This is a very sensitive topic for me... Forum

[nyorbust]

.

[sonervous88]

did you GPA have an upward trend? I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. What range of schools were you hoping to aplpy to?

I have been lurking on this site for a few weeks now and this is my first time posting. I am an URM female. I have children and I am on state assistance. I just recently got on state assistance because my unemployment ran out. I was let go about a year ago and haven't been able to find a job because one of my children needs special care in which I can not find a suitable babysitter.

I grew up in the public housing but both my parents worked extremely hard and was able to finally purchase a home but nearly lost it due to some awful tenants. This was during the time I started undergrad. I felt guilty for going away to school. I was torn with getting the once in a lifetime experience of going away and knowing my family could loose their home and be on the streets. So for basically my entire first year and a half I was commuting back home even though I had a room on campus. Once my parents got rid of the tenants I decided to work any where from 15 to 25 hours a week to help them with finances. My money wasn't much but I figured if I could at least contribute about 300 a month, they could use that for groceries and have their money go straight to bills and making up for the lost income of a tenant. I also was dealing with a very abusive relationship from Junior year on. So because of these factors my gpa suffered to about a 2.75.

Would they throw my app away once hearing all this or would at least give me a good look over? I have been studying for for the lsat ever since I was let go from my job. My first pt was 151 and now I am around 164. I don't think I have hit my wall so I plan on doing some more practicing for the October test.

If I do get an offer, do you think I would get some $$? Please give me some straight talk but hold the bashing.

[nyorbust]

.

[CanadianWolf]

You need an actual LSAT score.

[esq]

Makes for a compelling PS, and I think that as long as you are above 160, they'd read it and give you consideration.

[sonervous88]

if you can really hit 165 then honestly as a female URM i would say you have shot at getting money somewhere. I'm a non-urm so what do i know. but i don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.

[nyorbust]

.

[sonervous88]

I really want to get over that 170 mark. I plan on writing a diversity statement which will address my past situation and an addendum addressing my gpa. (if you feel I should lump all this into one personal statement let me know) I wanted to keep these separate from my personal statement because what I went thru is just what I went thru. For all the struggles I went thru I have twice as many victorious moments to tell them and alot of softs. I am just wanting to know will they just put me in the ding pile because of my current financial situation. I haven't read of anyone on assistance here. I always looked down on it and now I am in it. Are they going to look at me the way I once looked at it before and say they do not want me in their class?

No the economy sucks. keep it as an addendum. if u hit 170 ull definitely be fine.

[CanadianWolf]

Your worries are misplaced. Focus on getting a good LSAT score.

[nyorbust]

.

[Rock-N-Roll]

Why would anyone want to bash you? You seem nice, and you've obviously had a lot going on in your life while you were in school.

The best advice that I could give you is to absolutely destroy the LSAT, and don't stress your GPA right now. Really give the LSAT everything you've got it will pay off.

Best of luck to you.

[sonervous88]

check out lawschoolpredictor.com With a 170 and that GPA you're realistically looking at getting into a T30 but if you want real money going into a T50. Fordham, Brooklyn etc. are probably good bets. maybe cardozo. again im not an authority. play with that site though.

[CoriOlivia]

Honestly, I don't know where you expect them to find out that you're on public assistance unless you tell them... If you don't want them to know that, you don't need to bring it up, IMO. If you write about it in a diversity statement, I would imagine you'd put a positive ending to it showcasing your strengths and plans for coming off of assistance...? In that case, I can't see anyone in admissions thinking less of you. As for the abusive relationship, I would be very cautious about how you word it. You want to seem strong in your statements, so admitting that you stayed in an abusive relationship for years probably doesn't show that you have the best common sense. I know it's hard to leave, I've been there, but most people who haven't do NOT understand how you can stay there when you're being abused. If you talk about it, make SURE you end with a feeling that you're stronger, smarter, etc., because of what you've been through. Don't let yourself sound like you're trying to gain pity.

I think getting over a 170 if you're a URM would give you some options...
Here's someone with a 2.8 and 169 with some great acceptances/scholarships.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Urchin

[Magnolia]

You definitely don't need to be worried. Lots of people get into law school with low GPAs. You'll need a real LSAT score before we can give you specific advice, but if you can score in the 165-170 range you'll be in great shape for schools like WUSTL, UIUC, and IU-B. They take splitters and they're also known for giving out large scholarships.

Be careful with lawschoolpredictor.com. The site isn't great with predicting URM cycles or splitter cycles, so as a URM splitter, I imagine it will be even more unreliable. Lawschoolnumbers.com will let you check out past application cycles for URMs and people with your numbers. There won't be a huge sample size, but it can give you some idea of what's possible.

Financial aid offices will know that you're on public assistance when you submit the FAFSA and Need Access, but I highly doubt that admissions offices will find out unless you mention it in your application. Even then, I don't think it will matter. The whole point of public assistance programs is to help people in your situation, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not a poor reflection on you.

For now, just study hard for the LSAT and get a great score. Good luck!