DeLoggio's Analysis of Top Law Schools and the GPA and LSAT you need to be admitted IF YOU'RE A MAINSTREAM APPLICANT

The easiest way to see why you can't get into school X is to look at the number of seats for mainstream applicants at that school or better schools (as reported in the Official Guide, 2001 ed.), and the number of mainstream applicants with certain index numbers. Here are the caveats:

I've calculated the number of seats as total in the first year class minus 1/3 the total number of blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. This number may be a tad high, as there are often more minorities in the first year class (because of either rising minority admission rates or higher than average minority attrition).
I've adjusted the state schools marked with an asterisk(*) to show the number of nonresident mainstream seats. This is based on private interview data collected several years ago, which may have changed.
I've calculated the number of mainstream applicants from data published by Law Services, showing the number of applicants with various gpa and LSAT combinations, for 2001. I've then adjusted this number by the reasonably expected increase for 2003, which is 20% more than the 2001 applicant volumes. Then in 2009, I checked to make sure the data was still valid, and it's almost identical, so I'm leaving it up.

If you find your index number, using the formula Index = LSAT + (gpa x 10), you can see where you are on the chart.

Of course, that's a very vague approximation. It doesn't allow for quality of school, activities, recs, essays, and differing emphases on gpa and LSAT in admissions formulas. But it gives you a rough idea of why you can't get into school X -- there are that many people who have more impressive numbers than you!

The View from the Top