Any Law School Application Responses Yet?

[atozytaby]

Has anyone received responses from any school yet? No matter what the decision.

If so, from what school and when did you turn in your application?

[Dqcpxxjy]

Georgetown is presently my first choice. My fiance has family in DC and my grad degree is in public policy. I'm still waiting to hear from Harvard and Columbia, but I think both are outside of my range. Even if I got in to HLS I would probably still pick Georgetown. I feel bad enough dragging my fiance out of LA, so the least I can do is pick a location where she has a few people that she knows. She also has a grad degree in public policy, so DC is a better market for us. It would be a hard choice though. Good luck everyone! I think it sucks that so much depends on one day of testing.

[Ztiigzuz]

weak numbers - 3.43 GPA (dbl major - biz/spanish) 157 LSAT (Games killed me!), 3 years experience in consulting and marketing and extensive volunteerism -

here's my list (I'm broke from app fees!)

In: U of Texas, U of Houston, U of Tulsa (Full Scholarship)
Out: G'town, BC, SMU
Waiting: UVA, Baylor, Tulane, Arizona, ASU, U Richmond, Santa Clara, Notre Dame

(applied recently to all schools)

[PuweTikak]

Well, it is definitely interesting looking at everyone's numbers and school choices. I applied to the following schools:

UC Davis, UC Hastings, UCLA, University of Oregon, Northwestern, George Washington University (GWU), American, and University of Colorado.

So far I have only heard from Northwestern and I wasn't accepted. With numbers like 3.41 UGPA/152 LSAT, I am starting to get a bit nervous about my odds. However, I do have a couple of years in the legal field, so hopefully that will play in my favor.

Good luck everyone!

[Eagentbat]

2.89 gpa; 3.83 MBA 150 LSAT
41 president of Silicon Valley company

IN 4th tier: OKC, Floridal Coastal, Whittier, Ave Maria, Roger Williams;
IN 2nd Tier: SUNY Buffalo
Waitlisted at Southwestern, McGeorge
Denied at all first tiers.
Applied to 31 schools. Biggest problem was applying so late in process.

Schools said that my strong work experience and recommendations will over ride a low UGPA, given that I worked full time.

Apply early and to a lot of schools; the admissions process is random.

Will attend SUNY.

[bokasso]

Despite everyone's almost religious reverence regarding the U.S. News and World Report rating system [my law school ranks in the first tier, so this is not sour grapes], it is not the only or best way to evaluate legal education---a GPA of 2.9, if obtained years ago before grade inflation was fashionable, is probably worth a modern day 3.3, which is competitive at many law schools. Of course, one needs to know more about the undergraduate institution involved, the major of the student, and the classes taken in and outside the major, before judging a GPA. A 3.0 im some majors, at some law schools, says a lot more about potential law school ability than a 3.8 in another major at another institution.

The admissions process is not random. This is not to say that the process is perfect, for as with all institutions run by humans, it is far from that. But, as I just noted, you can't simply take a "low" or "high" GPA at face value. LSAT is a bit more useful, although it is subject to attack on various grounds, some of which may be justified.

The process necessarily requires individualization, to the extent possible (which is hard if a law school receives thousands of applications), to try to determine whether the individual shows promise (and more or less promise than another aopplicant), and whether the individual's intellectual background will add to the classroom dynamics.

Is this admissions process foolproof? No. Is it done by some scientific, entirely neutral method. No, and few of us would want that approach in selecting persons who must work in the law and society. Is it subjective? Yes, in part. Is it perfect? By definition, when there is subjectivity there will not be perfection, unless one agrees with the subjective conclusions reached. But, is it random? Hardly.

My position is that a 2.8 in one major may be better than, say, a 3.4 in another major in the same college/university, just as a 3.0 in Major A at University 1 may be worth more, or less, than a 3.0 in the same major at University 2. To truly judge the merits of a candidate and, more difficultly, to compare the merits of two candidates, one must look at many issues re GPA: (a) the era in which the GPA was earned [older GPAs usually involve lesser grade inflation]; (b) the difficulty of the major; (c) the difficulty of the overall course load taken by the student, even outside his or her major; and (d) the quality of the college or university.

Some of the required data is made available to admissions offices at law schools---statistics that help them evaluate a GPA, but much of the process must be done without solid statistics. Thus, the system is imperfect, but the effort is usually made. It is, after all, in the interests of a law school to enroll the students it thinks will be the best students available to the institution, so law schools must -- and do -- look beyond sheer numbers (GPA, LSAT).

So, in short, sometimes a student with a lower GPA should be considered of higher promise than one with a higher GPA.