What can I do in a year off to get into law school?

[Spaceshipped]

So I've just decided that I want to go to law school, I will be a senior in the fall and have a very poor GPA, a 2.4 pursuing a psychology B.S. I am confident that my GPA will improve come graduation as it was much better last semester. Still, that it will not be good enough to get into a good law school. Regardless of whatever post graduate education I pursue, I plan on taking a year or two off to work and hopefully affirm some passions in life; beyond studying for the lsat and without any initial experience, what sorts of things can I do in a year or two off that will demonstrate my competence to a law school admissions office?

[jetsfan1]

Study for the LSAT. That's literally the only thing you can do to make schools overlook that gpa. Or go win a Super Bowl, Nobel Prize, go to Mars, that sort of thing. Seriously though, if you want to get into a school worth going to, you need an LSAT score as close to 180 as possible- good luck!

[jbagelboy]

take some CC classes this summer to raise your GPA. It will count towards LSAC even if it isn't included by your college. thats probably more important at this point than any internship. once you're in school, apply for jobs that don't stress grades. stop doing whatever you did that got you such crappy grades in the first place.

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee. If you have a way of "pursuing your passions" constructively then go for it. Any family ties? I don't know what people do with low GPA's in psych, but I guess you should just focus on studying for the LSAT and cracking 170 so you have some shot at a splitter friendly school.

If your parents have resources to support you, volunteer work might be your best bet.

good luck

[NanaP]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

[isuperserial]

So I've just decided that I want to go to law school, I will be a senior in the fall and have a very poor GPA, a 2.4 pursuing a psychology B.S. I am confident that my GPA will improve come graduation as it was much better last semester. Still, that it will not be good enough to get into a good law school. Regardless of whatever post graduate education I pursue, I plan on taking a year or two off to work and hopefully affirm some passions in life; beyond studying for the lsat and without any initial experience, what sorts of things can I do in a year or two off that will demonstrate my competence to a law school admissions office?

This is the wrong place for that question. Try the FAQ or Admissions board.

That being said, law schools in general consider about 70% LSAT, 20% GPA, and 10% everything else combined. Unless you can cure cancer in the next year, you should be shooting for a 170 or higher so that you can get into a decent school with a price worth paying.

[062914123]

.

[francesfarmer]

Can you delay graduation and take a ton of classes to raise your GPA to a 3.0? Even if you get a 170+ on the LSAT you will not get $ from anywhere worth going to with that low of a GPA.

[Spaceshipped]

So I've just decided that I want to go to law school, I will be a senior in the fall and have a very poor GPA, a 2.4 pursuing a psychology B.S. I am confident that my GPA will improve come graduation as it was much better last semester. Still, that it will not be good enough to get into a good law school. Regardless of whatever post graduate education I pursue, I plan on taking a year or two off to work and hopefully affirm some passions in life; beyond studying for the lsat and without any initial experience, what sorts of things can I do in a year or two off that will demonstrate my competence to a law school admissions office?

This is the wrong place for that question. Try the FAQ or Admissions board.

That being said, law schools in general consider about 70% LSAT, 20% GPA, and 10% everything else combined. Unless you can cure cancer in the next year, you should be shooting for a 170 or higher so that you can get into a decent school with a price worth paying.

What constitutes everything else?

take some CC classes this summer to raise your GPA. It will count towards LSAC even if it isn't included by your college. thats probably more important at this point than any internship. once you're in school, apply for jobs that don't stress grades. stop doing whatever you did that got you such crappy grades in the first place.

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee. If you have a way of "pursuing your passions" constructively then go for it. Any family ties? I don't know what people do with low GPA's in psych, but I guess you should just focus on studying for the LSAT and cracking 170 so you have some shot at a splitter friendly school.

If your parents have resources to support you, volunteer work might be your best bet.

good luck

Why do you recommend volunteer work and what sort of work?

[paintbynumbers]

bc you say your gonna wait 1-2 years to go to law school and work after school, the only thing to focus on now is to raise that gpa as high as possible in your last year of college. then when your done school worry bout the lsat.

[jbagelboy]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

[Spaceshipped]

Can you delay graduation and take a ton of classes to raise your GPA to a 3.0? Even if you get a 170+ on the LSAT you will not get $ from anywhere worth going to with that low of a GPA.

Best case scenario without delaying graduation is a cumulative 2.8 after senior year, obviously I will speak to an advisor but if I have a 2.8 in a year I will consider adding another semester for a 3.0.

[isuperserial]

Everything else is everything not LSAT or GPA. Everything.

[A. Nony Mouse]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

I think there is confusion. I think jbagelboy talking about hiring out of UG, not law school OCI. Because as far as I know, no firm interviewing at law school OCI is going to see someone's UGGPA or (god forbid) SAT scores.

[Spaceshipped]

Everything else is everything not LSA

So I've just decided that I want to go to law school, I will be a senior in the fall and have a very poor GPA, a 2.4 pursuing a psychology B.S. I am confident that my GPA will improve come graduation as it was much better last semester. Still, that it will not be good enough to get into a good law school. Regardless of whatever post graduate education I pursue, I plan on taking a year or two off to work and hopefully affirm some passions in life; beyond studying for the lsat and without any initial experience, what sorts of things can I do in a year or two off that will demonstrate my competence to a law school admissions office?

This is the wrong place for that question. Try the FAQ or Admissions board.

That being said, law schools in general consider about 70% LSAT, 20% GPA, and 10% everything else combined. Unless you can cure cancer in the next year, you should be shooting for a 170 or higher so that you can get into a decent school with a price worth paying.

T or GPA. Everything.

Can you be more specific? I'm going to assume you mean things like work experience and extracurricular activities (if so I would ask what sorts of entry level jobs and activities I should pursue) and not my preferred breakfast cereal.

[bruin91]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

I think there is confusion. I think jbagelboy talking about hiring out of UG, not law school OCI. Because as far as I know, no firm interviewing at law school OCI is going to see someone's UGGPA or (god forbid) SAT scores.

That was my impression as well. However, I'd be very happy if they did

[NanaP]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

I think there is confusion. I think jbagelboy talking about hiring out of UG, not law school OCI. Because as far as I know, no firm interviewing at law school OCI is going to see someone's UGGPA or (god forbid) SAT scores.

I think he is confused. I was speaking hypothetically, since you brought up UGGPA, which I find odd, and SAT scores? never heard that one before. Do you even know what you are talking about? Are you a law student? Have you gone through the process?

[NanaP]

Everything else is everything not LSA

So I've just decided that I want to go to law school, I will be a senior in the fall and have a very poor GPA, a 2.4 pursuing a psychology B.S. I am confident that my GPA will improve come graduation as it was much better last semester. Still, that it will not be good enough to get into a good law school. Regardless of whatever post graduate education I pursue, I plan on taking a year or two off to work and hopefully affirm some passions in life; beyond studying for the lsat and without any initial experience, what sorts of things can I do in a year or two off that will demonstrate my competence to a law school admissions office?

This is the wrong place for that question. Try the FAQ or Admissions board.

That being said, law schools in general consider about 70% LSAT, 20% GPA, and 10% everything else combined. Unless you can cure cancer in the next year, you should be shooting for a 170 or higher so that you can get into a decent school with a price worth paying.

T or GPA. Everything.

Can you be more specific? I'm going to assume you mean things like work experience and extracurricular activities (if so I would ask what sorts of entry level jobs and activities I should pursue) and not my preferred breakfast cereal.

I guess the question is, what kind of degree will you have? Attend your school career fair or talk to a career counselor, check out the job postings and apply. There is no specific job you need to pursue in order to get into law school, just do something you are interested in. You may even like it, and never decide to attend law school

[ManOfTheMinute]

delay graduation if you're serious about LS - take a shitload of classes at a school that offers A+s... otherwise you're only looking at a decent shot at northwestern if you 173+ your LSAT...

no softs are gonna make up for the GPA, only your LSAT can do that

[jbagelboy]

You won't have any respectable job opportunities with a 2.5, no offense. No vault firm will look at you, or fulbright committee.

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

I think there is confusion. I think jbagelboy talking about hiring out of UG, not law school OCI. Because as far as I know, no firm interviewing at law school OCI is going to see someone's UGGPA or (god forbid) SAT scores.

I was talking about applying for V20 IB/Consulting jobs senior year of undergrad, NOT law school. I think I made this clear in the context of OP looking for jobs after graduating from UG prior to law school. Sorry for any confusion.

[jbagelboy]

I think he is confused. I was speaking hypothetically, since you brought up UGGPA, which I find odd, and SAT scores? never heard that one before. Do you even know what you are talking about? Are you a law student? Have you gone through the process?

Who are you referring to? I'm not talking about OCI. OP asked about prestigious employment out of UG that could provide a soft bump to law admissions (not saying they do necessarily, but I thought the question was about the process). see my earlier post for reference

[A. Nony Mouse]

When you say no Vault firms will look at you. Are you saying they look at your college transcripts before a chance to even interview? Even if, say you graduated top 5% from a T10?

Even if firms come to your school for on-campus interviewing, you submit applications prior to the interview where they will see your SAT scores, grades, resume, and probably a cover letter. So yes, they will see your transcript (or at least some sort of GPA on your resume) before you interview. Most V20 firms will look for 3.75+. You would be selected for on-campus interview based on the quality of your application; then you would be flown out for a 2nd/3rd interview at an office in the branch you are applying for, in most cases.

As for the bolded, you clearly didn't do that. At my T10, tons of firms came to campus for the consulting/IB rounds in September/October, and then another small round in December. You can't just waltz into the interview though, its a competitive process.

I think there is confusion. I think jbagelboy talking about hiring out of UG, not law school OCI. Because as far as I know, no firm interviewing at law school OCI is going to see someone's UGGPA or (god forbid) SAT scores.

I think he is confused. I was speaking hypothetically, since you brought up UGGPA, which I find odd, and SAT scores? never heard that one before. Do you even know what you are talking about? Are you a law student? Have you gone through the process?

Are you talking to me? I graduated law school in 2011, so...

jbagelboy said, no vault firm will hire someone with a 2.5 UGGPA. You said, are you saying firms look at your college transcripts? He said yes. I thought he meant that for hiring out of UG, yes, firms look at college transcripts, and that you were questioning this because you thought he was talking about OCI hiring in law school (where it would be very odd to look at SAT scores, if slightly less odd though still unusual to look at college transcripts). But I may well have missed something.

[jbagelboy]

I think he is confused. I was speaking hypothetically, since you brought up UGGPA, which I find odd, and SAT scores? never heard that one before. Do you even know what you are talking about? Are you a law student? Have you gone through the process?

Are you talking to me? I graduated law school in 2011, so...

jbagelboy said, no vault firm will hire someone with a 2.5 UGGPA. You said, are you saying firms look at your college transcripts? He said yes. I thought he meant that for hiring out of UG, yes, firms look at college transcripts, and that you were questioning this because you thought he was talking about OCI hiring in law school (where it would be very odd to look at SAT scores, if slightly less odd though still unusual to look at college transcripts). But I may well have missed something.

yea this. one more time, wasn't talking about law school OCI.

[jrsbaseball5]

I think the confusion came because Jbagelboy quoted NanaP's hypothetical question about hiring out of a T10 LAW SCHOOL with top grades.

NanaP was questioning Jbagelboy's competence not yours NosyMouse.

Also, i feel like I just wached an episode of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWuFwjR35-Q

[A. Nony Mouse]

Also, i feel like I just wached an episode of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWuFwjR35-Q

[Ti Malice]

You need to devote your life to getting a 180.

Eventually, but not yet.

As others have said, you need to devote your life to improving that GPA before you forever lock in your GPA by graduating. Take an extra year (as in summer, fall, and spring) and load up on easy CC classes. Do whatever you can to get to an LSDAS GPA of 3.0 or higher. If you can find a CC nearby that awards A+ grades, go there and get some.