VM: When I say I scored it, I mean officially. Your suggestions are noted, appreciated, and rejected.
When you said before that the GPA of credits that are not part of your degree are considered by HLS, how do you know this? How would HLS know every credit you took? Even if they did, LSAC wouldn’t allow such numbers to be included in admissions statistics because of potential game-playing. This means that it wouldn’t affect HLS’s numbers at all.
The likely reason HLS would accept a BTL over a more demonstrative proof of ability, would be to help their 25/75 numbers, particularly recently, due to the lower number of elite scores applying.
I see no reason to doubt the story of a slacker with a BTL that got into HLS. I think the reason law schools in the NYC area hesitate with BTLs is if they don’t particularly help with the #s, particularly because many BTL applicants [understandably] don’t do that well once within law school.
Finally, “took college as a joke” and “dropped out” do not imply “slacker” or even low grades to me, particularly if the reason was to learn more Torah. Quite to the contrary this sounds like a responsible and honorable person who has their priorities in order.