2.96/167 Mexican with drug charges Forum

[Alan]

Hi. I want to be a lawyer. I want to go to a good school. Obviously, choices I made in life like taking it easy in college and taking drugs have hurt my chances of getting into a great lawschool. I regret those transgressions but have learned from them. I was convicted of POM twice, neither are felonies. Both occured over 2 years ago. My mother and best friend are my LORs. That is not a joke. No one else would have been any better. I applyed to 10 schools last Monday.

2.96/167, URM

In state:
Houston
SMU
Texas Tech

Out of State:
Minn
W&M
Alabama
Colorado
Penn State
Miami
Oklahoma

What are my chances of gaining admission to any of these schools? If I get in ANY of them, I am going to go. Im debating applying to a few TTT other than Tech. But i really dont think I would want to go to a school ranked below the top 100. Im also going to study for June LSAT just incase I dont gain admission. I believe I can ace it next time.

[bk1]

My mother and best friend are my LORs.

Your mother is obviously an awful idea for an LOR. Your best friend might be okay if (s)he is also your boss or professor. Otherwise, your best friend is another awful idea.

You've applied really late. You have LOR's that might just actually sink you. According to you, you can do better on the LSAT. You should take a year off, retake, get work experience, and get real LORs, then aim for NU.

I have no idea how the drug stuff will affect you but I know the more time you can put between the incidents and your matriculation to law school, the better your chances.

[Perdevise]

Depending on time passed, misdemeanor POM charges probably won't be an issue. You will get dinged for LORs from family/friends. Many deans of schools all over the spectrum have advised against it. It would be infinitely better to track down any professor, TA or even a boss from a part time job.

[hoos89]

Based on your numbers alone as a URM you would probably get into a fair number of those schools with average softs. However, I don't think I've ever heard of a worse pair of LoRs. Law schools don't want to hear what your mom and best friend have to say about you because just about everyone's mom and best friend would have great things to say and it is possible that those may cause you to get denied in places that would otherwise admit you. I'm not sure the drug charges will hurt you all that much, they sound pretty run of the mill; you just may want to write an addendum and show good reason why that won't be an issue going forward. You also applied very late in the cycle which hurts you a bit more (and compounded with you LoRs makes it seem like you applied on something of a whim).

With that said, you are actually aiming kind of low. Study hard, retake, get a 170+, and get a job so you can get 2 real LORs and then apply to the T14.

[moneybagsphd]

Awful LOR from professor>Outstanding LOR from family/friend. This should be obvious.

[Alan]

Thank you for responding. None of my teachers will remember me. My boss is indifferent to me. I messed up in that regard. It is what it is.


Your advice is compelling. Im going to start studying the for the LSAT again next week. If I manage to get into one of those 10 schools, I will go. If not, I will retake in June and apply early next cycle. Hopefully I can build some professional bridges in the mean time.

[JDProspect]

Can I ask why you asked your mom and best friend for LOR's?

It's possible to get into law school even with misdemeanors. I actually have a friend that got into UCLA with multiple misdemeanors POM, gun possession, etc. However, LOR's should never be from relatives. The best LOR's come from professors, instructors, TA's, employers, etc.

[lobolawyer]

Get some new LOR's. Seriously. And I would add New Mexico to that your list.

[berkeleykel06]

Thank you for responding. None of my teachers will remember me. My boss is indifferent to me. I messed up in that regard. It is what it is.

It doesn't matter if your boss is indifferent to you. Have him write an LOR anyway. If none of your teachers remember you, choose a class that you did well in and when you ask the professor to write the recommendation send in examples of papers that you wrote for the class as a refresher. That should be good enough to at least get a generic LOR out of them.

[Alan]

Can I ask why you asked your mom and best friend for LOR's?

It's possible to get into law school even with misdemeanors. I actually have a friend that got into UCLA with multiple misdemeanors POM, gun possession, etc. However, LOR's should never be from relatives. The best LOR's come from professors, instructors, TA's, employers, etc.

I am just so far removed from all of those people. A few years ago, to get into graduate school, I had a professor write me an LOR. I had him as a teacher in 2 seperate classes. I set the curve in one of the classes. The letter was awful, like an outline, with no emotion. It didnt really say anything at all.

I figured those who actually know me on a personal level would be able to write letters with the most depth.

[hoos89]

Can I ask why you asked your mom and best friend for LOR's?

It's possible to get into law school even with misdemeanors. I actually have a friend that got into UCLA with multiple misdemeanors POM, gun possession, etc. However, LOR's should never be from relatives. The best LOR's come from professors, instructors, TA's, employers, etc.

I am just so far removed from all of those people. A few years ago, to get into graduate school, I had a professor write me an LOR. I had him as a teacher in 2 seperate classes. I set the curve in one of the classes. The letter was awful, like an outline, with no emotion. It didnt really say anything at all.

I figured those who actually know me on a personal level would be able to write letters with the most depth.

That may be, but the problem is that law schools will never take a letter from a friend or relative seriously no matter how good it is. If everyone sent in an LoR from their mom then LoRs would be a completely useless evaluation tool. Of COURSE your mom is going to write you a glowing LoR: she's your mom. She thinks you're great at everything. That doesn't tell them anything about you other than that you got your mom to write your LoR.

[moneybagsphd]

Thank you for responding. None of my teachers will remember me. My boss is indifferent to me. I messed up in that regard. It is what it is.
.

Awful LOR from professor>Outstanding LOR from family/friend. This should be obvious.

[emkay625]

I don't think schools will even accept those LOR's. Your app will be considered incomplete.

[Alan]

I understand the general consenus that I screwed myself. I have now heard it about 10 different ways.

Its WAAAYY to late to try and get better letters at this point. So Its back to the drawing board.

[MrAnon]

flame on brother

I hope you guys realize that there are a lot of bored xo refugees with time on their hands out there.

[Jwb0711]

I understand the general consenus that I screwed myself. I have now heard it about 10 different ways.

Its WAAAYY to late to try and get better letters at this point. So Its back to the drawing board.

Haha. Wow.

Man I'm not sure what you are looking for. Alot of people have been giving you good advice on what to do, but you aren't listening. You keep saying "it's too late". I emailed a prof from a while back for my LOR, after refreshing his memory of who I was ( the fact that I got an A didn't hurt either) he wrote me a great LOR.

You have not, cause you ask not.

But hey, do what you want. Go ahead and apply with those LOR's you have and see what happens. If law school isn't worth the time you could spend trying to get better LOR's then maybe you shouldn't be a part of the profession.

[timbs4339]

I understand the general consenus that I screwed myself. I have now heard it about 10 different ways.

Its WAAAYY to late to try and get better letters at this point. So Its back to the drawing board.

Unless you believe the world is going to end in 2012, law school will still be around if you wait a year.

FWIW, I didn't exactly have strong LORs either. I went to class, did my work, and never interacted with my professors otherwise. It doesn't matter if they're generic.

[T00L]

I understand the general consenus that I screwed myself. I have now heard it about 10 different ways.

Its WAAAYY to late to try and get better letters at this point. So Its back to the drawing board.

Unless you believe the world is going to end in 2012, law school will still be around if you wait a year.

FWIW, I didn't exactly have strong LORs either. I went to class, did my work, and never interacted with my professors otherwise. It doesn't matter if they're generic.

By "Mexican" did you mean "Mayan?"

[mountaintime]

sorry, but loLOR

[Jack Smirks]

Even with the drug charges I think you're aiming too low. Retake, reapply and get some new LORs (also make sure to disclose any and all info required). I think you're at least T25 bound.

[Alan]

I understand the general consenus that I screwed myself. I have now heard it about 10 different ways.

Its WAAAYY to late to try and get better letters at this point. So Its back to the drawing board.

Unless you believe the world is going to end in 2012, law school will still be around if you wait a year.

FWIW, I didn't exactly have strong LORs either. I went to class, did my work, and never interacted with my professors otherwise. It doesn't matter if they're generic.

You are right. What i meant to say is it's way to late to get better LORs for this cycle.

I dont mean to come off as ungrateful towards everyones advice. I really do appriciate it. And as far as being a "flame"... unfortunatly, Im not kidding. I am very serious.

[smelltheglove]

Hugs not drugs bro.

[mountaintime]

I'm curious about how your cycle went. You didn't actually apply with LORs from your mom and best friend, did you?

[bk1]

I'm curious about how your cycle went. You didn't actually apply with LORs from your mom and best friend, did you?

OP hasn't logged in in over 2 years. I doubt they're going to see your question.

[Mack.Hambleton]

LOL @ this thread