Top Law Schools

thanks

not particularly

I'm not going to comment on whether or not you should quit your sport, but if you graduate with a sub 3.0 GPA, it is going to be damn near impossible to get into the schools you're aiming for (HYSCP), with H and Y certainly out regardless of LSAT.

Edit: I'm assuming you're an AA because of username, if you're a white South African, you're SOL

@californiauser

No, I'm not a white South African, parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And I understand where you're coming from. I'm really just worried about not having softs because I'm really not good at any thing else in particular, but I don't want to take the chance of doing poorly in college just for the sake of a sport. Atm, I'm shooting for a 3.5 GPA, but I'm not even sure that will be enough to save me.

AfricanGal wrote:@californiauser

No, I'm not a white South African, parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And I understand where you're coming from. I'm really just worried about not having softs because I'm really not good at any thing else in particular, but I don't want to take the chance of doing poorly in college just for the sake of a sport. Atm, I'm shooting for a 3.5 GPA, but I'm not even sure that will be enough to save me.

Being African-American will help you more on your law school applications than if you were a gold medalist in the Olympics probably.

AfricanGal wrote:@californiauser

No, I'm not a white South African, parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And I understand where you're coming from. I'm really just worried about not having softs because I'm really not good at any thing else in particular, but I don't want to take the chance of doing poorly in college just for the sake of a sport. Atm, I'm shooting for a 3.5 GPA, but I'm not even sure that will be enough to save me.

Sub 3.0 is dangerous grounds for all applicants, but for URMs especially. I think you just need to do some soul searching and figure our whether a sport is something you really want to do. If you're already way below the 3.0 line and can't reasonably expect to get above it, it may not be worth it to quit.

I have sometime to boost my gpa (it's a 2.27 though) and I'll only be a sophomore this coming fall, not sure I mentioned that.

Don't bother with the sport if you just want it for a soft; as others have said, a DIII sport is fairly meh as softs go. (Even DI can only help so much.) There are equally middling softs (school clubs, volunteering) that take less time and effort.

If you really love playing, think about continuing with it, but recognize that your grades will have a far greater effect on your eventual law school chances. If you don't think you can maintain excellent grades while playing the sport, think about your priorities.

If you seriously do have a shot at becoming an Olympian, that's a legit soft.

It seems like I'll have to be getting as close to a 4.0 average per semester to attain a 3.5. Perhaps quitting is my only reasonable option at this point, because I can't see myself getting straight As with a "two-a-day" sport. Well,, this is depressing.

I'm far more concerned with doing well academically, especially if it means the difference between a good law school or a useless gpa/degree. Priorities, priorities...

anyone else have anything to add?

AfricanGal wrote:I have sometime to boost my gpa (it's a 2.27 though) and I'll only be a sophomore this coming fall, not sure I mentioned that.

if you are still a freshman right now, or just about to start your sophomore year, you have a really good opportunity to get your grades up above the 3.0 mark. but you have to keep in mind that you MUST work your ass off for the next 3 years of college. that is a real commitment and you need to sit down and organize your life, yesterday. figure out good places for you to study, figure out a schedule for you to study regularly, and make sure you stay on top of your grades. i'm only saying this because i wish someone would have said that to me when i had the chance to get my shit in order

if you seriously want to be a lawyer, and that is your ultimate goal, i honestly suggest making sure you are in a major that is easy enough to consistently get good grades in. some people might think that is crappy advice, but in the end there are 2 factors you can control that have significant impact on your application - GPA/LSAT. study hard and really consider if the law is what you want to do. whatever you do, good luck

UnderrateOverachieve wrote:

AfricanGal wrote:@californiauser

No, I'm not a white South African, parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And I understand where you're coming from. I'm really just worried about not having softs because I'm really not good at any thing else in particular, but I don't want to take the chance of doing poorly in college just for the sake of a sport. Atm, I'm shooting for a 3.5 GPA, but I'm not even sure that will be enough to save me.

Being African-American will help you more on your law school applications than if you were a gold medalist in the Olympics probably.

This. D-III athlete status doesn't help much.

Being a URM provides a really solid boost, so you have that going for you. You need to get your GPA WAY up (how is a 2.27 even possible?) and you need to study hard for the LSAT. LSAT/GPA is really all that should matter to you right now if you want to go law school.

romothesavior wrote:

UnderrateOverachieve wrote:

AfricanGal wrote:@californiauser

No, I'm not a white South African, parents are immigrants from Nigeria. And I understand where you're coming from. I'm really just worried about not having softs because I'm really not good at any thing else in particular, but I don't want to take the chance of doing poorly in college just for the sake of a sport. Atm, I'm shooting for a 3.5 GPA, but I'm not even sure that will be enough to save me.

Being African-American will help you more on your law school applications than if you were a gold medalist in the Olympics probably.

This. D-III athlete status doesn't help much.

Being a URM provides a really solid boost, so you have that going for you. You need to get your GPA WAY up (how is a 2.27 even possible?) and you need to study hard for the LSAT. LSAT/GPA is really all that should matter to you right now if you want to go law school.

I recieved a D- in Calc (math isn't my strongest subject) but had to take it to fulfill requirements. Was a really bad move to make. Then withdrew from my Chem class. Those two grades are killing my gpa. I'm thinking I'll take this year to solely focus on grades..

I don't know enough about your personal circumstances to make a strong recommendation about what you should do, but if you actually have a legitimate shot of making a national team, I would imagine it could make up for some pretty bad numbers. I'm not sure exactly how much leeway that would get you, but as an example, the author of prozac nation got into yale with an lsat in the 150s or 160s, and she wasn't a minority either. Maybe admissions officers would see being a top athlete and a well-known author in a similar way.

nerv wrote:I don't know enough about your personal circumstances to make a strong recommendation about what you should do, but if you actually have a legitimate shot of making a national team, I would imagine it could make up for some pretty bad numbers. I'm not sure exactly how much leeway that would get you, but as an example, the author of prozac nation got into yale with an lsat in the 150s or 160s, and she wasn't a minority either. Maybe admissions officers would see being a top athlete and a well-known author in a similar way.

i don't know enough to speculate how being a top athlete would factor in an admissions decision, but i am confident in saying that being a top performer in DIII is not considered a top athlete. not meant to be offensive, just being realistic

mojangles wrote:

nerv wrote:I don't know enough about your personal circumstances to make a strong recommendation about what you should do, but if you actually have a legitimate shot of making a national team, I would imagine it could make up for some pretty bad numbers. I'm not sure exactly how much leeway that would get you, but as an example, the author of prozac nation got into yale with an lsat in the 150s or 160s, and she wasn't a minority either. Maybe admissions officers would see being a top athlete and a well-known author in a similar way.

i don't know enough to speculate how being a top athlete would factor in an admissions decision, but i am confident in saying that being a top performer in DIII is not considered a top athlete. not meant to be offensive, just being realistic

The times I've posted for the sport I'm involved in are fairly close to top DI programs. I passed up an offer with a DI school that is currently second in the nation in order to attend a more affordable, prestigious college, and I wasn't particularly sure if I wanted to continue playing after high school. Either way I've still got a long way to go before being at that level, but from what I've heard from coaches it's very achievable for me.

AfricanGal wrote:The times I've posted for the sport I'm involved in are fairly close to top DI programs. I passed up an offer with a DI school that is currently second in the nation in order to attend a more affordable, prestigious college, and I wasn't particularly sure if I wanted to continue playing after high school. Either way I've still got a long way to go before being at that level, but from what I've heard from coaches it's very achievable for me.

I don't think he was saying that to look down on your talent or your experiences, he was just talking about it from the perspective of admissions. Being a DIII athlete may be a very small boost in admissions, but no one is going to look at your application and say "Wow, this person is a top athlete" and throw you to the top of the stack, like say, a famous author.

LSAT and GPA are the two most important things for you to focus on now. You've already got the most beneficial admissions boost there is (race), and you have three years to focus on those other two factors. Get your GPA back over 3 and get your LSAT score into the mid-high 160s, and you'll have a great cycle. Keep doing your sport if its what you love and you can manage to focus on grades, but don't do it because it's a soft for law school.

AfricanGal wrote:

mojangles wrote:

nerv wrote:I don't know enough about your personal circumstances to make a strong recommendation about what you should do, but if you actually have a legitimate shot of making a national team, I would imagine it could make up for some pretty bad numbers. I'm not sure exactly how much leeway that would get you, but as an example, the author of prozac nation got into yale with an lsat in the 150s or 160s, and she wasn't a minority either. Maybe admissions officers would see being a top athlete and a well-known author in a similar way.

i don't know enough to speculate how being a top athlete would factor in an admissions decision, but i am confident in saying that being a top performer in DIII is not considered a top athlete. not meant to be offensive, just being realistic

The times I've posted for the sport I'm involved in are fairly close to top DI programs. I passed up an offer with a DI school that is currently second in the nation in order to attend a more affordable, prestigious college, and I wasn't particularly sure if I wanted to continue playing after high school. Either way I've still got a long way to go before being at that level, but from what I've heard from coaches it's very achievable for me.

If I were you, I would probably continue to play the sport if it was something I enjoyed doing, not because there is a small chance that I could make the olympic team which would then give me a boost in law school admissions or whatever. There is way too much uncertainty going down that path such as injuries, poor performance, or just things out of your control that might potentially lead you to having poor grades and a bunch of time invested in an activity that didn't really get you anything tangible.

However, if law school is something you know you want to do (be sure to check what the job market is like for lawyers, the amount of debt you would have to take on, plus what lawyers actually do), and you feel like you cannot get good grades playing your sport, and you don't enjoy doing it separate from what boost it can get you in terms of admissions, then consider dropping it.

In any case, I feel like this issue is something you should discuss with your coaches, academic or career advisers, and family members, since dropping a sport as a high-level athlete is a pretty big deal, as is your future career path.

Btw, I think what people above are saying regarding d3 not being much of a boost is probably correct; the boost would probably only come if you made the olympics or something like that.