sapphire07 wrote:
This brings me back to my undergrad GPA. . . you believe that with a 2.6-2.7 I still have a good shot at a top 20?
Thanks for your feedback.
Like pze said, your chance at a T14 needs to be based off of the US NEWS Best Graduate School's 2013 Rankings:
(25-75 LSAT with median; 25-75 GPA with median)
Yale - 170-177 LSAT with a 173 median; 3.83-3.96 GPA with a 3.9 median
Harvard - 171-176 LSAT with a 173 median; 3.78-3.97 GPA with a 3.89 median
Stanford - 167-172 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.72-3.93 GPA with a 3.85 median
NYU - 170-174 LSAT with a 172 median; 3.57-3.85 GPA with a 3.71 median
Columbia - 170-175 LSAT with a 172 median; 3.6-3.82 GPA with a 3.72 median
Chicago - 167-173 LSAT with a 171 median; 3.71-3.94 GPA with a 3.87 median
UVA - 165-171 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.49-3.94 GPA with a 3.86 median
Michigan - 167-170 LSAT with a 169 median; 3.59-3.87 GPA with a 3.76 median
Berkeley - 164-169 LSAT with a 167 median; 3.62-3.88 GPA with a 3.79 median
UPenn - 166-171 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.58-3.93 GPA with a 3.86 median
Duke - 167-171 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.62-3.84 GPA with a 3.75 median
Northwestern JD only: 165-171 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.35-3.85 GPA with a 3.8 median
Northwestern JD/MBA: mean GMAT is rounded up to 730 from 725; average GPA is 3.52 for incoming 2010 class on their website
Cornell: 166-169 LSAT with a 168 median; 3.5-3.77 GPA with a 3.63 median
GULC Full Time: 167-171 LSAT with a 170 median; 3.44-3.8 GPA with a 3.71 median
GULC Part Time: 163-170 LSAT with a 167 median; 3.37-3.8 GPA with a 3.7 median
is basically out of reach for you because the GPA ranges at all of these schools's middle 50%ile GPA ranges are well above your GPA. So you are going to need to score at least at the 75th percentile LSAT score to have serious consideration of getting in unless you have a really compelling story. If you score over 170, you will be called a "splitter" from what I've seen at Top-Law-Schools (TLS) forums, and based on these numbers, the schools most friendly in the clear Top 10 tier to such students are NYU, UVA, and Michigan where the 25th percentile GPA is below 3.6. At UVA, it's below 3.5. Even then these schools will be a stretch unless you get above 175 on the LSAT where you then may get a fair shot. At the bottom schools in the T14, you have a better shot where Northwestern, Cornell, and GULC all have a 75th percentile LSAT of no more than 171 (still astronomically high percentile, but not quite at the coveted 99%+ level which is about a 760 on the GMAT), and a 25th percentile GPA of 3.5 or below.
One trend is undeniable with most schools here and the spreads. The medians tend to be closer to the 75th percentile for both LSAT and GPA and at best are in the middle, which also doesn't help you.
The stats don't get too much nicer as we go from 15-25 (some schools will fluctuate into the Top 20 and down.
UCLA: LSAT of 164-169 with a 168 median; 3.55-3.88 GPA with a 3.78 median
Texas: LSAT of 165-170 with a 167 median; 3.56-3.8 GPA with a 3.69 median
Vandy: LSAT of 165-170 with a 169 median; 3.48-3.84 GPA with a 3.73 median
USC: LSAT of 165-167 with a 167 median; 3.54-3.77 GPA with a 3.69 median
Minnesota: LSAT of 157-167 with a 167 median; 3.41-3.9 GPA with a 3.8 median
GW Full Time: LSAT of 162-168 with a 167 median; 3.44-3.9 GPA with a 3.82 median
GW Part Time: LSAT of 159-168 with a 167 median; 3.15-3.91 GPA with a 3.57 median
Washington: LSAT of 161-166 with a 164 median; 3.44-3.82 GPA with a 3.67 median
Notre Dame: LSAT of 162-167 with a 166 median; 3.45-3.74 GPA with a 3.64 median
WashU: LSAT of 162-169 with a 168 median; 3.22-3.8 GPA with a 3.66 median
Emory: LSAT of 159-166 with a 165 median; 3.4-3.79 GPA with a 3.7 median
Washington and Lee*: LSAT of 159-165 with a 164 median; 3.5-3.8 GPA with a 3.65 median
*no MBA program because WLU is really a liberal arts college with a law school hence the name "University"
Again, the 25th percentiles for GPA remain well above 3.0 (you probably know few law schools even fourth tiers have a median LSAT below 3.0). The LSAT ranges drop as expected with lower ranked schools, but the 75th percentile mark for most of these schools still are in the high 160's until we get down to Emory with a 166 as the 75th percentile mark. A 166 (93 percentile) is a much more attainable score than a 170 (97th percentile), but in GMAT terms, they're still above 700. If your verbal is really strong in the GMAT, it could help you for the LSAT, especially if critical reasoning on the GMAT is your best section, because logical reasoning (the CR equivalent on the LSAT) is half your test.
So if you hope to go to law school with your GPA, you should shoot for at least the 75th percentile at most schools you wish to go to on this list, and preferably even higher than that with most schools here. In the Top 25 based on numbers alone, Emory is the best shot in the Top 25 for law to give you both a quality law degree and a quality MBA without having to get super super high numbers, though you still need very high numbers. However, because Emory isn't in the elite T14 tier, the law options will be more regionalized, and on top of that, you still have to do well in your class.