Law school admission and elite colleges

Hanna
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 22:54:37 +0000

What are people’s theories for why it would benefit Harvard Law to admit Harvard College undergrads at a higher rate than Yale or Princeton undergrads with the same numbers? All institutions act in what they perceive to be their own best interest. It’s easy to see from the outside why maximizing LSAT and GPA is in their interest (US News). It’s also easy to understand the bragging rights that come with URM enrollment and with fascinating backstories (“This year’s 1Ls include a submarine skipper, a trapeze artist, and an exonerated survivor of Death Row!”). But why would Harvard Law care if they have 70 Harvard College alumni in a class instead of 65? What interest would that serve?

For context, I’ve been advising law school applicants professionally since 1999, with the exception of the 5 years I spent on staff in the career office at Northwestern Law.

tsbna44:

What you’re seeing is - that Ivy kids perform best - same way they performed best at undergrad - so they are getting the spots.

But if other kids somehow outscored them - would they get the spots?

Yes, they would.