Unlike undergrad admissions which is holistic at at the top schools, for LS it’s nearly all about two numbers: GPA+LSAT. EC’s are a nice-to-have.
The smaller selective schools such as Yale, Stanford and Chicago, do value EC’s, however.
Was simply trying to provide all the information I know to answer @theloniusmonk question as best I could. As I stated above I do not have access to that applicant’s GPA and LSAT as she is a friend of my D’s.
You all were so helpful.
Giving everyone an update. Applied to 8 of the T-14. Was admitted to 3 so far. Straight out of college.
Any KJD’s out there - it can be done.
Stats 3.95 and 173
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I am a huge proponent of ED to prestigious undergrad colleges like Williams or Amherst if the net price calculator suggests you can afford it with the aid you are likely to get. It works because, for the top ranked undergrad colleges, aid is 100% based on need, so you will get the same amount of financial aid regardless of when you apply.
But I think ED is usually a bad idea for most of the T14 law schools where most of the aid comes from merit scholarships.
Here’s why. First, if you follow Law School Admissions on the site that begins with an R, you can see the frustration of some ED applicants when some regular decision applicants heard back before they did! Not every school prioritizes ED. …But still apply early (just not through a binding early decision plan), because your odds are often improved by applying in Sept-Oct since all admissions are rolling!
Second, and much more important, most of the T14’s give merit aid. Once they’ve decided to admit you, they often will give you a merit scholarship… and they may be willing to adjust your scholarship to try to convince you to attend. Applying regular decision allows you to ask your favorite school for a higher scholarship offer based on a higher offer you received from a similarly ranked law school.
The exception would be if you are willing to commit ED to a school that guarantees a certain merit scholarship only if you apply and are admitted ED. If I recall correctly, at least two of the T14’s (Northwestern, Berkeley) offered that option.
This reply assumes you are a candidate near, at, or above the median LSAT/ GPA for the school in question. For candidates unlikely to get a merit scholarship to the school and willing to pay top dollar, your risk-benefit calculation may be different. Just remember that many students get merit scholarships— at some T14 schools, as many as 80% of students in a class.
Based on an admittedly small sample size of the few law students I know personally, it seems to be a binary for high stats kids: you are either admitted with a merit scholarship or waitlisted. And this is as true of T14 law schools as of much, much lower-ranked schools. Law schools either waitlist a high stats applicant or they invest in that applicant with a big scholarship. If you have the stats of a typical T14 student, would you risk not getting as much money by applying ED?
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Scroll up one post. This student didn’t apply ED to law school.
Saw. Was writing reply for others reading in days to come, not just for OP, who happily seems to have some great options already.
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