Top Law Schools

LSAT Score: 177

GPA: 1.8

Backstory:
My senior year in high school I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was in 7 AP classes at the time, but ended up having to drop out and get my GED.

I had previously been accepted into Annapolis (naval academy), but with my health that was no longer an option.

Between my coping with a new disability and suffering a demoralizing setback in my personal goals, I floundered and either failed out of or withdrew from most of my clases.

Fast forward a few years later. My epilepsy is under control. I am also working full time at a law firm that specializes in real estate closing. I decide to go to school for paralegal studies part time at my local community college. At first I'm acing all my classes. I even took a full time semester and got deans list.
But then work got hectic and I had less and less time I could put into school. Dropped back to one class at a time, and then I couldn't even keep up with it.


The problem wasn't really that I had no time for school, I just needed more flexibility. So, I eventually enrolled at WGU. They don't have paralegal studies, so I chose accounting. Only 18 of my credits transferred - all gen ed.

I earned the additional 103 credits in 9 weeks, at my own pace. It helps I had a lot of pre-exposure to most of the concepts at work, also helps I was putting in 30 hours to studying a week at random times like 3 AM.

But, WGU does not issue a GPA: it's all pass/fail. So my 1.8 GPA stands.


Also; I know diversity counts. I'm gay and verifiably 1/16 Choctaw, 7/8 third-generation Irish, 1/16 "other". First generation college graduate, homeless during middle school.


What tier should I reasonably be looking at here?

What are your post-law school plans? A 1.8 is basically a unicorn, so no one can tell you where that might get you... except the schools that accept everyone because they're just trying to take your money. Not sure that law school is the best option... And also, no way to know without an LSAT, not that I would really suggest you taking one with your creds.

ArtistOfManliness wrote:What are your post-law school plans? A 1.8 is basically a unicorn, so no one can tell you where that might get you... except the schools that accept everyone because they're just trying to take your money. Not sure that law school is the best option... And also, no way to know without an LSAT, not that I would really suggest you taking one with your creds.

My plan's always been to be an attorney.

As far as the LSAT, guess you missed it, first thing in the post. 177. The law firm I'm woring for paid for my LSAT and is offering to pay for my schooling it I promise to stay with them. But if my LSAT score and soft factors can get me into a better school and career than real estate, I'd prefer that.

Yeah, I don't think anyone's going to be able to help you with predictions, because this is such an extreme case of being a splitter. I suspect that based on your excellent LSAT you will be able to find a semi-decent school that will take you, in that 1) for median GPA purposes, your 1.8 has pretty much the same impact as any other sub-25th percentile GPA, and 2) you went on to successfully complete a degree. The downside is that, to be honest, while completing 103 credits in 9 weeks is impressive in one sense, it doesn't really inspire confidence in the rigor of your BA.

If you do want to try for this, I think you are someone for whom your PS, DS, and letters are going to play a much bigger role than for most people and they will really need to prove to adcomms that you can pull this off.

(Whether it's a good idea to go, I really don't know. I think you're stuck applying to a lot of different places and seeing what happens. And people here scoff at application coaching, but you might benefit from talking to someone like Mike Spivey. You're just a really unusual case.)

A. Nony Mouse wrote:The downside is that, to be honest, while completing 103 credits in 9 weeks is impressive in one sense, it doesn't really inspire confidence in the rigor of your BA.

For what its worth, I'm sure other people found the program more rigorous. It's mainly test based, and I've always done exceptionally well on tests. I also got a 33 on the ACT and a 2250 on the SAT. Life just got in the way of formal schooling.
But I do understand how that will be difficult to demonstrate.


To be honest, the main concern I have is whether or not I'll be shackled to a full time job. First things first though is getting accepted. I'll look into that Mike Spivey fellow.

MemphisLaw wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:The downside is that, to be honest, while completing 103 credits in 9 weeks is impressive in one sense, it doesn't really inspire confidence in the rigor of your BA.

For what its worth, I'm sure other people found the program more rigorous. It's mainly test based, and I've always done exceptionally well on tests. I also got a 33 on the ACT and a 2250 on the SAT. Life just got in the way of formal schooling.
But I do understand how that will be difficult to demonstrate.


To be honest, the main concern I have is whether or not I'll be shackled to a full time job. First things first though is getting accepted. I'll look into that Mike Spivey fellow.

I get a little bit tired of the "I'm not sure if law is a good idea for you" comments. Seriously - you are a paralegal, scored a 177, and have been offered to cover tuition costs by the firm you work at. If ANYONE is in a position where law school may be for you, it's you!

Write a great addendum explaining all of what you said, a great PS, DS, and good luck. You'll find a decent school who will give you a shot, no doubt.