3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things Forum

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BertStarr

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3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things

Post by BertStarr » Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:07 am

So for starters, I understand I’m in a pretty fortunate position. Applying next fall, got my LSAT score back recently. The goal is HYS or CCN with some money, and given that Y and S are so unpredictable, H is what I’m eyeing.

A couple of questions - I understand that the myLSN probabilities are probably too generous, given that they’re based on self reporting and people are probably less likely to report that they got rejected. Does anyone know of more accurate ways to predict acceptances?

And secondly, how far down should I apply on the USNWR rankings to get scholarship leverage? Entire T14? Don’t go below T10? Curious to get some feedback.

QContinuum

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Re: 3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things

Post by QContinuum » Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:10 pm

Congrats on your great numbers!

Your chances at Yale and Stanford will depend largely on your softs. Your numbers are certainly in the right "range" for those two.

You are pretty much a lock for acceptance to Harvard and down. The main question, as you recognize, is how much merit aid each school might give you. IMO, MyLSN is pretty accurate - there's certainly plenty of rejection data in there, I don't think folks are only reporting their acceptances. But broadly, I think you should apply across the T13. You'll almost certainly get full rides at the lower T13 at least, and likely significant money at CCN. With your stats you probably don't need to apply outside the T13.

There isn't a "T10" cutoff in law school prestige so I wouldn't use that as a cutoff. (I know it's counterintuitive, since in other contexts we always talk about "top 10" or "top 20" or whatnot - who talks about "top 13"? But that's just the way things work in the law school world.)

BertStarr

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Re: 3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things

Post by BertStarr » Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:49 pm

Hey! Thank you for this response, which is very helpful.

Two follow-up questions:

1) I know I’m currently above the lsat median at Harvard (173). I guess it’s out of my control so it would be irrational to worry about it (because I don’t see a good case for retaking my 174 without significant further studying, given that it’s a point above my PT average), but should I expect that median to jump up in the next year? Does that portend bad things for my cycle?

2) I understand with some of the non HYSCCN schools to which I’ll apply, I might face yield protection. Other than writing “Why X”es, is there anything else people do to limit the risk of YP? I don’t have the budget to do a visit to all of the schools (or really any of them, save for maybe two.)

QContinuum

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Re: 3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things

Post by QContinuum » Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:38 pm

BertStarr wrote:Hey! Thank you for this response, which is very helpful.

Two follow-up questions:

1) I know I’m currently above the lsat median at Harvard (173). I guess it’s out of my control so it would be irrational to worry about it (because I don’t see a good case for retaking my 174 without significant further studying, given that it’s a point above my PT average), but should I expect that median to jump up in the next year? Does that portend bad things for my cycle?
No one knows. Further, if you apply early in the cycle (which you absolutely should), you'll likely be accepted before the application deadline even rolls around - i.e., you'll be accepted before the Harvard admissions office knows what the entire 2019-20 applicant pool looks like.

I also wouldn't focus too much on a single law school. While Harvard is unquestionably a great law school, it's not that far apart from the rest of the T13. Going to Harvard will make sense for certain applicants with certain goals, but going to a different T13 with $ will make more sense for the majority of applicants.
BertStarr wrote:2) I understand with some of the non HYSCCN schools to which I’ll apply, I might face yield protection. Other than writing “Why X”es, is there anything else people do to limit the risk of YP? I don’t have the budget to do a visit to all of the schools (or really any of them, save for maybe two.)
No, visiting isn't needed. I don't even think a Why X is necessarily required at all of the remaining T13. There are a few schools that like Why X's: Penn and Virginia come to mind. You can smoke out these schools by looking at MyLSN, and - for instance - seeing an inexplicable drop in your admissions chances at Penn (indicating they're dinging folks with the right stats who aren't writing a Why Penn). But keep in mind, a Why X will only be helpful if you can actually point to unique advantages offered by the school. A generic "why Penn? why, because it's a great law school!" essay won't move the needle.

miskellyjohnson

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Re: 3.95/174, applying next cycle - trying to understand a couple of things

Post by miskellyjohnson » Thu Dec 27, 2018 10:49 am

BertStarr wrote:
2) I understand with some of the non HYSCCN schools to which I’ll apply, I might face yield protection. Other than writing “Why X”es, is there anything else people do to limit the risk of YP? I don’t have the budget to do a visit to all of the schools (or really any of them, save for maybe two.)
You can go to the travelling road shows that top schools usually have in most major cities. If you live in a part of the country that they don't visit, then you can email the admissions office and say you are very interested in their school and would like to get more information, and ask if by any chance anyone from admissions will be in your area or if you can schedule a phone interview to get more information. All of these would help with YP, probably more so than most "Why X's" that are generically written after a 15 minute perusal of the website.

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