MBA to counteract low Undergrad GPA? Forum

[MichaelF]

I'm a recent graduate, with a BS in Civil Engineering, and an undergraduate GPA of 2.3 (mostly due to my first year, where I screwed around more than I would like to contemplate). I also have an AA in Classics, with a 3.14 GPA.

I'm hoping to attend Law School and enter the Intellectual Property field.

I think I can do very well on the LSAT, but the GPA has me spooked. I have been accepted to an MBA program, and am wondering if my GPA from that program could eclipse or largely make up for the low undergrad GPA?

Any information would be most appreciated.

Mike

[bk1]

Nope. Your UGPA will haunt you forever.

[Geist13]

Nope. They don't care about your graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA is what matters for ranking, thus it is what matters for admissions.

[AntipodeanPhil]

Nope. They don't care about your graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA is what matters for ranking, thus it is what matters for admissions.

+1

Don't go to law school with that GPA.

[bne]

Unfortunately, your LSDAS GPA and LSAT score are what law schools care about most because they report them for ranking purposes. Your MBA can only be used as a soft and will not counteract your undergraduate GPA. While it is possible for you to get into a law school with that GPA, your chances at a decent institution are very, very slim. With an incredible LSAT score and a few years of work experience, you could possibly increase your chances at a Tier I or II school. I would browse through lawschoolnumbers.com to find people with similar statistics and see where they got into. However, I do not recommend going to a school outside the top 50 unless you get some serious money which could be difficult because of your GPA.

[bruss]

Nope. They don't care about your graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA is what matters for ranking, thus it is what matters for admissions.

+1

Don't go to law school with that GPA.

Just check law school numbers. Also if you score high enough 170+ you should be able to get W&L, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, UIUC, and numerous other schools that take spliters. People on here are so stupid sometimes, telling you that you can't do something even though the site that they live by says contrary.

[AntipodeanPhil]

Nope. They don't care about your graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA is what matters for ranking, thus it is what matters for admissions.

+1

Don't go to law school with that GPA.

Just check law school numbers. Also if you score high enough 170+ you should be able to get W&L, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, UIUC, and numerous other schools that take spliters. People on here are so stupid sometimes, telling you that you can't do something even though the site that they live by says contrary.

Of course he can go to law school - anyone can. The point is he shouldn't. Why should he go to one of those schools when he has a BS in engineering and could get an MBA? Either of those other degrees would present him with much better career options.

[bruss]

Nope. They don't care about your graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA is what matters for ranking, thus it is what matters for admissions.

+1

Don't go to law school with that GPA.

Just check law school numbers. Also if you score high enough 170+ you should be able to get W&L, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, UIUC, and numerous other schools that take spliters. People on here are so stupid sometimes, telling you that you can't do something even though the site that they live by says contrary.

Of course he can go to law school - anyone can. The point is he shouldn't. Why should he go to one of those schools when he has a BS in engineering and could get an MBA? Either of those other degrees would present him with much better career options.

AntipodeanPhil said he shouldn't go to law school based off his gpa, not off his degree or other options. This lead me to believe that that guy was talking out his ass.

[AntipodeanPhil]

AntipodeanPhil said he shouldn't go to law school based off his gpa, not off his degree or other options. This lead me to believe that that guy was talking out his ass.

Yes, the OP shouldn't go to law school "based off his gpa" because of his other options. It might make sense for an unemployed liberal arts major with the same GPA to attempt to ace the LSAT and get into one of those schools, but not the OP.

I assumed that I wouldn't have to qualify my comment to make it explicitly clear that it was only intended to apply to the OP's situation since I was directly responding to the OP, in a thread he created to discuss his situation.

[dingbat]

Why should he go to one of those schools when he has a BS in engineering and could get an MBA? Either of those other degrees would present him with much better career options.

There are no jobs for MBAs at the moment (outside of the top programs, which that GPA won't get into)

[bruss]

Why should he go to one of those schools when he has a BS in engineering and could get an MBA? Either of those other degrees would present him with much better career options.

There are no jobs for MBAs at the moment (outside of the top programs, which that GPA won't get into)

this.

And what options does he have. Most engineer type jobs want to see your transcript aka gpa. It would be much harder for him to get a job than try his hand at law school. He really doesn't have any options. O I guess you are vouching for a shit job.

[Ignatius]

I'm a recent graduate, with a BS in Civil Engineering, and an undergraduate GPA of 2.3 (mostly due to my first year, where I screwed around more than I would like to contemplate). I also have an AA in Classics, with a 3.14 GPA.

I'm hoping to attend Law School and enter the Intellectual Property field.

I think I can do very well on the LSAT, but the GPA has me spooked. I have been accepted to an MBA program, and am wondering if my GPA from that program could eclipse or largely make up for the low undergrad GPA?

Any information would be most appreciated.

Mike

I think MBA is the wrong direction, if, ultimately, you're trying to get into IP. The previous posters are correct in that there's no real way to "eclipse" as you put it your undergrad GPA.

However, you sound like you're quite confident academically, you have a solid IP background foundation, and you seem earnestly interested for the long haul in pursuing a law degree.

So, I would first go take the GRE (any day you want, lucky mfs), crush it, and enroll in the best (*and most affordable) Engineering PhD program you can gain entrance to. Although it is not the case at every school/program, there is a common payment structure for PhD students to be fully funded for both tuition and living stipend (aka little to no debt depending on good/poor life choices, ha).

At this point, you're now in a (relatively) stronger position as far as admissions assuming you crush the LSAT, get good recs (which might be easier while getting the PhD), throw in some community service, etc.

Then send out your apps 3-4 years from now *where you'll have a much clearer vantage point on how the legal market is/will develop* see if you catch something you like. And if all that fails, you've got a PhD in Engineering w/ no debt versus what your current option(s) even with a good LSAT of a local/weak regional school where there's good chance you'll end up with a less valuable degree, an additional 200k (+7% interest from day 1) loans.


*also: this is off the grape-vine, but I've heard MBA grades are a (law school) joke. The learning part is serious, the team building is emphasized, the networking, etc. But unless you win like a Baker Scholar award, no one will really bother to know the difference in your marks. Hence, I would assume that, short of being a Baker Scholar, law schools wouldn't buy much into it.

However, especially considering the job placement difficulties that schools are having ("o god, NLJ250"), I would think that strategically they'd be more willing to flex on someone with an IP PhD who they could basically just pencil in as someone with a job offer come OCI and/or graduation.

[Randomnumbers]

How do you imagine he is going to get into an engineering PHD program with a 2.3 GPA?

[CanadianWolf]

Don't pursue an MBA degree simply to bolster your law school application. Too much time & money will be wasted. Get the MBA degree if you plan to use it for a career that doesn't include law school.