Top Law Schools

OK, I tried posting a summarized version of this in the "What are my odds?" thread, but I got nothing, so I thought I'd try again here. (BTW, I'm at work right now so I'm in a hurry, forgive the grammar/punctuation errors.)

UG & WE:
(First, I think I should mention that I had to put myself through college - not even co-sign on a loan from my parents.)

Spent 8 years at community college pursuing a music degree/dicking around in the choral music dept and working as a Shift Supervisor at Starbucks (yeah, I know). GPA: 3.x (I've been gone for a while so I can't view my unofficial transcripts to verify).

Discovered I didn't want to be a music major and left - one class away from A.A.

<insert 2 years here - working part-time as a hostess in a major chain restaurant>

Got hired full-time at local private college, once again slinging coffee drinks and supervising a small staff. Benefit: Free half-time tuition at said college. So thats 2 classes/semester and working 40 hrs/wk.

Currently have 3.67 GPA and 2 years to go so feasibly could turn GPA into 3.83.

LSAT:
Just started studying after scoring 169 on prelim. practice test. Taking it in February.

Softs:
Lots of leadership/community service/mentoring stuff. Proficiency in 2 foreign languages.

So, the question is...how screwed am I for taking 14 years to get my B.A.? I had a lot of personal issues that kept me at J.C. forever and affected my grades, but I've mostly got my life together now so all I can do is move forward. I'll be going to LS straight from undergrad, but will be 32 at the time, so I don't know if I qualify as a non-traditional student? If I can't get into T14, I'm not going to bother, but I'm really shooting for a 175+ on the LSAT and HYS.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Please run through the LSAC GPA calculator and let us know what LSAC calculates your GPA as. And then come back after you take the LSAT. Those two numbers will entirely decide the fate of your admissions cycle. The fact that you took 14 years to get a bachelor's will be meaningless to law schools because it isn't a factor that affects their rankings.

InGoodFaith wrote:The fact that you took 14 years to get a bachelor's will be meaningless to law schools because it isn't a factor that affects their rankings.

This is what I wanted to know, though it is not what I have heard about HYS.

Thanks!

Nimrodel wrote:

InGoodFaith wrote:The fact that you took 14 years to get a bachelor's will be meaningless to law schools because it isn't a factor that affects their rankings.

This is what I wanted to know, though it is not what I have heard about HYS.

Thanks!

Solid point about HYS. They are the exception to the rule. But yeah, once you have those numbers TLS and lawschoolnumbers.com will be able to give you a pretty accurate indication of where you can get in.

Nimrodel wrote:

InGoodFaith wrote:The fact that you took 14 years to get a bachelor's will be meaningless to law schools because it isn't a factor that affects their rankings.

This is what I wanted to know, though it is not what I have heard about HYS.

Thanks!

I'd address the reasons in an explanatory essay that demonstrates your maturity and current focus. While certainly not something they actively seek out, I'd still think you have a shot at HYS (assuming your LSAT and GPA are up to par).

OK, great. Thanks!