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Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:26 pm
by kahooser
I have somewhat of a weird situation that I wanted to get another opinion on. I started my undergrad in 2006, completed three semesters with a 3.9 GPA, then my fourth semester I found out I was pregnant. I panicked, found out I was beyond the withdrawal period at my school, and just left, leaving me with straight F's for the fourth semester. After I had the baby, I tried to go back to school twice at local community colleges and really just wasn't committed. I received 6 F's between those two attempts. Last summer, after having my second child, I re-committed myself to school and started at a community college. I graduated from there with a 4.0, summa cum laude. I'm now at NCSU with a 4.0 GPA as well. I'm ranked first in my class there (and before the baby was ranked among the top 10 in my class at my first undergrad school, also graduated valedictorian from my high school). Basically, I had a really tough time dealing with my unexpected pregnancy, and my LSAC-calculated GPA is going to suffer tremendously from it. Do I have a shot at getting into a lower tier school (I'm looking at Cleveland State, for example), and should I even dream about a scholarship?
My LSAT is 165, and I am pretty confident I'll graduate first in my undergrad class.
Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:29 pm
by ManOfTheMinute
kahooser wrote:I have somewhat of a weird situation that I wanted to get another opinion on. I started my undergrad in 2006, completed three semesters with a 3.9 GPA, then my fourth semester I found out I was pregnant. I panicked, found out I was beyond the withdrawal period at my school, and just left, leaving me with straight F's for the fourth semester. After I had the baby, I tried to go back to school twice at local community colleges and really just wasn't committed. I received 6 F's between those two attempts. Last summer, after having my second child, I re-committed myself to school and started at a community college. I graduated from there with a 4.0, summa cum laude. I'm now at NCSU with a 4.0 GPA as well. I'm ranked first in my class there (and before the baby was ranked among the top 10 in my class at my first undergrad school, also graduated valedictorian from my high school). Basically, I had a really tough time dealing with my unexpected pregnancy, and my LSAC-calculated GPA is going to suffer tremendously from it. Do I have a shot at getting into a lower tier school (I'm looking at Cleveland State, for example), and should I even dream about a scholarship?
My LSAT is 165, and I am pretty confident I'll graduate first in my undergrad class.
You might want to retake your LSAT, but you'll be totally fine. How low have those classes made your GPA? I can see you doing much better than you think you're going to do. You've shown that you have matured and can now handle a kid and school at the same time. Also, birth control

Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:34 pm
by kahooser
ManOfTheMinute wrote:kahooser wrote:I have somewhat of a weird situation that I wanted to get another opinion on. I started my undergrad in 2006, completed three semesters with a 3.9 GPA, then my fourth semester I found out I was pregnant. I panicked, found out I was beyond the withdrawal period at my school, and just left, leaving me with straight F's for the fourth semester. After I had the baby, I tried to go back to school twice at local community colleges and really just wasn't committed. I received 6 F's between those two attempts. Last summer, after having my second child, I re-committed myself to school and started at a community college. I graduated from there with a 4.0, summa cum laude. I'm now at NCSU with a 4.0 GPA as well. I'm ranked first in my class there (and before the baby was ranked among the top 10 in my class at my first undergrad school, also graduated valedictorian from my high school). Basically, I had a really tough time dealing with my unexpected pregnancy, and my LSAC-calculated GPA is going to suffer tremendously from it. Do I have a shot at getting into a lower tier school (I'm looking at Cleveland State, for example), and should I even dream about a scholarship?
My LSAT is 165, and I am pretty confident I'll graduate first in my undergrad class.
You might want to retake your LSAT, but you'll be totally fine. How low have those classes made your GPA? I can see you doing much better than you think you're going to do. You've shown that you have matured and can now handle a kid and school at the same time. Also, birth control

I haven't submitted all my transcripts to CAS yet, but my own calculations show it right around 3.0.
Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:48 pm
by 20141023
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Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:52 pm
by Dmini7
Regulus wrote:kahooser wrote:I have somewhat of a weird situation that I wanted to get another opinion on. I started my undergrad in 2006, completed three semesters with a 3.9 GPA, then my fourth semester I found out I was pregnant. I panicked, found out I was beyond the withdrawal period at my school, and just left, leaving me with straight F's for the fourth semester. After I had the baby, I tried to go back to school twice at local community colleges and really just wasn't committed. I received 6 F's between those two attempts. Last summer, after having my second child, I re-committed myself to school and started at a community college. I graduated from there with a 4.0, summa cum laude. I'm now at NCSU with a 4.0 GPA as well. I'm ranked first in my class there (and before the baby was ranked among the top 10 in my class at my first undergrad school, also graduated valedictorian from my high school). Basically, I had a really tough time dealing with my unexpected pregnancy, and my LSAC-calculated GPA is going to suffer tremendously from it. Do I have a shot at getting into a lower tier school (I'm looking at Cleveland State, for example), and should I even dream about a scholarship?
My LSAT is 165, and I am pretty confident I'll graduate first in my undergrad class.
You might already know this, but your LSDAS GPA will be calculated using only your undergrad grades from your
first college degree. (Any grades earned after that point will not go towards your LSDAS GPA, unfortunately.)
Make sure to write a GPA addendum explaining your situation - you seem to have a legitimate reason for not doing well, and your condition was temporary and not permanent. As others have stated, your LSAT score is unfortunately not "decent" (I am saying this as a fellow low scorer: 166). Fortunately, my GPA was high enough to sort of compensate for my shitty score, but if your GPA is low you really should consider retaking.

Considering her target school, her LSAT is more than enough. With that said, she should be aiming much much higher.
Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:57 pm
by kahooser
Dmini7 wrote:Regulus wrote:kahooser wrote:I have somewhat of a weird situation that I wanted to get another opinion on. I started my undergrad in 2006, completed three semesters with a 3.9 GPA, then my fourth semester I found out I was pregnant. I panicked, found out I was beyond the withdrawal period at my school, and just left, leaving me with straight F's for the fourth semester. After I had the baby, I tried to go back to school twice at local community colleges and really just wasn't committed. I received 6 F's between those two attempts. Last summer, after having my second child, I re-committed myself to school and started at a community college. I graduated from there with a 4.0, summa cum laude. I'm now at NCSU with a 4.0 GPA as well. I'm ranked first in my class there (and before the baby was ranked among the top 10 in my class at my first undergrad school, also graduated valedictorian from my high school). Basically, I had a really tough time dealing with my unexpected pregnancy, and my LSAC-calculated GPA is going to suffer tremendously from it. Do I have a shot at getting into a lower tier school (I'm looking at Cleveland State, for example), and should I even dream about a scholarship?
My LSAT is 165, and I am pretty confident I'll graduate first in my undergrad class.
You might already know this, but your LSDAS GPA will be calculated using only your undergrad grades from your
first college degree. (Any grades earned after that point will not go towards your LSDAS GPA, unfortunately.)
Make sure to write a GPA addendum explaining your situation - you seem to have a legitimate reason for not doing well, and your condition was temporary and not permanent. As others have stated, your LSAT score is unfortunately not "decent" (I am saying this as a fellow low scorer: 166). Fortunately, my GPA was high enough to sort of compensate for my shitty score, but if your GPA is low you really should consider retaking.

Considering her target school, her LSAT is more than enough. With that said, she should be aiming much much higher.
Yeah, I realize a 165 is nothing to brag about, but it's ten points higher than the median score at my target schools. I'm limited to in-state schools because of tuition and I've lived in Cleveland before and really liked it, thus the school choice. In a perfect world my grades would have never suffered and I'd be applying to some better schools, but these are my options at this point. Just hoping it isn't altogether a lost cause.
Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:25 pm
by 20141023
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Re: Decent LSAT with low GPA, chances?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 1:34 am
by futureesqperhaps
Shoot for a 173+ and aim for Northwestern... It's relatively close to Cleveland State and has MUCH better job prospects.
Edit: If you're set on going to Cleveland State, you're in good shape. You'll get some money. Don't know how much