Your Competitiveness as an Applicant
- By the end of your junior year, you should have a general idea of what your overall GPA is and how you have scored, or are likely to score on the LSAT. These two numbers are your most useful tools in determining where you should apply.
- There are a number of published guides, including but not limited to The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools (LSAC), Official ABA Guide to Approved Law Schools (ABA), and The Best Law Schools (The Princeton Review). All of these books have the same basic statistical information, though it may be presented in a different format and may include other types of information in addition to this. If you are not interested in purchasing these materials, you may come to College Advising Office and peruse our copies.
- A particularly valuable piece of statistical information you will find is the 25th/75th percentile ratio for enrolled students. For example, the USC Law School has a 25th /75th GPA of 3.30/3.65 and a 25th/75th LSAT of 159/165 for full-time students. Put simply, this means that 25% of those admitted had a GPA of lower than 3.30 and 25% of those admitted had a GPA higher than 3.65. Similarly, 25% had an LSAT score lower than 159 and 25% had an LSAT score higher than a 165. All other students at the school fell between those numbers.
- If you are above the 75th percentile in LSAT and/or GPA for a given school, you are likely to be admitted. This school would be a "safety" school. If your numbers fall between the 25th and 75th percentile, then this is a "competitive" school; Continuing, if your numbers are below the 25th percentile, you are not likely to be admitted, and this would be a "dream" school.
- To maximize your chances of being admitted to the best law school for you possible, we generally recommend that you apply to 1-2 dream schools, 3-4 competitive schools, and 1-2 safety schools. Of course, how many schools you choose to apply to is a personal decision, and the cost of application fees is a factor to consider.
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