Chance of acceptance in a top 20. Forum

[krumley7]

My undergrad transcript has 30 credit hours at Columbus State Community College, how will this affect my chances? Also as a side note, 9 of these credit hours are from classes made mandatory to be taken in order to receive the proper licensure for a previous job with a hospital. It was part of their mandatory training.

Eventually the remaining 100 or so credit hours will be from The Ohio State University. Well, that is the plan for now.
Should I be looking into different undergrad schools to transfer to? Is OSU prestigious enough to get into a top 20?

Where should my GPA stand? Obviously I've received all A's at Columbus State. I hate that this is listed on my transcript but there is nothing I can do about it at this point. Or is there?

Are there any extra curricular activities or activist groups the top 20 like to see on your application? I'm assuming I need all the buffers I can get with Community College courses listed on my resume. Also, I am a 23 year old woman, who will be 26 upon graduation. Do age and/or gender and/or length of time in undergrad matter?

I testified 4 years ago as a victim in a case where the defendant was sentenced to 80 years in prison. My prosecutor at the time is now a congressman of South Carolina. He would write me a letter of recommendation in a heartbeat. Would this help my chances? He is highly respected in the state of SC.

My current major is a double BA in Philosophy and Economics. I've been teetering around with the idea of changing my second major from Econ to English. I've heard Philosophy and English majors excel the most on their LSAT, is this true? I've also heard that BS majors (math/physics/engineering) have better chances of a top 20 due to their unique skill set. Do top 20's care about this or is it primarily about your GPA and LSAT score?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm sure I can think of 100 more but I will leave it at that. All feedback is so greatly appreciated.

[francesfarmer]

What is your GPA? Law schools will not care about the fact that you have a community college on your transcript. They only care about your GPA and LSAT score. Nothing else will have a big effect on your application. Are you perhaps an underrepresented minority?

What you should be focused on is keeping your grades as high as possible. When you take the LSAT, use good prep materials and study for as long as you need to to get the highest score you can. There are tons of really useful threads on here for LSAT prep.

Good luck! And check out the following sites:

lawschooltransparency.com
mylsn.info
lawschoolnumbers.com

[krumley7]

No minority unfortunately. GPA is a 4.0 for now. I plan on keeping it at close to that as possible throughout my undergrad. Did I read in another forum somewhere that you were recently accepted in a few T14? Or was that someone else? Either way, any advice on the best majors to pick from? Or is it primarily about keeping your GPA up and preparing yourself for the LSAT?

Thanks for all of the info so far!

[drive4showLSAT4dough]

Major doesn't matter. School doesn't matter (outside HYP). LSAT matters. GPA matters. Good luck!

[Nova]

Going to Community collge will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

Going to OSU will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

Graduating college at 26 will not affect your laws school admissions cycle

Age and gender will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

[Nova]

Your LoRs are supposed to be from someone who observed your academic abiliites. Getting the congressman to write you an LoR is a waste of an LoR. Its bascially irrelevant.

Your undergrad major will not directly affect your laws school admissions cycle. Its bascially irrelevant. Pick something useful in case law school doesnt work out. Pick something you enjoy. Pick something you will make good grades in.

Dont even worry about certain majors doing better on the LSAT. Its bascially irrelevant

[francesfarmer]

No minority unfortunately. GPA is a 4.0 for now. I plan on keeping it at close to that as possible throughout my undergrad. Did I read in another forum somewhere that you were recently accepted in a few T14? Or was that someone else? Either way, any advice on the best majors to pick from? Or is it primarily about keeping your GPA up and preparing yourself for the LSAT?

Thanks for all of the info so far!

Your major doesn't matter. Pick something that can get you a job (and that you can get straight As in).

And there's a link to my law school numbers account in my profile. I got into a bunch of T-14s and my GPA is nowhere near as good as yours. Don't waste it! Do well on the LSAT.

[krumley7]

Francesfarmer, the link for some reason did not show up. Would you mind re-sending? Thanks!

[Nova]

C&P....

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com
http://www.mylsn.info
http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com

[Darmody]

Going to Community collge will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

Going to OSU will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

Graduating college at 26 will not affect your laws school admissions cycle

Age and gender will not affect your law school admissions cycle.

Doesn't gender affect law school admission? Berkeley's admission data showed your % of acceptance increasing from certain factors like +1 on LSAT, +.1 GPA, URM, military, and being female was one of them.

[Nova]

It is very far down the list of tie breakers.

[jbagelboy]

As others have noted, you have it backwards: be happy those CC classes show if they raise your gpa. Thats a blessing. I would have killed to have a series of easy As as a buffer.

Dont stress the small shit here. GPA, LSAT, and keeping busy with some sort of productive activity during summers, and you're golden.

Edit: also for LoRs, choose professors who know and respect your work. I wouldnt pick CC profs. You can take an additional one from a judge or attorney, but make sure you have 2 solid academic ones. Take upper div classes with the same prof and do research with them or something.