[fayenatic]

I am a member of Broke Phi Broke, therefore I can not afford the Kaplan LSAT Preparation COurses. Are there any alternatives that are just as good? How much more could I benefit from the courses than say, just studying off the LSAT exams from Princeton Review, the LASC board, etc.? Will just studying from books be enough to get me into law school? I'm a sophomore and I'm already fretting because my GPA barely meets 3.6. =(

[ronmexico]

You don't need the courses, anyway. Just use the Logic Games Bible from PowerScore and the "Real LSAT" books that LSAC publishes. Additionally, if you want to buy more recent exams, you can get them individually for something like $8. Just take one of the exams, timed, at the outset just to see where you are, then go through the entire Logic Games Bible. Then you can just keep taking practice exams.

[lakers]

is ther a forum where lawyers go to interact with each other?

[ronmexico]

Not as far as I know.

[brighteyes]

hahahaha. anyway, ronmexico did you have any ECs while you were in college? i had a few summer jobs and joined a few clubs only for one semester and got sick of them... so yeah i don't have much. would that significantly reduce my chance at a top law school? (assuming things like 3.7+ and 170+) like do i need SOMETHING to prove i'm not a nerd who studies all day?

[ronmexico]

I didn't have any really noteworthy ECs. I had a couple of volunteer activities and political internships, but nothing that thousands of other law students don't have. If your numbers are good enough, your ECs probably aren't going to matter.

[Midorin]

It's given that GPA/LSAT are super important blah blah blah... But, what can students do to improve the other parts of their applications because I doubt that a good GPA/LSAT score are going to be enough for top law schools (like Yale/Columbia/etc.)?

Also, feel free to ignore this question because it's rather invasive but did you get rejected from any law schools? How many did you apply to? (competition is tough so... if a student applys to a few top schools and her scores/grades are good - what are her chances?)

[ronmexico]

Realistically, a good GPA and LSAT score will be enough for most of the top schools, with the exceptions of maybe Yale and Stanford, where you'd need not only extremely good numbers but also a great personal statement or some other interesting thing. Aside from the numbers, you should focus on writing a decent personal statement. It's probably not going to have a huge impact, but it could help if you're on the border. It also helps to have interesting internships or work experience, but plenty of people get into top schools without either.

I applied to at least 12 schools. The ones I can remember off-hand are Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Cornell, Georgetown, Michigan, UCLA, USC, Cardozo, Fordham and Minnesota. I got into everywhere but Harvard, where I was waitlisted. I don't think it helped that my application at Harvard wasn't complete until sometime in February, but I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway. As far as what your chances would be, it's completely impossible to say without actual numbers.

[peanuts]

I applied to at least 12 schools. The ones I can remember off-hand are Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Cornell, Georgetown, Michigan, UCLA, USC, Cardozo, Fordham and Minnesota. I got into everywhere but Harvard, where I was waitlisted. I don't think it helped that my application at Harvard wasn't complete until sometime in February, but I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway. As far as what your chances would be, it's completely impossible to say without actual numbers.

You applied for UCLA and they accepted you, do you mind telling me your averages and such and such that you sent to them? Because I'm trying to get into UCLA, but I would like to know beforehand what's really the inside requirement to easily get in there.

[ronmexico]

This grid will help give you an idea of what it takes to get into UCLA:

http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/lsac4837.pdf

[:: daramjii ::]

HI!! I just discovered this thread,and I think its fantastic. I'm a third year at UCI and my dream grad school is Columbia, so I have just a few questions for you =)

1. I'm a Psychology major, and I noticed on Columbia's website, on their entering class profile for 2006, they divided acceptance by MAJORS and there were only about 2 who were Psychology majors, whereas the majority belonged to those with Political Science majors. I know there is no "determined" pre-law degree/major for law school, but what do those statistics mean then??

2. I'm actually conflicted between pursuing a career in law, clinical psychology, and journalism. I'm thinking about taking up internships in two or all three areas. Would this seem "detrimental" to my chances at law school (ie: what is this girl thinking? type of thing)? Or would they perhaps see it as something beneficial (ie: wow she's quite well-rounded/interesting [HAHA])? Or does it even matter?

3. Just out of curiosity, what IS the best program at Columbia (grad)?

[ronmexico]

1. There are actually 11 psych majors in this year's class, so you certainly shouldn't be concerned about your major. If anything, they probably don't want the class to be as poli sci heavy as it already is. It's just that poli sci majors make up such a large portion of the applicant pool.

2. I don't think it will hurt very much. They do like to see people with different backgrounds and plenty of people even have graduate degrees in non-law-related fields. The only real problem could be if they don't think you're really committed to law school and might decide not to enroll if accepted. This is something you might want to discuss in your personal statement. Are you planning to apply next year, or after you graduate?

3. I don't really know what the best graduate program at Columbia is. I don't think the university is really known for anything in particular. Law is probably one of the better ones. I think the journalism program is usually regarded as the best or second best in the country.

[peanuts]

This grid will help give you an idea of what it takes to get into UCLA:

http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/lsac4837.pdf

I'm sorry, but that grid is too hard to examine...could you possibly provide a link or such? Even as I zoom in, it's still too blurry to read. Sorry for the bother. Thanks for helping.

[ronmexico]

Hmm, really? It's pretty clear when I zoom in. I don't think the grid is available anywhere else, but I tried saving a screen shot of it:

http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ucla1ns.png

[peanuts]

Hmm, really? It's pretty clear when I zoom in. I don't think the grid is available anywhere else, but I tried saving a screen shot of it:

http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ucla1ns.png

Thanks...when I downloaded it, I got something totally different instead.

[xpho_86x]

what kind of experience did u hve before you entered law school ? Did you work/ volunteer in a firm ? my GPA isn't too great.

[ronmexico]

Thanks...when I downloaded it, I got something totally different instead.

Yeah, I guess the direct links can be a problem sometimes. If you want grids for any other schools, you can try this:

http://officialguide.lsac.org/search/cgi-bin/geograph.asp

what kind of experience did u hve before you entered law school ? Did you work/ volunteer in a firm ? my GPA isn't too great.

I had one internship with a state Assemblyman and some volunteer stuff. Nothing too impressive. I didn't work in a firm.

[ripgal]

i have been in soompi 4 yrs n i didn't know this thread existed.. im a Law Scholar btw.. but im UK based.. it was interesting to know how college students in the states get into Law School...

but can some one tell me wat's GPA or LSAT? sorry im from an Asian country.. so i dunoo anything about the exam system in the states

[ronmexico]

GPA stands for Grade Point Average, which is usually on a 4.0 scale, with 4.0 being an A, a 3.67 being an A- and down a third of a point for each grade down to 0 for an F. LSAT stands for Law School Admission Test, which is scored out of 180 (though 120 is the minimum score). It's usually 100 questions and is graded on a curve. The median is usually about a 151.

[DoKebiii]

how do law schools calculate gpa? do they average the grades by each quarter (we have quarter system) and them avg. the gpa by getting the avg. of all the quarters? or do they lump the grades of all the individual classes and then avg. that together?

also, i recently went to this meeting about LSAT, and they kept on talking about how its the single most important factor andd that many ppl with good gpa will get bad lsat score and get screwed...this totally lower my motivation to get high gpa...just how important is gpa? is it worth striving for in hell?