Re: What law schools can I realistically apply for and ED to? 3.93 GPA/334 GRE

[zamtrios]

Half Indian, Half Hispanic, went to state school, studied Psychology, Texas resident.
3.93 GPA using LSAC calculator
334 GRE (170Q, 164V, 4.5 W) (my low V and W score might kill me?)
Started software company and sold it for 100k+, president of a couple clubs, fraternity president, won full ride scholarship, some other random stuff
Should be able to get 2 strong LOR
Graduated May 2023, no work experience yet bc I am currently doing my Masters in CS @ Penn
Goal: Big law

I want to ED to one school. Is Penn the best choice for me? considering my stats, the fact that I go to Penn right now for my masters, and I think its GRE friendly.

I will apply to UT bc I am above their 75 percentile scores + I am Texas resident.

Where else should I apply to? Maybe Northwestern + Cornell?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Half Indian, Half Hispanic, went to state school, studied Psychology, Texas resident.
3.93 GPA using LSAC calculator
334 GRE (170Q, 164V, 4.5 W) (my low V and W score might kill me?)
Started software company and sold it for 100k+, president of a couple clubs, fraternity president, won full ride scholarship, some other random stuff
Should be able to get 2 strong LOR
Graduated May 2023, no work experience yet bc I am currently doing my Masters in CS @ Penn
Goal: Big law

I want to ED to one school. Is Penn the best choice for me? considering my stats, the fact that I go to Penn right now for my masters, and I think its GRE friendly.

I will apply to UT bc I am above their 75 percentile scores + I am Texas resident.

Where else should I apply to? Maybe Northwestern + Cornell?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi zamtrios,

A few thoughts here.

First, keep in mind that ED is binding. Applying ED certainly can give a boost, but that also means you can't negotiate scholarships and you're committed to that school. So, you have to weigh what's most important to you: a. having a bit more certainty that you'll get accepted, but that you may have to pay full-ride or b. less certainty of admittance but more of a chance to negotiate scholarships. That's a personal choice, but I do not see in your post that you have a strong pull to one school over another, so applying RD to a few schools might be a better option here.

Second, your GRE score is solid, and ETS's GRE to LSAT conversion tool would equate your score to a 173 LSAT. But, there are some caveats here. The two exams are logically different and this score conversion is not a perfect science. The GRE is still new to the law school world, and it's more difficult to estimate admissions chances with the GRE.

With that said, I would recommend that you use one of our favorite resources for researching data on nearly all of the ABA-approved schools in North America: LSAC's LSAT/GPA Calculator. This tool allows you to input your undergraduate GPA and your highest LSAT score (or the LSAT score your GRE score would roughly equal,) and get feedback on where each stands relative to attendees at individual schools, as well as your likely odds of duplicating that result on those figures.

In addition, please keep in mind that the "soft" elements of your application (resume, personal statement, etc.) of your application are extremely important, particularly if your numerical stats (LSAT/GRE and GPA) fall below the school's 75th percentile. When you're not a near-certainty for admission based on your numbers, but a school is still interested in you for potential admission, then those "soft" elements become very important. They are what will separate you from the rest of the "maybes" and will turn you into a "yes".

I hope this helps! Thanks!

[hwall05]

This conversion is very interesting. I took both the LSAT & GRE. My GRE quant was167 & verbal was 166, total score of 333/340. The conversion gave me LSAT score of 173 but my actual score for the LSAT was 170. Btw, I’m from Ghana.