<p>Now I realize my thread title was sarcastic but hear me out. I am a high school senior aspiring to go to Harvard Law School and I have been practicing for the LSAT very very rigorously. I can get in the 170’s a majority of the time. My final goal by the time I take the actual LSAT is a 180 but here is where my question arises. Does a 180 really help much at places like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford? Before you guys start giving me responses like “Of course it does you twit!” just know I simply asked this because the 75th percentile of scores at Harvard and Yale is between 176-177 so if an applicant has a 180 will that even raise any eyebrows and increase your chances or is the 3-4 points almost useless?</p>
<p>I think you underestimate how difficult it is to get a 180.</p>
<p>Actually, it seems like he does know how hard it is to get a 180, and is wondering if it is worth the extra effort.</p>
<p>I think hahalolk is right. The last 3 LSAT practices I took I scored 171 169 and 176 respectively and I don’t think I underestimate it. It’s hard to get a 180, I know, but I honestly think I can. I have all the powerscore bibles and I pretty much eat, sleep, and breath solely to get into HLS (and no I am not ■■■■■■■■, I legitly have no friends nor look forward to going to prom this year, I just don’t care at all) so that was the reason I made this thread. All serious answers are welcome.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what about Yale or Stanford? Why the utter infatuation with HLS? </p>
<p>I applaud your aspirations, btw.</p>
<p>For someone with your level of intellect, getting a high LSAT should be deferred until your junior year of Harvard undergrad. In the interim you should devote your waking hours to something useful like cancer research. In fact, you should “eat, sleep, and breath solely to” cure cancer. Ditch the powerscore bibles for The Journal of Molecular Cancer Research. I think you will be able to get into SLS or even YLS with that soft. </p>
<p>You should got to prom, also.</p>
<p>It is generally recommended not to “seriously” study for more than 6-7 months prior to the test. Of course you can familiarize yourself with the test before and take some classes, but 6 months usually does the trick. </p>
<p>Unless you’re looking to the LSAT your freshman year of college, I don’t see why you are studying now. If you’re scoring 170’s before being in college, then you will likely score near the 180’s with a lot of practice prior to your test (6 months in my recommendation).</p>
<p>Also most people with high aspirations as you aim for the number one law school, Yale. Harvard Law School is only number and has been overtaken by Stanford in the past.</p>
<p>walteral1990, thank you for the sarcastic remark. I might pursue cancer research just to add that extracurricular on my resume for bonus points!</p>
<p>And jimmihendrix I understand your point but can’t I take the LSAT whenever I feel confident enough in my abilities to get a 180? That might be soon depending on how I feel. Also, I didn’t feel like adding the unnecesary detail but I have been dual enrolled at a college since 10th grade that transfers all its credits to a UC campus when I am accepted so I can ideally graduate Cal or UCLA in 2 years instead of 4 so it’s not as early for me to start studying the LSAT as you guys might think.</p>
<p>Also the reason why I prefer HLS over Yale is just the public name of Harvard and also the location. By no means would I be “devastated” if I got into Yale, Stanford or Columbia but rejected from HLS. hah</p>
<p>Law schools tend to be extremely skeptical of very-young candidates. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, of course. But you might be well advised to take a couple years off. Or to take your full four years in college.</p>
<p>Really? Where have you heard this or can you link me to where I might be able to find more information on this matter?</p>
<p>And also, would a 20 year old out of college look extremely young? Maybe I’m missing something.</p>
<p>It’s something I’ve seen from watching folks go through the process. I admit that this isn’t very rigorous evidence.</p>
<p>Yes. 20 year olds, especially if they only spent two years in college, would be considered young.</p>
<p>Really, you’re overkilling it for Harvard. Yale is more prestigious in the legal world than Harvard in most cases. </p>
<p>But yeah, 20 years is too young. Get an amazing job after undergrad,and then work for 2+ years to boost up your application.</p>
<p>Why are you looking into a UC school? Someone scoring that high is definitely higher than most undergrad students at Berkeley or UCLA. If you’re as “smart” as you say you are, you would be top ivy material no doubt. (I’m serious, the people in my school with personalities/abilities similar as yours were Princeton/Harvard admits).</p>
<p>Well technically I’ve spent 4 years in college but started while at 16. Thanks for the info though, maybe a 3.9x and a 180 will make up for that? If not I can always try again next year right while or looking for stuff to add on my resume?</p>
<p>Ok, to actually answer your question: yes, there is a huge difference between a 177 and 180, and these last three points can easily be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection, particularly for applicants with relatively low GPAs.</p>
<p>In short, you want to score as high on the LSAT as you possibly can.</p>
<p>Scoring as high as I can on the LSAT is a given I would assume. But with almost two whole years of college credits in my possession with a GPA so far of 3.94 (expect to graduate with no less than a 3.90), do you think that a 180 has a significantly higher chance than a 177? </p>
<p>For example, a 2350 SAT has honestly very little if any noticeable difference than another person’s 2380 SAT at HYS. You see where I am coming from?</p>
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<p>In your case, it will make a huge difference. A young, non-URM student straight out of college with a 3.9 and a 177 isn’t a shoe-in at HYS, but with a 180 he likely is.</p>
<p>Also, comparing undergraduate admissions with law school admissions is misleading because law schools tend to weigh standardized test scores much more heavily and extracurriculars and GPAs much less heavily. (Another note: the difference between a 177 and a 180 is actually closer to the difference between a 2310 and a 2400 on the SAT, which is certainly significant at any college.)</p>
<p>Then there is no other choice but the 180.</p>
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<p>To whatever extent this is right (and it strikes me as plausible), you need to bear in mind that this is because of your excessively young age. An otherwise-normal undergrad with a 3.8/175 would usually get into HLS.</p>
<p>That is quite disheartening that they would look down upon my passion and success at such a young age. I guess there’s a first time for everything. Usually that kind of success would be an advantage I would think, but I guess not.</p>
<p>You could also call it a lack of real world experience and a rush to get through things that should be enjoyed and explored.</p>