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3.8 GPA 166 LSAT - t 14?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:05 pm
by prelaw456
Will I be able to get into a T14 school with a 3.8 and 166 LSAT? Where should I be aiming?

Re: 3.8 GPA 166 LSAT - t 14?

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:37 pm
by Lolstudent
It is definitely possible. I got dinged from every t14 that I applied to with a 3.88/166, 5 years of solid work experience, etc.

That said, I didn't ride out the Michigan and Duke waitlists and I didn't apply to gulc because DC didn't appeal to me.

I could target the lower t14, especially Berkeley and gulc and northeastern if you have work experience. If app fees aren't a big deal, apply everywhere but HYS.

Re: 3.8 GPA 166 LSAT - t 14?

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:16 am
by TheyCallMePapaJohny
Here is another data point for you. With a 3.88/165 I was admitted to Georgetown/Northwestern/Michigan/Duke/Virginia and waitlisted at Chicago/NYU/Penn/Berkeley/Cornell. This was during the 2016-2017 cycle. I received money at Northwestern/Michigan/Duke.

It's definitely possible, but I'd honestly retake. If you move up to a 3.8/170, you'd probably get into a few more schools than I did and get much more significant money.

I'll be leaving with $150k in debt. While I've got 5 CBs (waiting to see if I get offers), OCI was a very anxiety inducing process. I figured I'd do very well and worked decently hard, but with the nature of the curve someone has to do poorly. I'd say I finished 10% below median (so top 60%) after 1L, and I think I just got very lucky during OCI due to ties and a particular interest in a very niche practice area.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd retake, get more money, and have so much less pressure to perform at OCI. While I don't think I'd pick to attend a different T14, I definitely would have loved to attend at a lower cost.

Just my $0.02.

Re: 3.8 GPA 166 LSAT - t 14?

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:12 pm
by ZVBXRPL
last cycle, same stats: nyu 20k/yr off of WL Aug 1-so thats fin aid, Northwestern 20k/yr, cornell 25k/yr; rejected at penn, berkeley, chicago, stanford, yale, WL everywhere else including H (released mid-june); masters degree, lots of WE.

Re: 3.8 GPA 166 LSAT - t 14?

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:51 pm
by albanach
prelaw456 wrote:Will I be able to get into a T14 school with a 3.8 and 166 LSAT? Where should I be aiming?
You should be aiming to retake and improve your LSAT. Even if you get in, you'll be at a lower ranked school and paying more tuition than your GPA deserves.

I know that no-one wants to keep studying for the LSAT, but the ROI is enormous. Four or five points could be worth a T6 school and > $50,000 in scholarships.

Here's what your cycle looks like today:

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And this is what it could look like with a 171-172 LSAT score:

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