I’m a junior at a well-regarded LAC. I’m not planning on applying until next fall, but I took the LSAT early because I had extra time during COVID. I don’t know anybody who’s gone to law school before, so I’d appreciate any advice you can give me.
GPA: 3.8ish
LSAT: 175
Non-URM
Fairly normal extracurriculars: D3 sports, e-board of one club, a member of a few others, a few internships
Highly likely admission to several of the upper T14, including HLS. Unless your family is wealthy, apply broadly and compare merit aid offers. (Harvard is need-based only, however.)
fwiw: calculate your GPA assuming applying after graduation, i.e., with senior spring grades on your transcript (hopefully, all A’s). If that puts you over a T14’s median, a gap year might be worth considering. Not only would it increase your ‘chances’ of admissions, but increase your chances of some tax free merit money. For example, applying with both numbers above Columbia’s medians is likely to result in merit money from CLS.
Try and get your GPA up to 3.9ish. 3.8 is a little on the low side for Harvard, Yale, Stanford and a few others. If your school awards A+ grades, your LSAC GPA might be there already. Your LSAT is great.
Seriously consider applying to the Harvard junior deferral program this upcoming spring. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/the-application-process/junior-deferral-program/