT up into the low 160's (also I stretched the GPA range a bit lower just to try and increase the number of data points).



As things stand today, you have a decent chance of going to a lower ranked school and paying sticker. Make sure you have read the schools's statistics on law school transparency so that you understand what this means in terms of actual cost to you and long-term employment prospects. Increasing your LSAT looks to be worth > $100,000 plus interest and lead to you being accepted into a better school.

There are guides on here that have helped many people get their LSAT well above the range in the chart above. The lifetime cost-benefit of delaying law school until you increase your LSAT could easily be in the seven figures.

[mmac]

It's possible to get into a top law school with those numbers as a URM, but it's good you're retaking. Play around with LSN: http://mylsn.info/sdolsm/ I wouldn't make too much of mailings (just like undergrad), though there's nothing wrong with being happy about receiving a personalized mailing. Good luck on your retake.