Top Law Schools

I feel like I'm a little different compared to most 0Ls'.
I am older, and have more degrees than most. lol
I have a BS, MBA and MS in Criminal Justice.
The problems I foresee with my enrollment/acceptance are the grades and LSAT scores. I just took my LSAT last month so I haven't seen my score yet, but I feel like a dropped the ball on two sections. I'm guessing it will be around 140 or so. My UG gpa was pretty low (3.1 I believe) as well, but my MBA and MS both were better (3.3 and 3.99 respectively). Will I be able to get the schools to look at the GPA of my graduate degrees more favorably than my UG GPA?
I plan on retaking the LSAT in December, is that advised assuming I did as poorly as I feel like I did?

Thanks in advance!

I'm sure this is just one of many questions. I've spent the last couple hours viewing/reading this forum.

Did you study for the LSAT?

Law school will not be a good be a seriously terrible option at this point.

They will only really care about your undergraduate GPA, and your LSAT would need to be a full 25-30 points better for you to be in a reasonable situation with a 3.1.

If you're up for a ton of work to get that LSAT to a respectable range (165+ for your GPA), then get to work. If you're not, find another career path.

earthabides wrote:Did you study for the LSAT?

I did, but not as much as I should have. I'm also in the middle of a divorce and things got really ugly the night before the test, so I definitely wasn't all there mentally.

McAvoy wrote:Law school will not be a good be a seriously terrible option at this point.

They will only really care about your undergraduate GPA, and your LSAT would need to be a full 25-30 points better for you to be in a reasonable situation with a 3.1.

If you're up for a ton of work to get that LSAT to a respectable range (165+ for your GPA), then get to work. If you're not, find another career path.

What level of school are we talking about with "they"? I'm prepared to invest time and energy in getting the score up but I also am not expecting to get into a T14 school either...

Why do you want to go to law school?

all of the schools that aren't yale and stanford. Nobody said you need to go to a T14; with your projected stats you're not going to get any non-life ruining options outside of the T14 (ie regional school w/ a good scholarship and good employment stats)

sorry to hear about your divorce

Moneytrees wrote:Why do you want to go to law school?

I've always wanted to be a lawyer, but never really made the decision to pursue it. I've been in the construction (design/engineering) world for the last 15 years and am tired of the instability. Every time I find myself in a solid position in a company that seems to be making all the right decisions, I get laid off. It has happened 5+ times now... I'm willing to invest the time and money to get into a career path that will line me up for solid earnings and stability.

Phreaxer wrote:

Moneytrees wrote: I'm willing to invest the time and money to get into a career path that will line me up for solid earnings and stability.

Sadly this is not the outcome for most people with your stats. You really need at least a 160 to make it even remotely worth your while. The exception may be if you have a small law school where you live that will give you a full scholly.

WichitaShocker wrote:

Phreaxer wrote:

Moneytrees wrote: I'm willing to invest the time and money to get into a career path that will line me up for solid earnings and stability.

Sadly this is not the outcome for most people with your stats. You really need at least a 160 to make it even remotely worth your while. The exception may be if you have a small law school where you live that will give you a full scholly.

So the school is going to really make a significant difference in my career path? I haven't decided on career paths but I am leaning towards either criminal prosecution (working for the state/county) or family law.

But if a lower-ranked school gives me a scholarship, it's worth attending said school?

These aren't sarcastic or factious, I'm honestly asking.
Thank you for your input

Phreaxer wrote:

WichitaShocker wrote:

Phreaxer wrote:

Moneytrees wrote: I'm willing to invest the time and money to get into a career path that will line me up for solid earnings and stability.

Sadly this is not the outcome for most people with your stats. You really need at least a 160 to make it even remotely worth your while. The exception may be if you have a small law school where you live that will give you a full scholly.

So the school is going to really make a significant difference in my career path? I haven't decided on career paths but I am leaning towards either criminal prosecution (working for the state/county) or family law.

But if a lower-ranked school gives me a scholarship, it's worth attending said school?

These aren't sarcastic or factious, I'm honestly asking.
Thank you for your input

When it comes to law school. The school has a very very large impact on your career. The reason I say a low ranked school with a large scholarship (really should be a full scholarship) might be ok for you is, because the worst that can happen is you way 3 years of your life, and do not get smothered by tons of debt.

What was your practice test average?

Everyone on TLS disagrees over what they consider scores too low to realistically pursue law given the brutal law market. For you're GPA some will say you need a minimum of 165+, others will say 160+. I'm sure some would OK upper 150's for a regional school if you don't take on debt. But I think everyone on here would agree that anything under 150 would make law school a catastrophically bad decision. Spend some time researching the current state of law and employment numbers of law schools. Schools that accept people w sub 150 scores are terrible, you will NOT get a job (unless you have a rich relative w a law practice holding a lifetime job for you). If you go to a second tier or third tier school there is no guarantee of stability let alone a job.

You already have a bunch of nifty degrees, maybe swing into a different field?

Cpt Zapp Brannigan wrote:What was your practice test average?

Everyone on TLS disagrees over what they consider scores too low to realistically pursue law given the brutal law market. For you're GPA some will say you need a minimum of 165+, others will say 160+. I'm sure some would OK upper 150's for a regional school if you don't take on debt. But I think everyone on here would agree that anything under 150 would make law school a catastrophically bad decision. Spend some time researching the current state of law and employment numbers of law schools. Schools that accept people w sub 150 scores are terrible, you will NOT get a job (unless you have a rich relative w a law practice holding a lifetime job for you). If you go to a second tier or third tier school there is no guarantee of stability let alone a job.

You already have a bunch of nifty degrees, maybe swing into a different field?

I agree with this. Law school could be the right choice, but it has to be at the right price. If you are serious about law school, retake the LSAT, apply to some quality regional schools where you want to practice and see what type of scholarships you are offered. Go from there.

Spend the next several days thoroughly researching the below websites. The first gives you an adequate picture of the job placement of law schools, and the second website should give you a general idea of the kinds of scholarships you would be in the running for at each school.

The school you attend has a critical impact on the jobs/markets you will have access to, and the debt load/borrowing requirement of each school needs to be weighed heavily as well (tuition, fees and cost of living minus your scholarships, but adding on interest and loan fees.)

Under no circumstances should you even apply to law schools if your LSAT is in the area of 140. The only schools that would accept you would leave you with dismal job accessibility and a debt load you will possibly never pay off.

Please think about this.

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com

http://lawschoolnumbers.com

Thank you all very much for your replies. I appreciate all the depth many of you went into for your answers. I know they are rookie questions.

I will read those links and continue to read the forum here. There's a tremendous amount of information already shared.