Is my 3.5 GPA the death knell for t-14 hopes? Forum

[jeffreysfishtank]

TL:DR - Was dumb and withdrew from an entire semester of classes after the deadline. My college penalized me for it; did not even realize it until years later when thinking about law school. As a result, the withdrawal grades are considered all Fs. Was a straight A student otherwise--now ended up with a 3.5 GPA. Kicking myself for being a 19 year old idiot 9 years ago.

I'm attending another college online right now because my saving grace was I took off a few years without graduating (non-trad). Still pulling straight As and A+. I have estimated in the worst case scenario I spend 3 more years in school and get my GPA up to a 3.75-ish.

Is it worth it? Or should I just take my 3.5 and concentrate on the LSAT? I am gainfully employed so not losing income. I don't care about spending time doing this, but by the time I'm done and ready for law school I will potentially be a 31 year old woman and I feel like for hiring purposes I might as well be 90.

[DKM]

I'm kind of confused by your question. Do you have a 3.5 now and already graduated? Because once you graduate your gpa is "locked in".

[QabusNama]

Not if you have a 172+ LSAT. Rule out HYS, but you have a good shot at other places depending on where you completed your undergrad.

[JustWannaGraduate]

TL:DR - Was dumb and withdrew from an entire semester of classes after the deadline. My college penalized me for it; did not even realize it until years later when thinking about law school. As a result, the withdrawal grades are considered all Fs. Was a straight A student otherwise--now ended up with a 3.5 GPA. Kicking myself for being a 19 year old idiot 9 years ago.

I'm attending another college online right now because my saving grace was I took off a few years without graduating (non-trad). Still pulling straight As and A+. I have estimated in the worst case scenario I spend 3 more years in school and get my GPA up to a 3.75-ish.

Is it worth it? Or should I just take my 3.5 and concentrate on the LSAT? I am gainfully employed so not losing income. I don't care about spending time doing this, but by the time I'm done and ready for law school I will potentially be a 31 year old woman and I feel like for hiring purposes I might as well be 90.

No. I had a 3.5 and am at an MVPD with a half scholarship. Get 170+ on your LSAT and you’ll be in for sure anywhere but T6, but money might vary. I ranged from 0 at Penn to 2/3 at Cornell

[Jjbb938483]

I am also a little confused by your question. Regardless of how we are supposed to interpret your post, a 3.5 is not going to lock you out of the T14 if your LSAT is high enough. With a lower GPA, the other parts of your application will be more important though. I know people say its all about the numbers but there's no doubt that the other things matter more when you're a splitter (low GPA/high LSAT).

[Yulifus]

If you have a high LSAT score and strong softs, you have a shot. If you a better chance at admission, then graduate from the other school with a higher GPA, and be a 31 y/o law school student. Being a nontraditional student also helps, because the admissions committee will see a trend in grades.

I'm 37 and going to law school. So what?