talibkweli wrote:That math isn't even remotely accurate.hypermeganet wrote:You could have gone to an Ivy.kdw94780 wrote:You're definitely right. I had a 3.87 GPA and scored in the 95th percentile on the ACT in high school, but I never thought of applying to a "top" school.
I bet less than 5% of the total LSAT taking population are black. That would mean that, assuming black testers hold to the same scale, only like 650 applicants would have a 164+. Of those, how many have a 3.8+ GPA? 20%? So, less than 150 applicants in a given cycle are black with a 164 and a 3.8+ GPA. It's not surprising that means big acceptances at the top 5 schools.
I don't even want spend much time discussing the normative implications of this stuff; let's just get the (hard) facts straight. From the standpoint of society at large, I personally think the numbers I've included below are nothing short of a travesty; I don't buy for a second that tests like the LSAT are inherently unfair to particular ethnic groups, but I DO think that the huge disparities that continue to exist in LSAT scores speak to how intractable the inequalities that exist really are. That said, from the perspective of a relatively qualified URM, its easy to feel a tad bit pleased at one's individual prospects as a result.
All that said, lets look at some numbers:
http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/51_gradu ... _test.html
Assume +/- 108 black students scored 165+ last year (Check the oft-posted link above)
According to ABA, HYS enrolled 103 black folks alone
What do you think the chances are for a black person with decent numbers everywhere else? Bear in mind NYU and Columbia took 33 black people each last cycle.
All that suggests, fairly or unfairly, that one should err on the side of optimism when trying to predict a urm's shot at a given school.
You know I keep trying to point people to this info when they are down about their admissions chances (well URMs anyway). When you look at it like that you realize that if you have a 164+ LSAT and a decent GPA as a black applicant you are almost guaranteed to be accepted to one top 14. I hate math---it's the reason why my GPA is trash--but this is one case where math actually helps me out. There simply are not that many blacks with the numbers these schools are looking for---especially by the time HYS get done sucking up the top of the black applicant pool.