CUNY Law with Lower GPA? Forum

[stc2128]

Hello Law School community,

I recently graduated from Columbia. Currently, I am employed as a staff analyst for a high profile government office in New York City. I am a committed civil servant, and therefore hope to attend CUNY School of Law's part-time evening program to earn my JD in 4 years, with the intention of pursuing a career in public interest law.

At Columbia I was a History major and Economics minor. My cumulative GPA was 3.2, but my in-major GPA was 3.9. I understand that this is quite low for many law schools, but I received some poor grades in quantitative math and economics classes that were graded on a curve. I studied economics with the intention of finding employment in the city government. While I suppose I was successful in this endeavor, my GPA severely suffered as a result.

I understand the LSAT will be a critical component of my application. On Saturday I took a diagnostic test without preparing at all and received a 155. I plan on diligently preparing for the exam each day leading up the January test date.

During my time at Columbia, I worked consistently as a researcher in several departments, including the office of a Nobel Laureate economist. I also served as an intern for the city government during my senior year, and I was hired on a full time basis out of that experience.

As far as recommendations go, my thesis adviser in the history department has agreed to write what she says will be an exceptional letter. My supervisor in the government office is a high profile municipal lawyer for NYC and will likely be my second recommender.

I am mostly interested in CUNY's program because of its emphasis on law in public service, and because I could continue my career as a civil servant with the city government while I pursue legal studies.

From my research, CUNY values a commitment to public service in its application process. Perhaps my demonstrated commitment to public service could remedy my lower GPA. I do understand that I still fall in the average range for CUNY Law, however.

What more advice would you have for someone with my profile?

Thank you so much, everyone.

[futurelawyermike]

Don't stress out too much. Get 170+ on the LSAT and you'll be fine