Top Law Schools

Hi everyone. I have a low gpa of 2.8 and a 175 lsat score.

I graduated with a BS in biology in 2012 at a top engineering school - it's a well-known school but not exactly an ivy so not sure if that really helps my situation. I worked quite a bit while in school (researched at a lab, tutored and worked as a barista along with some ECs) and struggled a lot with science courses (my parents would only help pay for college if I majored in a science/engineering field).

After ugrad, I worked at a non-profit health clinic for 2 years and will be 3 years into working as a paralegal at a law firm when I start applying. I'm pretty confident in my LORs - My supervisor at the clinic and I have a great relationship and I've been getting a lot of positive feedback at my current firm.

I'm nervous about the low gpa but am hoping with ugrad 5 years behind me now, I could be a candidate for Northwestern since they are super splitter friendly. I'd be extremely happy to be accepted - would I have any chance at their ED program? If not, what schools would you recommend that I aim for?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

**edit: Thank you all for your responses! I know a lot of you have said super splitters have unpredictable cycles but the thought of not being accepted anywhere haunts me. Would I be a good candidate for GWU or GMU? If not, what schools do you think I should realistically be aiming for?

Also, if I decided I wanted to teach English abroad, would that be a bad idea considering one of the only strong suits in my application is my work experience? I wonder if I should just stay at the current firm for as long as possible instead of hopping around.

Sorry for all the questions! Reading these forums makes me even more anxious than ever!

Edit: I can't read.

Your cycle will be unpredictable, so apply broadly to the t13 and t20.

It can happen with those stats. Probably not ed . Likely not with good $$ in any case.

to NU it can be happen. whether you'd get money is even more unpredictable though.

Thanks all for your responses!

This is unrelated but I was also interested in teaching English abroad for a year this coming February. I'm applying in 2018 - should I just wait to finish applying first or would going abroad in February be okay? I'd be able to complete my applications since I'll have internet access and I can manage writing my personal statement while teaching as I've studied for the lsats while working.

I'm mostly worried about the fact that I'm not a high level candidate and all I've got going for me is my lsat score and work experience, so I wonder if I should at least keep my work experience strong by staying at the current firm for as long as possible.

Feel pretty comfortable saying you have no chance at NU ED, but if NU is your top choice you should ED because it can't hurt! I am not sure what your overall chances are.

There isn't enough data on super splitters to give you an accurate answer. They are so rare that each case really does boil down to the details that otherwise wouldn't likely matter to traditional applicants. Your WE, LoRs, PS, GPA addendum, extracurriculars will all be extremely important in your application, whereas for a normal median applicant all most of those are used solely for for weeding out awful applicants. You need to make sure your apps are absolutely flawless and convey that you've matured past your bad UG GPA. As others have said, apply broadly.

Anecdotal: I had very similar stats and got into NU with money, ended up at UVA w/ less. You just cant tell as a super splitter, so apply widely. Good luck!