Top Law Schools

Long time lurker, first time poster. I went to a state school for a year and, due to some pretty serious personal problems that messed me up mentally, I pretty much gave up on school. I literally did not attend any classes my second semester, and as a result (surprise!) I got straight Fs. Looking back, this was clearly a stupid idea, both because I ruined my GPA and because something may have been salvaged if I simply withdrew at the beginning of the semester. Anyway, I didn't, and there's nothing I can do about it now. Since then, I've switched schools and have a GPA solely at my new school around 3.50. Obviously, I have to report my earlier grades for LSAC, and my cumulative GPA now is 2.71. I probably have 3 whole semesters left, and best case scenario (all As for the rest of college), LSAC GPA would rise to 3.14 (133 credits).

I have a few related questions. First, how forgiving are T1s for a semester like this? Does it make a difference if I say I was unfamiliar with the university grade policy considering drops (which is the truth btw. Dumb, but I wasn't in the best mental state) and thought that late-ish drops/withdrawals/Fs counted as the same thing, and that had I known I would have withdrawn from classes immediately? And if not, and they just treat it like anyone else who messed around and partied and got Fs, do they punish that severely? It was my freshman year, and I ended up taking a year off of school in between to deal with my issues before enrolling at a different school.

Also, assume my LSAT will be competitive for most of these schools. I'm not planning on taking the LSAT until near graduation, and I'm PTing in the low 170s (up from 159 diagnostic) with room to grow.

If you get your GPA above 3.0, and if you break 170 on the LSAT, you'll have plenty of options.

rpupkin wrote:If you get your GPA above 3.0, and if you break 170 on the LSAT, you'll have plenty of options.

Options for where, though, exactly? I get that HYS is out of the question, but any chance at all for CCN? Just based on LSN it looks decent for some of the lower T14s, but I guess I'm asking if there's any difference between my situation (one bad semester, the rest decent to good, upward trend) versus someone who had two or more subpar semesters and/or didn't show any upward trend. Is that a huge plus to an otherwise terrible GPA, or do most admissions see the LSAC GPA and say no almost immediately?

Maybe try and petition your old school for a retroactive withdrawal, if they'll allow that.

TravisTanner wrote:

rpupkin wrote:If you get your GPA above 3.0, and if you break 170 on the LSAT, you'll have plenty of options.

Options for where, though, exactly? I get that HYS is out of the question, but any chance at all for CCN? Just based on LSN it looks decent for some of the lower T14s, but I guess I'm asking if there's any difference between my situation (one bad semester, the rest decent to good, upward trend) versus someone who had two or more subpar semesters and/or didn't show any upward trend. Is that a huge plus to an otherwise terrible GPA, or do most admissions see the LSAC GPA and say no almost immediately?

CCN would be unlikely, as I imagine LSN is showing. And, no, the fact you had one bad semester—and later had an upward trend—will neither help you nor hurt you. At the end of the day, it's generally just about your final LSAC GPA + your LSAT score. Many schools probably won't even look at your transcript.

You'll want to submit an addendum about your straight-F semester. (Some schools might want to see an explanation of what happened.) But worry about that when you actually apply to law school.

t-14orbust wrote:Maybe try and petition your old school for a retroactive withdrawal, if they'll allow that.

I thought the same thing and emailed them yesterday. But of a long shot but it's worth it to try. My understanding now is that Ws are still punitive on the LSAC GPA. Is that right?

TravisTanner wrote:

t-14orbust wrote:Maybe try and petition your old school for a retroactive withdrawal, if they'll allow that.

I thought the same thing and emailed them yesterday. But of a long shot but it's worth it to try. My understanding now is that Ws are still punitive on the LSAC GPA. Is that right?

If the original transcript lists them as punitive, then yes. But if you get a retroactive medical withdrawal, those classes no longer count for your GPA.

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