Stats are 90% of what matters. At non t14s, they’re 100% of what matters. My LSAC GPA was significantly worse than my transcript GPA because I had to retake a class that I sorta quit on my freshman year (oops). This absolutely hurt my cycle, maybe more for scholarship amounts than for acceptances.

Essays and resume differentiate applicants at t-14s, but only once you’re at or above at least one median. Being at or above an LSAT median is more advantageous than being above a GPA median because there are fewer high LSAT candidates than high GPA candidates.

Always retake the LSAT. Advisors who tell you not to are stuck in 2012.

Apply to Duke before Thanksgiving. They were the only school I didn’t apply to before Thanksgiving because I was holding them for a possible ED2 application, but decided against once I got my Michigan A.

Finally, aim for 172 LSAT for solid t14 options if you have a below median GPA. Not having a 172 was my biggest regret. A lot of these schools target 172 medians so they accept waayyyyy more 172s than 171s. Penn/Northwestern/Cornell/NYU all LOVE 172 LSAT scorers. Michigan love 171s, which is probably why I’m ending up there on a decent scholarship.