2.45(UGPA)/155(LSAT) [!!!URGENT ADVICE REQUIRED!!!] Forum

[icydash]

It sounds like law school is what your parents want; not what you want. It also sounds like neither one of you did a very good job at researching the market / current job opportunities given this economy.

Personally, I have a lot of legal connections, so getting a job after law school won't be that difficult....that being said, NONE of my connections would consider taking me on with a Cooley degree, whether they are family, friends, etc. Seriously. It's just bad for business. I would look into this and make sure you literally have a job guarantee in writing for after you graduate before going to Cooley...You'd be surprised how "connections" fall through when you talk about the absolute worst law school in the country (and a poor academic record on top of it). Nobody wants a poorly qualified applicant with no work experience and a poor academic record working for them.

EDIT: also, just because your family has the money doesn't mean you should waste it. Your parents worked very hard for their money -- don't throw it away. Put it towards a decent legal education.

[atlantalaw]

If you're rich and all you need is a law degree, go to Cooley.
If your GPA is 2.45 and your LSAT is 155 (even after 3 times), no schools will really accept you, unless you use family connections to buy admissions to a T3.

ps. Flame.

op, your plan sucks. cooley will flunk you out before you even get a degree, and if you somehow manage to get through (parents pay your teachers for your grades? i don't know), then you parents will have to use connections to get you a governmental/corporate job (which, by the way, are very competitive jobs that competent people apply for (and by competent, i mean they have actual qualifications and connections)). your parents must be pretty wealtly and connected to do all that for you. is your dad, like, attorney general or something?

just tell your parents that cooley's job is to flunk people out and if that is your best option, it really isn't an option at all. if they want to buy you into a better school where you are less likely to flunk out, that would probably be better.

if your parents are really forcing you to go to law school....you do know that law school is a lot of hard work, right? nothing about it is daisies. nothing. being a lawyer is also hard work. you do know that, right? good luck getting a corporate or governmental job from any non-decent school, unless your parents really will use their connections to get you in.

[TCScrutinizer]

Your parents should donate hella money to get you into UIUC so that I can get my scholarship bumped and improve the curve for those of us who are good at things.

[webbylu87]

Your parents should donate hella money to get you into UIUC so that I can get my scholarship bumped and improve the curve for those of us who are good at things.

THIS.

[icydash]

Also I was pretty confused about this:

(2) I don't have much say in my future; so it's law school or bust.

There's really only three reasons this would be the case:
(1) your parents want you to practice law because they practiced law and want you to follow in their footsteps: This is a horrible reason to attend law school, and you'll most likely flunk out because the passion isn't there.

(2) they want you to make a lot of money: This won't happen coming from Cooley (if you manage to even get a job at all), and your family has a lot of money...so this option doesn't make sense.

(3) they want you to get a decent, respectable job: Again, this also is highly unlikely to happen coming from Cooley (if you manage to even get a job at all), and you all need to research the legal market as it stands currently.

[atlantalaw]

maybe we are supposed to feel sorry for the poor lil rich kid? boohoo my parents are making me go to law school?

Also I was pretty confused about this:

(2) I don't have much say in my future; so it's law school or bust.

There's really only three reasons this would be the case:
(1) your parents want you to practice law because they practiced law and want you to follow in their footsteps: This is a horrible reason to attend law school, and you'll most likely flunk out because the passion isn't there.

(2) they want you to make a lot of money: This won't happen coming from Cooley (if you manage to even get a job at all), and your family has a lot of money...so this option doesn't make sense.

(3) they want you to get a decent, respectable job: Again, this also is highly unlikely to happen coming from Cooley (if you manage to even get a job at all), and you all need to research the legal market as it stands currently.

[Thirteen]

Also, I understand distancing myself from my GPA is a good option, but would getting a job as a bank teller or government service employee be such a good idea? I hear people do WORSE in law school after they join the work force since its hard to get back into studying again.

I graduated a few years ago with a GPA < 2.5, and applied for law school with less than spectacular work experience. Adcomms mentioned my work experience being a plus in my offers of admission, so I'm relatively certain that any work experience will make a favorable impression. Work for a few years, excel in your chosen field, and study your ass off for the LSAT. You mentioned that your family is well off; consider hiring a tutor to work with you for a few months. If you can raise your score into the mid-160's, it will be a worthwhile investment in your future. If I were in your shoes OP, I wouldn't apply to law schools for another year or 2. Congrats on being admitted to Cooley, and good luck with your decision!

[redsox]

Law school is not for everyone. I think you might want to reconsider law school.

[engineer]

OP, also consider the military. I'm sure it will get rid of any sense of entitlement you may have.

[stiltzkiin]

Also, I understand distancing myself from my GPA is a good option, but would getting a job as a bank teller or government service employee be such a good idea? I hear people do WORSE in law school after they join the work force since its hard to get back into studying again.

Let's be honest, a 2.45 does not indicate that you were "into studying" to begin with...

[Thirteen]

Also, I understand distancing myself from my GPA is a good option, but would getting a job as a bank teller or government service employee be such a good idea? I hear people do WORSE in law school after they join the work force since its hard to get back into studying again.

Let's be honest, a 2.45 does not indicate that you were "into studying" to begin with...

Maybe he studied in high school, or studied only for classes in college that interested him. What a great, constructive way to use your first post on TLS.

[dramaticpaws]

I don't think it matters what any of us think, you're gonna end up doing what mommy and daddy tell you to do anyways. Good luck with life, kid.

[stiltzkiin]

Also, I understand distancing myself from my GPA is a good option, but would getting a job as a bank teller or government service employee be such a good idea? I hear people do WORSE in law school after they join the work force since its hard to get back into studying again.

Let's be honest, a 2.45 does not indicate that you were "into studying" to begin with...

Maybe he studied in high school, or studied only for classes in college that interested him. What a great, constructive way to use your first post on TLS.

srry 13, i didn't know you have to post 1k times to earn the appropriate certification required to be brutally honest with someone on an internet forum.

[ToTransferOrNot]

Thanks for everyone's advice, but here's more of my background and things I don't have to consider:

Additional info:
(1) I come from a decently wealthy family so debt is NOT a problem at all. Tuition is not even a consideration for me.
(2) I don't have much say in my future; so it's law school or bust.
(3) University: Double Major in Political Science and Economics
(4) Job Prospects: Governmental/Corporate Consultant
(5) Schools I am awaiting replies: Michigan StateU, NYLS, etc...
(6) I heard taking the LSAT too many times (like 4 times), hurt admission chance.

I appreciate everyone telling me take a year/few years off to study/work/etc... but realistically, my family really wants me to just get a law degree. According to their plans I just need to get a law degree and they will try to find legal connections after law school, etc... But I am less optimistic and hope I make the correct decision about my future (just in case its not all sunshine and daisies as they may think).
Regarding Cooley, it seems like the general consensus is that Cooley may not be the way to go... however, Cooley is a safety net for me, so I am still hesitant to remove it from my calculations.

Also, I understand distancing myself from my GPA is a good option, but would getting a job as a bank teller or government service employee be such a good idea? I hear people do WORSE in law school after they join the work force since its hard to get back into studying again.

P.S. I'll keep my thread titles less like what you'd see in your spam box from not on

/facepalm

How does it make you feel when people who are born with nothing compared to the advantages you've been given manage to out-perform you in every way? Just curious.

[engineer]

How does it make you feel when people who are born with nothing compared to the advantages you've been given manage to out-perform you in every way? Just curious.

Actually, I'm inclined to believe that it's tougher for people raised like that to "succeed." They've never had an incentive to do anything, and the only hardship they've known is when JCrew is out of the vintage stonewashed jeans in their size. I just think it's the way you're raised; the people who've known adversity and who have dealt with taking chances and whatnot are much better suited than the ones who've never had to worry about anything.

[Iuvo]

How does it make you feel when people who are born with nothing compared to the advantages you've been given manage to out-perform you in every way? Just curious.

Actually, I'm inclined to believe that it's tougher for people raised like that to "succeed." They've never had an incentive to do anything, and the only hardship they've known is when JCrew is out of the vintage stonewashed jeans in their size. I just think it's the way you're raised; the people who've known adversity and who have dealt with taking chances and whatnot are much better suited than the ones who've never had to worry about anything.

All the statistics showing income and performance results prove you wrong. People who are wealthier tend to score higher on standardized tests and have higher GPAs.

They get the best tutors, don't have to worry about food (recent studies show that between 20-40% of a poor person's braind "bandwidth" goes to thinking about how to make ends meet... the rich don't have to do that), or shelter. Huge advantage. The only excuse for failure is laziness and bad genes. Or bad parents. More the former one than the latter ones.

[A'nold]

How does it make you feel when people who are born with nothing compared to the advantages you've been given manage to out-perform you in every way? Just curious.

Actually, I'm inclined to believe that it's tougher for people raised like that to "succeed." They've never had an incentive to do anything, and the only hardship they've known is when JCrew is out of the vintage stonewashed jeans in their size. I just think it's the way you're raised; the people who've known adversity and who have dealt with taking chances and whatnot are much better suited than the ones who've never had to worry about anything.

I'll take it a step further. Note that many of the very high numbered peeps on this site and thus many of the students attending higher ranked schools had at least upper middle class childhoods and some even wealthy. Many are straight out of UG and have no real life experiences. Then they come on here and act that they have some kind of idea of what real life is like. They go to law school b/c (as I've seen said numerous times on this site) they want to keep living a "comfortable" lifestyle. These are the people that complain about legal hours, say they should have been engineers, complain about everything that basically equals every other job in the world.

[A'nold]

How does it make you feel when people who are born with nothing compared to the advantages you've been given manage to out-perform you in every way? Just curious.

Actually, I'm inclined to believe that it's tougher for people raised like that to "succeed." They've never had an incentive to do anything, and the only hardship they've known is when JCrew is out of the vintage stonewashed jeans in their size. I just think it's the way you're raised; the people who've known adversity and who have dealt with taking chances and whatnot are much better suited than the ones who've never had to worry about anything.

All the statistics showing income and performance results prove you wrong. People who are wealthier tend to score higher on standardized tests and have higher GPAs.

They get the best tutors, don't have to worry about food (recent studies show that between 20-40% of a poor person's braind "bandwidth" goes to thinking about how to make ends meet... the rich don't have to do that), or shelter. Huge advantage. The only excuse for failure is laziness and bad genes. Or bad parents. More the former one than the latter ones.

At least half of all conversations my parents had while I was growing up was money related (we were VERY poor).

[eth3n]

[icydash]

OPs current thoughts: "OH NOE!! Is JCrew really out of the vintage stonewashed jeans in my size?!?!?!?"

[Thirteen]

The OP asked for advice, not judgment. Just sayin...

[ToTransferOrNot]

The OP asked for advice, not judgment. Just sayin...

It's the internet.

[Iuvo]

The OP asked for advice, not judgment. Just sayin...

I found his saying 'I have no problem with money, my family is very wealthy' pretentious. He could have just said 'money to attend isn't a problem.'

[Thirteen]

The OP asked for advice, not judgment. Just sayin...

I found his saying 'I have no problem with money, my family is very wealthy' pretentious. He could have just said 'money to attend isn't a problem.'

It definitely was pretentious, but the guy came here asking for advice. Nothing good comes from taking cheap shots at him.

[ToTransferOrNot]

The OP asked for advice, not judgment. Just sayin...

I found his saying 'I have no problem with money, my family is very wealthy' pretentious. He could have just said 'money to attend isn't a problem.'

It definitely was pretentious, but the guy came here asking for advice. [strike]Nothing good[/strike]Petty amusement comes from taking cheap shots at him.