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I was a communications major with a really poor GPA (2.8 to be exact). Am I far enough removed from college that it makes sense that I only have professional recommendations or should I exhaust all resources to try and track down a previous prof?

All professional recs is fine. A professor LOR is a "nice to have" in your situation but it's far from a dealbreaker. What schools really want to see is a high LSAT score.

Tiago Splitter wrote:All professional recs is fine. A professor LOR is a "nice to have" in your situation but it's far from a dealbreaker. What schools really want to see is a high LSAT score.

Thanks. I took the February LSAT and am waiting for my score. Based on my practice tests, I should score in the 155-157 range. That's without really having any grasp at all on how to tackle the logic games section. If I could truly master that and then retake in June with the same performance in my LR and RC sections, I think I could get myself positioned really nicely to be competitive for scholarship money to schools around the KS/MO/OK areas with a score north of 162.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Tiago here - anyone who is a few years out should still have at least one academic LOR, but it's especially important in your case because of your lower GPA. You really need someone to speak to your academic qualifications.

I think it's really going to depend on the school. UVA will probably want to see one, but it probably won't matter for George Mason.

BPlaura wrote:I'm going to respectfully disagree with Tiago here - anyone who is a few years out should still have at least one academic LOR, but it's especially important in your case because of your lower GPA. You really need someone to speak to your academic qualifications.

I think targeting the sub 160 LSAT + a sub 3 GPA is a bigger problem than his LOR. OP is not going to go to a law school worth going to.

onionz wrote:

BPlaura wrote:I'm going to respectfully disagree with Tiago here - anyone who is a few years out should still have at least one academic LOR, but it's especially important in your case because of your lower GPA. You really need someone to speak to your academic qualifications.

I think targeting the sub 160 LSAT + a sub 3 GPA is a bigger problem than his LOR. OP is not going to go to a law school worth going to.

The majority of the best firms in Kansas care much more about where you finish in your class + involvement in law review than if you went to a T1.

I finished school several years ago, and I didn't use any academic LORs. I've been accepted at the schools for which I'm near the medians, meaning I'm not underperforming my numbers (thus far, knock on wood, no jinx).

However, my gpa is good and I have grad school experience. YOU can't settle for "not underperforming" your numbers, because that's not a good gpa. Ball out on the LSAT, that is crucial.

Perhaps others can speak to this, but I'd strongly consider a GPA addendum here. 2.8 in comm doesn't sound rull good.

BPlaura wrote:I'm going to respectfully disagree with Tiago here - anyone who is a few years out should still have at least one academic LOR, but it's especially important in your case because of your lower GPA. You really need someone to speak to your academic qualifications.

I'd agree if I thought the schools this guy is applying to cared about academic qualifications.

Perhaps others can speak to this, but I'd strongly consider a GPA addendum here. 2.8 in comm doesn't sound rull good.[/quote]


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I don't know that I really have all that great of an explanation other than that I worked 45+ hours a week + had a melanoma scare during my senior year. Would it still be worth it to mention this in an addendum?

Working 45 hrs/week is certainly a limiting factor. The melanoma bit could be worth mentioning if it corresponded with your worst semester. Regardless, don't be lengthy and don't sound like you're making excuses (even if you are, really).

cron1834 wrote:Working 45 hrs/week is certainly a limiting factor. The melanoma bit could be worth mentioning if it corresponded with your worst semester. Regardless, don't be lengthy and don't sound like you're making excuses (even if you are, really).

Thanks for the input, it's much appreciated. I actually sold cars throughout college to pay for school. Made more money my last year doing that than I probably will right out of law school. I never did find fulfillment in it though, but I'm grateful that it allowed for me to graduate from UG debt free. I still could have done better than I did in school though.

ElliotNessquire wrote:

onionz wrote:

BPlaura wrote:I'm going to respectfully disagree with Tiago here - anyone who is a few years out should still have at least one academic LOR, but it's especially important in your case because of your lower GPA. You really need someone to speak to your academic qualifications.

I think targeting the sub 160 LSAT + a sub 3 GPA is a bigger problem than his LOR. OP is not going to go to a law school worth going to.

The majority of the best firms in Kansas care much more about where you finish in your class + involvement in law review than if you went to a T1.

every firm cares about where you finish your class, but that's a lot harder to control than what school you go to.

Totally agreed with cron about the addendum. This is probably obvious, but make sure to include that job on your resume as well.

BPlaura wrote:Totally agreed with cron about the addendum. This is probably obvious, but make sure to include that job on your resume as well.

Many thanks. Will work on the addendum this evening.

"You guys, you know that auto-admit with a 2.8/155? He doesn't have an academic LOR!"
"Oh shit. Ding."