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My LSAC gpa ended up lower then I expected, and its a 2.5. I took the LSAT and got a 173. I am not done with my LSATs, and want to retake in June 2014 to try to get a score of 175 or higher.

No sugar coding it, the gpa is awful, awful, but the 173 isn't. And I want to retake for 175+

I am going to apply Fall 2014, early on in the cycle since I need every bit of advantage I can get.


In Fall 2014 cycle, with a 173 (or 175+) and a 2.5 gpa with a 2 year upward trend of 3.5, do I have a shot at the top 50?

Also all my work experience has been in undergrad and I have been in undergrad for 9 years.

I really doubt that retaking would be worth it in your case. How substantial is the work experience?

well, its been all during undergrad, but when I went to lawschool predictor it said many Tier 1s would consider me. Do you think Tier 1 is unreasonable to expect with a 2.5/173?

coreyacceptance2013 wrote:Do you think Tier 1 is unreasonable to expect with a 2.5/173?

If you submit a solid app you have a decent shot at several Tier 1s.

"Top 50" is a meaningless distinction though. Attending a school outside the T14 simply for its ranking is unwise. So is attending a school in a market you don't want to live in long term.

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Something to keep in mind: people with your numbers got into Northwestern, but they'd been out of undergrad and working full time for several years. That might be a route you want to pursue.

There's obviously something going on if you've been in undergrad for 9 years with a GPA of 2.5. It would probably be a boost to you to get some distance in between yourself and your undergraduate career.

Undergrad for nine years? That must be some sort of record.

Thank you to everyone that provided insight into my gpa and LSAT inquiry. I really appreciate the replies.

In response to the snide remark about being in undergrad for quite a period of time. Let me say this ... No, I doubt its any kind of a record worthy of being placed in the Guinness book. Ive known many individuals, older and younger that went to school part time, on the heels of raising a family and working full time. In my case, I had to work two jobs, while grappling with developmental disabilities. I am sorry that my 9 years of being in undergrad, makes me a target for your judgement and ridicule, excuse me that I wasn't perfect like you finishing undergrad in 4 years, but I consider the fact that graduating from college and breaking a 170 on the LSAT a laudable accomplishment. Unless you scored above 173, and walked a mile in my shoes, I wouldn't be quick to pass judgement on me.

Did you get accommodations for the lsat?

coreyacceptance2013 wrote:Thank you to everyone that provided insight into my gpa and LSAT inquiry. I really appreciate the replies.

In response to the snide remark about being in undergrad for quite a period of time. Let me say this ... No, I doubt its any kind of a record worthy of being placed in the Guinness book. Ive known many individuals, older and younger that went to school part time, on the heels of raising a family and working full time. In my case, I had to work two jobs, while grappling with developmental disabilities. I am sorry that my 9 years of being in undergrad, makes me a target for your judgement and ridicule, excuse me that I wasn't perfect like you finishing undergrad in 4 years, but I consider the fact that graduating from college and breaking a 170 on the LSAT a laudable accomplishment. Unless you scored above 173, and walked a mile in my shoes, I wouldn't be quick to pass judgement on me.

Without trying to make light of the challenges you faced, I think this is probably a negative when applying to (full-time) law schools. If your personal situation was such that you couldn't complete undergrad in less than 9 years, you'll need to present some pretty compelling evidence that you're able to handle the pace of law school. This is probably true even if applying to part-time programs. I don't know that much about them, but Georgetown's (for instance) is a 4-year program. If you needed more than twice the normal amount of time to finish undergrad, then an extra year to do law school won't obviously be enough.

I don't know you. Maybe you can write an awesome personal statement that both explains your GPA in light of your situation and makes it clear that things have now changed and you're ready to commit to law school. But I'll repeat my earlier advice: taking a few years off to work might really help you. It will distance you from your grades, it will hopefully allow you to save enough money that you're able to work less or not at all during law school, and it would let you tell a story: going to undergrad in order to get a job to make enough money to support your family, finding a job and working hard to achieve stability, and now being ready to go on to the next step of your professional development. I suspect that Northwestern would love it.

It sounds like you did overcome some impressive challenges to graduate from college. But that only helps your applications if those challenges are no longer there. Otherwise, it'll look to the admissions committee like they're admitting someone who's at substantial risk for not graduating.

Be less sensitive. Law students are even bigger douches than the people who responded to you. They were trying to be nice. You are being insufferably touchy.

Also, you'll get into a T1 school. Go to LST before picking a final school though.

Also, I think it's cute that some of y'all think they'll care about anything other than LSAT plus GPA outside of HYS.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to be a jerk. Just thought 9 years was out of the ordinary, that's all.

But yes, I don't think you'll have any problems getting into a T1 school with your high lsat, but you should be ready to explain that you're ready for the demands in law school. I'm pretty sure some schools also put a residency cap of how long you can take to finish your JD.