Chances, am I being naive or Worth a shot? Let me know! Forum

[Cantlose]

I'd really appreciate some feedback, positive or negative.

I'm a URM(Black) and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in International Relations in June.
Good start right? But here's the kicker: I graduated with a 2.6 Gpa. Now, I plan on adding to the additional info section a good explanation for my low GPA and the withdrawals on my transcript. I had a chronic illness throughout my sophmore yr- until graduating which significantly impacted my performance. I have this on record at Stanford with the office of accessible education so law schools can verify this if they please. I was able to graduate while still being at a disadvantage medically. But since then I have been treated to the point where I am no longer in need of medical accommodations/treatment. So now that I'm back to my full capacity I plan on making the killing that I should have made academically in undergrad during law school. I hope to illustrate this all in my additional info section.

Now with the negative being said, here are the positives:
I was President of Both the Stanford UNICEF Organization and Black Student Union. And I served as a research fellow at the school of social sciences. My resume has good work experience.
My personal statement and letter of recs are stellar.
I hope to get my LSAT score to a 170-175 (I just started studying, I have 6 months to prepare).
I am interviewing for a position as an entry-level negotiator at a local law firm on Thursday, if I get the job I will work there until law school apps are due, which will give me 6 months there.

I know I know, Harvard, Yale, and my own alma mater Stanford are probably out of the question but what do you guys think about those and the top 14 chances wise?

Thank you

-A Dreamer

[rad lulz]

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[HorseThief]

Instinct tells me that you still have a shot at T14, and mylsn kinda agrees (http://mylsn.info/mx7z27/). You've got a 50% shot at both Northwestern and Georgetown. You may need to ED to UVA/Georgetown/Northwestern, but I certainly wouldn't count yourself out.

What was your GPA without counting your sophomore year? That might be a big difference (Yale did have one student with a 3.13 GPA last year).

Lastly, be ready to take a year or two off so you can distance yourself from your GPA. And get 173+. That's sort of a must for T14.

[CanadianWolf]

As noted above, you need to get an actual LSAT score before any sort of reasonable speculation can begin. As an African-American male, an LSAT score in the mid to high 160s or higher can "move mountains & open doors".

[twenty]

I would try and retroactively withdraw from the semesters you have really terrible grades in. That may bump up your GPA a lot.

edit> they'll want paperwork and proof that you were actually sick and not, like "hungover" sick.

[Nova]

A high enough lsat makes t14 possible

Gulc/nu are prolly gonna be your best bets.

Scoring at/above medians should get you good money at many schools from wustl down

[Cantlose]

I definitely understand, I am going to study harder than I ever have for the LSAT in June. I am saying if I hypothetically score in the 170-175 what my chances would be considering my other positives (great resume, recs, personal statement, low-income black male 1stgen). Thanks for the replies guys. And twenty, I don't think I can retroactively withdraw from semesters I have bad grades in. But I will post a detailed addendum about my gpa and let them know to contact the office of accessible education(Stanford's Disability office) if they need documentation.

[Nova]

This thread should give you some perspective:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=195443

there are not that many data points available, but you should also play with http://www.mylsn.info to chance yourself with hypothetical LSATS

[Cantlose]

Wow, that thread is really informative. Thanks Nova! I need to make sure I hit above 165...

[twenty]

And twenty, I don't think I can retroactively withdraw from semesters I have bad grades in

You might be surprised -- a lot of schools have these "hidden" policies where they allow retroactive withdrawals where medical issues cause the student to have to miss a substantial amount of classes. This is especially true if you can show that once you figured out the medical issue, your grades went up accordingly.

I dunno. I'd try it, you've got a while before you apply regardless.

[Ricky-Bobby]

Your chances are 0% bc you don't have an LSAT score

Is that right, smart guy?

https://californiaschooloflaw.com/index ... t-gmat-gre