Law School Admissions Unplugged Podcast: Personal Statements, Application Essays, Scholarships, LSAT Prep, and More…
Brutally Honest Advice for Harvard Law School Applicants
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If you're looking to get into Harvard Law School, it's probably harder than you think. Today, I'm going to walk you through the LSAT and GPA that you need to get into a top law school like Harvard or Yale or Stanford if you're applying to law school this fall. For those who don't know me, my name is Steve Schwartz. I've been teaching the LSAT since 2005, and I personally increased my LSAT score from a 152 to a 175. Now Harvard Law School's LSAT median is currently a 174, and their GPA median is a 3.93. This means that last cycle, half of the applicants they accepted had LSATs and GPAs above these numbers. Half of their accepted students had below these numbers, but of course, law schools like Harvard are always looking to increase their standing in the US News Law School rankings. And so when LSAT and GPA medians are released in the next few months, we're probably going to see higher numbers on at least one of these two metrics if not both. And so if you're thinking, I want to go to Harvard, my GPA is below a 3.93, then you're probably going to want to have an LSAT score above a 174, and it may even be that the new numbers that are released coming up may show their LSAT median could be a 175, in which case you want to have an even higher LSAT score. Only time will tell what the new LSAT medians are going to be. But regardless, your GPA is probably fairly fixed at this point. You've probably finished undergrad or you're going to be finishing it soon. So there's a limited impact you can make on your GPA, since of course, any given individual class is only going to have a marginal impact on your overall GPA from undergrad. But your LSAT score is the culmination of only two to two and a half hours in one time sitting, and that can have more of an impact than all of undergrad combined, because the thing is that almost every single law school weighs your LSAT score more heavily than your undergraduate GPA, because there's significant variation in grade inflation across different schools, across different majors, across different professors. But the LSAT is a constant. It's the same no matter where you are, no matter who you are, no matter when and where you take it. Because of course, there continues to be LSAT score inflation over the past few years, LSAT scores have risen significantly due to a number of different factors, one of which being the temporary LSAT flex format at the beginning of the pandemic. LSAT shortened the exam at that time from five sections to only three, and they moved it from being in person to online and LSAT underestimated how much easier those changes would make the exam. Additionally, LSAT has become a lot more liberal in granting accommodations for things like extra time. It used to be they denied too many applicants who were deserving. Now they're giving out accommodations to virtually anyone who asks for them according to their own data. They approve accommodations for 98% of those who request them, which basically means dot your eyes and cross your teeth, you're likely to get what you're asking for. Additionally, the LSAT has gone from being administered only four times a year to now being administered eight times a year, which means there are more opportunities to retake the LSAT, more at bats means more opportunities to get a higher score and law schools only consider the highest LSAT score that you are applying with because that's all they have incentive to care about. The highest LSAT score of their admitted students is what goes to the American Bar Association, which in turn is pulled by US News for inclusion in the ever important US News law school rankings. And so if you're looking to get into a school like Harvard or Yale or Stanford or any other one of the T-14 law schools, all of which have LSAT medians ranging from 170 to 175 Yale being at the high end with the 175 LSAT median currently, you're going to want to get the highest LSAT score possible on your record, which means given that the LSAT has offered four consecutive months this fall, August, September, October and November, I recommend taking it at least twice if you've never taken about four for the simple reason that through luck alone, you could do better. Let's say for example, you're aiming to take the LSAT currently in September, you could register for November just as a backup. And then let's say you're averaging on your PTs, say a 173, maybe you get a 173 in September, but then with two more months of studying, another couple practice tests and review of those tests, maybe you score on your high end on a retake, you get lucky or maybe those two additional months help you improve your understanding that much more and you get a 175 on your retake. Now you are applying with a 175 as your official highest score on record rather than a 173, which of course will improve your chances significantly. Now if you'd like my help on your journey to scoring a 175 on your LSAT, whenever you're taking it, you can check out the links below this video to book a call with me, my team, we'd be glad to help. And in the meantime, I wish you all the best and take care.