clwilson6 wrote:Much of what has been posted prior to this is correct but, as someone who was in a similar situation, there are so many other factors that play into law school admissions that aren't about the numbers. Your prior work experience, volunteer service and life experiences add value to your application that cannot be underestimated. If I understand your situation correctly, here it what I suggest:
1) Make sure you either want to practice law to begin with or just get a law degree to shore up a career goal that you're interested in pursuing. Being an attorney isn't always (or in most cases) the high paying gravy train to wealth that everyone seems to think it is.
2) Work very hard in your remaining undergrad education to improve your GPA. Even if your GPA isn't at the schools median, an upward trend can really help and speaks volumes about your ability to overcome adversity and be successful.
3) Work very hard on getting the best LSAT score you possibly can. Retake if you do not get the score that you want or need and feel that you can do much better. Nothing worse than retaking and getting a lower score than you previously did.
4) Research schools that you're interested in and try to get a sense of what their looking for outside of the posted median GPA/LSAT combo. Some schools are more interested in diversity than others. Some schools really like people with work experience, while other schools really like individuals who want to work in certain specific areas of law that they specialize in.
5) You have to have a very persuasive PS. The meat and potatoes of your app will be your GPA/LSAT but don't discount the flavor and desirability of a good PS and addendum. Think of your addendum statements as the additional sides and your PS as dessert. You can go without these items but if you do you'll feel as if you didn't get a full meal. Make sure you serve up a five star, four course meal. If the main course doesn't satisfy, there's always dessert.
Regardless of whatever GPA/LSAT you have, don't let the posted medians prevent you from applying to whatever school you want to attend. I used law school predictor to give me an idea of what schools I had a chance at attending. Needless to say, many of the schools it said that I would have no chance at I got accepted to and some of the schools that it said I would get accepted to, I was waitlisted or rejected.
6) Get as many app waivers as possible and cast a very wide net in your application pool. Don't be afraid to apply to all of the T14 schools if you can afford it but don't forget to apply to statistically safe schools also.
In the end, no one can predict how your cycle will go. URM's have the most outrageous cycles and you'll always hear about those outliers that shock and amaze. I've heard of URM's with a GPA of 3.00 and LSAT of 155 making it into Columbia. However, you should always keep your feet on the ground and your head out of the clouds. Don't expect that this will be you just because your a URM. You have to leverage your best qualities and display them for the admissions boards to review.
I am sure I want a law career. That hasn't waivered for me in the past 15 years and the more exposure I get to law related classes and law in the real world, the more I like it. While the income would be nice, that really isn't my main focus. I just want to start my career. I have wasted too many years on nonsense, and I am very focused at this point. That law school predictor is horrible on the nerves, lol. With regard to waivers - do I just call the school and ask? I did inquire about some info from Penn State and Regent (although this is not in my top choices) and they both sent me emails saying that when I apply that my fee will be waived.
I am also not quite sure how to go about my PS. I do have many obstacles that I have overcome, but I do not want to harp on them way too much and come acrossy whiny, pompous or arrogant. I just recently got that Ivey Guide which has some pretty cool pointers, but almost gave me too many ideas.
