<p>I believe that those who are arguing that 3-year graduates are significantly disadvantaged are missing a huge point: LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS IS A NUMBER GAME. LSAT and GPA (and your academic letters of rec) are the biggest factors in determining where you go. Anything else is a soft factor. A T14 or any law school for that matter would rather select someone with a high LSAT score and GPA who graduated in three years than someone with significantly lower numbers who graduated in four years. Perhaps the three-year graduate with a high LSAT score and GPA could’ve gotten into a few more schools had he waited an extra year to finish. But really, the discrepancy between a 3-year and 4-year graduate is ultimately a SOFT factor. I’m sure that even though that 3-year-graduate with a high LSAT and GPA got rejected by a few schools because of this discrepancy, he will be accepted by another great law school.</p>
<p>What bothers me about SallyAWP’s argument is that she is mainly explaining how law FIRMS select their applicants. Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to get into law SCHOOL first, right? Like I said before, LSAT admissions is primarily about your LSAT and GPA. I cannot emphasize enough that everything else is a soft factor. So after you graduate in three years, get into a law school of your choice, and start applying for a firm, these firms will certainly care more about your law school experience than your undergrad experience.</p>
<p>And if you’re uncertain about the way firms will view your early undergrad graduation, then explain! Explain to them that you couldn’t afford to. Explain to them that you had other plans that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Then explain about your great law school experience, and I’m sure then the discrepancy will be pretty minor.</p>
<p>So bottom line: if you’re graduating early from undergrad, make sure you have a stellar GPA and LSAT score as well. If not, take an extra year to up your GPA or LSAT score. There’s nothing wrong with graduating in 4 years, but there’s also nothing wrong with graduating earlier.</p>