Law school and low GPA. Forum

[CH2007]

Hello
I am currently beginning the process for studying for the LSAT.

I am a year out of school and have been working. I wanted to take time away from school to figure out what I want to do. I wanted to know if I could still get into a good school even with the GPA that I have.

In undergrad I received two degrees in a Dual Degree program one in Political Science the other in Homeland Security, and a minor in Economics.

My undergrad cumulative was a 2.83 between the Dual Degrees. (I know it is low)
I know that with law school they use the LSDAS.
My LSDAS would be around a 2.3 or 2.4 (rough estimation using a LSDAS calculator.)

I wanted to know if I were to score in the upper 170 plus range would I be able to apply to a good law school?

Thank you for your time and any input that relates to this question would be extremely helpful for my decision making process.

[Nickg415]

have a friend with a similar GPA and a 176. He has been barred from all the T14 so far and has landed a couple of schools around 14-25. I believe all his offers are at sticker. He has some money offered to him in the bottom half of the tier one schools in his region.

[Docreviewsux]

have a friend with a similar GPA and a 176. He has been barred from all the T14 so far and has landed a couple of schools around 14-25. I believe all his offers are at sticker. He has some money offered to him in the bottom half of the tier one schools in his region.

Yale or fail brother. He should not go. We have penn and boalt and northwestern grads on the Chicago review circuit. Columbia too.

[CH2007]

Why would it necessary be a bad thing if I didn't go to a law school in the T-14. I'm asking realistically, If I wanted to go to law school with those credentials is it possible? I know my GPA is low, and that will be a big factor in the application process. But, with a high enough LSAT would law school be possible?

I am just looking for some detailed responses before I decide committing time to the LSAT and application process.

[Docreviewsux]

Why would it necessary be a bad thing if I didn't go to a law school in the T-14. I'm asking realistically, If I wanted to go to law school with those credentials is it possible? I know my GPA is low, and that will be a big factor in the application process. But, with a high enough LSAT would law school be possible?

I am just looking for some detailed responses before I decide committing time to the LSAT and application process.

Cause people with awesome credentials and biglaw experience are working in the doc review gulags with me. And they have no out short of starting their own firms or leaving the profession or marrying a surgeon (seen some amazing jd/md mismatches).

Imagine what your chances will be with a garbage resume.

[Lumieres]

Depends on what you consider a "good" law school to be.

[b123]

Why would it necessary be a bad thing if I didn't go to a law school in the T-14. I'm asking realistically, If I wanted to go to law school with those credentials is it possible? I know my GPA is low, and that will be a big factor in the application process. But, with a high enough LSAT would law school be possible?

I am just looking for some detailed responses before I decide committing time to the LSAT and application process.

Because people here like to be pessimistic. I'm not entirely sure on your chances, but probably. If it's what you really want to do in life, then go for it.

[Nickg415]

I wasn't implying that you shouldn't go because you likely wont get T-14. However there are very good reasons to advise against going to a school that will cost you over 200K to get a degree that will give you less than a 50% chance of getting a job that pays enough to service this debt and/or outweigh alternative options (This ignores any personal utility derived simply from studying law and being within the law community)

[CH2007]

I'm very interested in studying law, and I know people can be negative. I know it is hard to obtain a career especially in this economy. I know the biggest shot would be to do extremely well on the LSAT, in order to get into a decent school.

I guess mainly what I was asking is it possible with those credentials that I have.

I was just worried about the GPA that I have. I really just want to figure out my chances throughout the various Tiers. I'm assuming that T-1 will be extremely difficult to get in if not at all. I'm just trying to get an assessment on which Tier I should be aiming for if I were to score in the 170s

[buddyt]

I was just worried about the GPA that I have. I really just want to figure out my chances throughout the various Tiers. I'm assuming that T-1 will be extremely difficult to get in if not at all. I'm just trying to get an assessment on which Tier I should be aiming for if I were to score in the 170s

mylsn.info

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

I'm very interested in studying law, and I know people can be negative. I know it is hard to obtain a career especially in this economy. I know the biggest shot would be to do extremely well on the LSAT, in order to get into a decent school.

I guess mainly what I was asking is it possible with those credentials that I have.

I was just worried about the GPA that I have. I really just want to figure out my chances throughout the various Tiers. I'm assuming that T-1 will be extremely difficult to get in if not at all. I'm just trying to get an assessment on which Tier I should be aiming for if I were to score in the 170s

T1 isn't a meaningful distinction for prospective law applicants. A T2 or TTT school in the area you want to work beats out every out of state T1.

FWIW, I applied two years ago with a 2.7/168 and got into several schools ranked from 20-100. I only got money from a couple schools, just one in the top 50.

[WaltWhite]

Retake undergrad.

WTF is a Homeland Security major...?

[Ben Franklin]

A 2.83 with a mediocre LSAT is still good enough to get into law school, depending on where you want to go. A regional or state school if you plan to stay in that area should be your target. Plenty of TLS snobs will tell you otherwise, and cite "dismal job prospects", but the school you go to will not make a huge difference in getting a job, especially graduating from a regional school. I work in a law firm, so I can speak from personal experience, and your likeability factor along with your personality will go a lot further than the school you go to. Shame on TLS snobbery.

[rad lulz]

,

[Ben Franklin]

rad lulz, read closer. My response had to do with finding a job, with no mention of repaying loans. While it is true that a law grad might have a tough time paying their student loans, that would be true for any law grad regardless of the school they went to, or any student in general, for that matter. If your logic is that a graduate from a "top law school" has a better chance of paying their student loans because their job pays better, I would argue that the student from the "top law school" will have a higher debt load vs. a graduate from a cheaper lower ranked school, and thus a higher minimum loan payment. A lower amount of debt would result in a lower monthly payment to repay that debt, so in scale your lower salary would be equivalent to a higher salary with a higher monthly student loan payment. Again, speaking from experience. I know plenty of attorneys who do not work in biglaw and do not make $150k/yr, but have no problem making a $1200 loan payment on $60-$70k/yr

[rad lulz]

rad lulz, read closer. My response had to do with finding a job, with no mention of repaying loans. While it is true that a law grad might have a tough time paying their student loans, that would be true for any law grad regardless of the school they went to, or any student in general, for that matter. If your logic is that a graduate from a "top law school" has a better chance of paying their student loans because their job pays better, I would argue that the student from the "top law school" will have a higher debt load vs. a graduate from a cheaper lower ranked school, and thus a higher minimum loan payment. A lower amount of debt would result in a lower monthly payment to repay that debt, so in scale your lower salary would be equivalent to a higher salary with a higher monthly student loan payment. Again, speaking from experience. I know plenty of attorneys who do not work in biglaw and do not make $150k/yr, but have no problem making a $1200 loan payment on $60-$70k/yr

Okay, so what

OP just look at lawschooltransparency to see the employment data from the schools you can get into. It's sobering.

[Ben Franklin]

LST is a good resource, but they should include data on individuals who would have a hard time getting a job at Starbucks, let alone a law firm. Plenty of people graduate law school and don't have a clue how to carry themselves, present themselves, network themselves, or market themselves. They think having a JD is all they need, and this is far from true. Everyone makes a big deal over the "Top 14". While it is true these schools hold a great deal of prestige, we're talking about 14 law schools out of what, 150? MOST LAWYERS IN THIS COUNTRY WENT TO A SCHOOL OUT OF THE TOP 14! If you have game, and actually put forth the effort to know your shit, you will find a job.

[togepi]

If you score in the high 160s+ you'll definitely land some T50 splitter schools with $$. Of the top of my head: Minnesota, WUSTL, Alabama, GWU, IUB, and so forth. I believe with WE you could land Northwestern, but that's a long shot. Those schools I've listed are probably where you'd max out with disregarding any good softs and WE.

When you go past the T30, your scholarships will most likely be only about 50% off because of the low GPA.

[John_rizzy_rawls]

Hold the phone... you majored in Homeland Security?

[NYstate]

A 2.83 with a mediocre LSAT is still good enough to get into law school, depending on where you want to go. A regional or state school if you plan to stay in that area should be your target. Plenty of TLS snobs will tell you otherwise, and cite "dismal job prospects", but the school you go to will not make a huge difference in getting a job, especially graduating from a regional school. I work in a law firm, so I can speak from personal experience, and your likeability factor along with your personality will go a lot further than the school you go to. Shame on TLS snobbery.

Going to a school that gives you a good shot at a job that can repay your loans really is snobby

Lol.

[Lumieres]

Hold the phone... you majored in Homeland Security?

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/edu ... rity_x.htm

Mind is blown.