Top Law Schools

Hi All,

I know your time is valuable so any help will be greatly appreciated. I will try to keep it short.

Always wanted to go to law school but was diagnosed with severe MDD/OCD out of high school. Undergrad was a nightmare and I barely scraped through. Given the miserable under grad G.P.A I did not try for law school at that time. Here are my current stats:

Age: 32
National Origin: Bangladesh (naturalized US citizen)
Bachelor G.P.A (Poli Sci): 2.4 (2nd tier Liberal Arts College) - Year - 2001
M.H.A (health admin) G.P.A: 3.9 - Year - 2006
LSAT Score: 170 - Year - 2010

Current Job: Manager for Operations at a 400 Bed hospital (part of a 5 facility hospital system)

I have 6 years of working experience in the health care industry with roles of increasing responsibility. After my disastorous undergrad performance worked a few odd jobs while taking non-degree seeking courses at the Master's level in a 2nd tier public university. Eventually convinced the professors to take a chance on me. Excelled in the Masters program (graduated from it in 06') and got selected for a prestigious fellowship. Upon completion was offered a job in the same company and have excelled in the health management track since then. Have lots of extracurriculars like volunteering, teaching Master level courses at state university (Adjunct faculty), community service etc.



Given all this what are my chances for a top Law program ? The obvious concern I have is my undergrad G.P.A. Not that it is any sort of an excuse but I suffered from extreme depression in my early 20s. All the medical conditions are documented and in my opinion were the causes for my undergraduate G.P.A. I have recovered from the nightmare and have had no relapses for the last eight years (also documented)

Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated !! Which schools do I have a chance at ?

Thank You,

GPA_blues wrote:Hi All,

I know your time is valuable so any help will be greatly appreciated. I will try to keep it short.

Always wanted to go to law school but was diagnosed with severe MDD/OCD out of high school. Undergrad was a nightmare and I barely scraped through. Given the miserable under grad G.P.A I did not try for law school at that time. Here are my current stats:

Age: 32
National Origin: Bangladesh (naturalized US citizen)
Bachelor G.P.A (Poli Sci): 2.4 (2nd tier Liberal Arts College) - Year - 2001
M.H.A (health admin) G.P.A: 3.9 - Year - 2006
LSAT Score: 170 - Year - 2010

Current Job: Manager for Operations at a 400 Bed hospital (part of a 5 facility hospital system)

I have 6 years of working experience in the health care industry with roles of increasing responsibility. After my disastorous undergrad performance worked a few odd jobs while taking non-degree seeking courses at the Master's level in a 2nd tier public university. Eventually convinced the professors to take a chance on me. Excelled in the Masters program (graduated from it in 06') and got selected for a prestigious fellowship. Upon completion was offered a job in the same company and have excelled in the health management track since then. Have lots of extracurriculars like volunteering, teaching Master level courses at state university (Adjunct faculty), community service etc.



Given all this what are my chances for a top Law program ? The obvious concern I have is my undergrad G.P.A. Not that it is any sort of an excuse but I suffered from extreme depression in my early 20s. All the medical conditions are documented and in my opinion were the causes for my undergraduate G.P.A. I have recovered from the nightmare and have had no relapses for the last eight years (also documented)

Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated !! Which schools do I have a chance at ?

Thank You,

lawschoolpredictor.com

It all depends on your LSAT, killing it is the only shot you have.

Knockglock wrote:

GPA_blues wrote:Hi All,

I know your time is valuable so any help will be greatly appreciated. I will try to keep it short.

Always wanted to go to law school but was diagnosed with severe MDD/OCD out of high school. Undergrad was a nightmare and I barely scraped through. Given the miserable under grad G.P.A I did not try for law school at that time. Here are my current stats:

Age: 32
National Origin: Bangladesh (naturalized US citizen)
Bachelor G.P.A (Poli Sci): 2.4 (2nd tier Liberal Arts College) - Year - 2001
M.H.A (health admin) G.P.A: 3.9 - Year - 2006
LSAT Score: 170 - Year - 2010

Current Job: Manager for Operations at a 400 Bed hospital (part of a 5 facility hospital system)

I have 6 years of working experience in the health care industry with roles of increasing responsibility. After my disastorous undergrad performance worked a few odd jobs while taking non-degree seeking courses at the Master's level in a 2nd tier public university. Eventually convinced the professors to take a chance on me. Excelled in the Masters program (graduated from it in 06') and got selected for a prestigious fellowship. Upon completion was offered a job in the same company and have excelled in the health management track since then. Have lots of extracurriculars like volunteering, teaching Master level courses at state university (Adjunct faculty), community service etc.



Given all this what are my chances for a top Law program ? The obvious concern I have is my undergrad G.P.A. Not that it is any sort of an excuse but I suffered from extreme depression in my early 20s. All the medical conditions are documented and in my opinion were the causes for my undergraduate G.P.A. I have recovered from the nightmare and have had no relapses for the last eight years (also documented)

Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated !! Which schools do I have a chance at ?

Thank You,

lawschoolpredictor.com

It all depends on your LSAT, killing it is the only shot you have.

LSP isn't accurate for extreme splitters.

I'd apply ED to Northwestern. You likely won't get it, but you have a shot.

I'd also apply to Illinois, WUSTL, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Washington and Lee and whatever local T1 you want to go to.

Make sure to right an addendum to explain the grades.

Er, I think he/she said his/her LSAT is 170.

LSP won't be a big help for you, as it doesn't accurately predict splitters. In fact, nothing can really predict your cycle - that GPA is PRETTY low.

Your best chance is Northwestern, as they have been known to take high LSAT/low GPA splitters, and your work experience obviously will help you out tremendously there. Otherwise, you will probably be shut out of most of the T14, with the exception of ED at Virgina. I could be wrong though, as I'm not sure how schools will view the GPA in light of medical documentation.

I would probably drop a large sum in money and apply all over the place. You will get some T25 offers for sure, just hard to say where, and like I said you have a shot at NU and UVA ED.

You can probably go to WUSTL since you scored over a 167.

traehekat wrote:Er, I think he/she said his/her LSAT is 170.

LSP won't be a big help for you, as it doesn't accurately predict splitters. In fact, nothing can really predict your cycle - that GPA is PRETTY low.

Your best chance is Northwestern, as they have been known to take high LSAT/low GPA splitters, and your work experience obviously will help you out tremendously there. Otherwise, you will probably be shut out of most of the T14, with the exception of ED at Virgina. I could be wrong though, as I'm not sure how schools will view the GPA in light of medical documentation.

I would probably drop a large sum in money and apply all over the place. You will get some T25 offers for sure, just hard to say where, and like I said you have a shot at NU and UVA ED.

UVA ED is a no go below 3.0.

OP has a 170 LSAT, which is excellent, but a 171-172 would probably net a Northwestern ED acceptance. I'd think it's probably the best shot at the T14 (I'm pretty sure a 171 2.1 got accepted ED to NW this cycle). GULC PT is another option, but I don't know if they reach down quite as far in GPA. Normally I'd say a 2.4 would be damning, but with extensive work experience you might have a shot.

Other than that, OP, where do you currently live and where are you looking to practice? The rest of the schools outside of the highest are mostly regional. Also, what do you want to do with a law degree? It sounds like you currently have a great career going.

Ouch, that doesn't look like GPA blues.. that looks like GPA gonorrhea.

EDIT: Sorry to be insensitive. However, as good of a student as it looks like you'd be... a lot of schools have an imaginary 3.0 cutoff line. I hope it works out for you.

Desert Fox wrote:

traehekat wrote:Er, I think he/she said his/her LSAT is 170.

LSP won't be a big help for you, as it doesn't accurately predict splitters. In fact, nothing can really predict your cycle - that GPA is PRETTY low.

Your best chance is Northwestern, as they have been known to take high LSAT/low GPA splitters, and your work experience obviously will help you out tremendously there. Otherwise, you will probably be shut out of most of the T14, with the exception of ED at Virgina. I could be wrong though, as I'm not sure how schools will view the GPA in light of medical documentation.

I would probably drop a large sum in money and apply all over the place. You will get some T25 offers for sure, just hard to say where, and like I said you have a shot at NU and UVA ED.

UVA ED is a no go below 3.0.

Ah, is there a 3.0+ requirement? Wasn't aware, my bad OP. GL with NU.

traehekat wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

traehekat wrote:Er, I think he/she said his/her LSAT is 170.

LSP won't be a big help for you, as it doesn't accurately predict splitters. In fact, nothing can really predict your cycle - that GPA is PRETTY low.

Your best chance is Northwestern, as they have been known to take high LSAT/low GPA splitters, and your work experience obviously will help you out tremendously there. Otherwise, you will probably be shut out of most of the T14, with the exception of ED at Virgina. I could be wrong though, as I'm not sure how schools will view the GPA in light of medical documentation.

I would probably drop a large sum in money and apply all over the place. You will get some T25 offers for sure, just hard to say where, and like I said you have a shot at NU and UVA ED.

UVA ED is a no go below 3.0.

Ah, is there a 3.0+ requirement? Wasn't aware, my bad OP. GL with NU.

Not a requirement, but they'll wait list you if your GPA doesn't round to 3.0.

keg411 wrote:OP has a 170 LSAT, which is excellent, but a 171-172 would probably net a Northwestern ED acceptance. I'd think it's probably the best shot at the T14 (I'm pretty sure a 171 2.1 got accepted ED to NW this cycle). GULC PT is another option, but I don't know if they reach down quite as far in GPA. Normally I'd say a 2.4 would be damning, but with extensive work experience you might have a shot.

Other than that, OP, where do you currently live and where are you looking to practice? The rest of the schools outside of the highest are mostly regional. Also, what do you want to do with a law degree? It sounds like you currently have a great career going.

I'm pretty sure a 170 is good enough for NU ED, especially with the strong master's program grades and good WE.

On LSN, the 170/3.4-s who were waitlisted at Northwestern had lame work experience while the 170/3.4-s who got in had good work experience. OP's work experience is very strong.

Apply early decision to Northwestern. They should admit you and are by far the highest acceptance you're likely to get because they're so splitter-friendly.

Stay at your job. It sounds pretty good.

..

First off thank you all for taking the time out to reply.

So in light of your feedback this is the list I am looking at:


Chicago (nobody mentioned it but its always been a dream. Ready for a ding already)
Northwestern
Georgetown
Vanderbilt (live in Nashville at the moment)
WUSL
Illinois-UC
UV (maybe? 3.0 imaginary cutoff)

Does this list sound fine? Also, I was regularly scoring between 175-177 on the practice tests. Do you guys think I should retake it ? I will definitely do that if it helps my chances of getting in.

Keg411 and another poster asked about my motivation for law school in light of my current job situation. I will most certainly be taking a pay cut right out of law school in comparison with my current job but its not about the money. I have always wanted to practice law and my interaction with the lawyers in the healthcare setting have made my desire stronger. I was hoping that the Admission committees might look at the fact that I was willing to leave a good career in my quest to be a lawyer favorably. I will be at the Director level by end of the summer this year (have been unofficially informed by the HR as the current Director is leaving).

thanks,

I would retake for a better shot at NU if that was where you were practicing with strict timing five sections. I think if you nab 2-3+ points you have a good shot at NU ED. Good luck. Either way you seem to be in a good career path.

ogman05 wrote:I would retake for a better shot at NU if that was where you were practicing with strict timing five sections. I think if you nab 2-3+ points you have a good shot at NU ED. Good luck. Either way you seem to be in a good career path.

Yea I think two points would help.

Retake if you're consistently 175+.

You'll still need to apply to the same list of splitter-friendly places, but will be better off.

That said, the health care and legal fields are moving in opposite directions, and it'd be good to be really really sure this is the right choice before you go into six figure debt. Would you want to practice law related to health care?

OP, I like the idea of practicing law as much as the next guy, and I work at a firm currently so I actually know what I'm talking about, but if I had a career like yours, in this economy, I would NOT throw it away to go to LS, even a T14. Maybe I would've back in the boom years, but you need to seriously, seriously consider the risk you're taking. I say this in a way that is genuinely not meant to be condescending (prefaced because a lot of TLS posters are), but: do you have any idea how bad the legal job market is right now?

Yes, retake. Apply to UVA if you want, but I'm 2.7 / 172 and got straight rejected with ~5 years WE (though less impressive than yours). I wouldn't apply to Chicago at all; you will not get in there, and you should do ED to NU.

Remember to apply Early Decision. It's much better for your chances, especially if you can get one or two more LSAT points.

If you can get even a few more points on the LSAT, that would boost your chances at Northwestern tremendously. I retook a 170, so I feel comfortable advising you to do the same. Keep studying and taking practice tests until you're reliably in the 177+ range, and you should get a 172+ on the actual, which would give you as good a shot at Northwestern as you're gonna get (which is actually not bad if you ED). And I'm sorry to say it, but don't waste the $75 on a Chicago application. I don't think they've ever let in an applicant with less than a 2.8.

If you want any chance at UVA- get the LSAT up to a 175 and apply Early Decision (or even just send in an app early) as soon as possible.. that's at least what I'm planning to do next year.

@ yeff - I am interested in the public health law arena and not the malpractice domain.

@ lawschoollll - Not condescending at all, in fact appreciate any/all advise. To answer your question, no, i do not have any in depth knowledge about the legal job market. I like everyone else realize that the economy is bad and landing a job is difficult hence I asked only about t20 schools. I am not easily deterred but am a logical person so will look into this, now that you have pointed it out.

@DesertFox/JSMill/NayBoer/Dr.Strangelove - Agreed, definitely testing again.

GPA_blues wrote:@ yeff - I am interested in the public health law arena and not the malpractice domain.

@ lawschoollll - Not condescending at all, in fact appreciate any/all advise. To answer your question, no, i do not have any in depth knowledge about the legal job market. I like everyone else realize that the economy is bad and landing a job is difficult hence I asked only about t20 schools. I am not easily deterred but am a logical person so will look into this, now that you have pointed it out.

@DesertFox/JSMill/NayBoer/Dr.Strangelove - Agreed, definitely testing again.

Healthcare would seem to be a much better industry than law. Perpetual growth, the respect of the laity, and the knowledge that you're helping people. You may be locked out of the T20 so think about that...

GPA_blues wrote:@DesertFox/JSMill/NayBoer/Dr.Strangelove - Agreed, definitely testing again.

Quoted for not acknowledging the importance of applying binding Early Decision.

Edit -
2.95/177 did not ED to NU. Waitlisted.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/encyclopediabrown/jd

2.67/172 did not ED to NU. Waitlisted.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/FieldingGoodney/jd

2.46/173 did not ED to NU. Waitlisted.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/knox1845/jd

Conversely-
2.7/172 did ED to NU. Accepted.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/NayBoer/jd

2.8/176 did ED to NU. Accepted.
http://lawschoolnumbers.com/LazySplitter/jd

2.1/171 did ED to NU. Accepted.
(no public LSN profile)

It's important you see the distinction. Historically your chances at coming off the WL with a low GPA and high LSAT are decent. But it's much more secure to do ED.

Thanks NayBoer. Point noted.