Rejected from Safe School (character disclosures)
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:37 pm
I have no intention of leaving Cleveland to either study or practice law. I have a four-month old daughter, my girlfriend has a good job here, and both of our families live here. For those reasons, I applied only to Cleveland-Marshall and Case Western. My cumulative GPA, per LSAC's calculation, was a 3.25, but this was held down by an unsuccessful first attempt at college, with a 1.36 GPA in the 2011-12 academic year.
2011-12 - 1.36 GPA, 23 semester hours (Ohio University)
2018-19 - 3.58 GPA, 43 semester hours (Cuyahoga Community College)
2019-20 - 3.74 GPA, 34 semester hours (Cuyahoga Community College)
Fall 2020 - 4.0 GPA, 16 semester hours (+3 pass/fail hours - Cleveland State University)
I am scheduled to graduate from Cleveland State this semester, and I got a 159 on the LSAT (their 75th percentile is a 156). I was working full-time throughout the last three years while going to school full-time, and having a daughter last semester on top of that limited any efforts at preparing for the LSAT. I could absolutely get within the 170s, but I'm worried about the following disclosures on my application:
Winter 2010 - caught stealing bottles of alcohol from Walmart
December 2011 - caught in underage possession of alcohol while my friend was caught with marijuana in a Circle K parking lot
Spring 2012 - academic probation for a semester in which I failed all classes at Ohio University
Fall 2012-13 - withdrew from Ohio University due to mental health condition
March 2013 - caught for underage consumption of alcohol at a college party in West Virginia
April 2013 - caught for underage consumption of alcohol at a college party at Ohio University
January 2015 - adjudication withheld for disorderly conduct - physical altercation with my dad in Naples, FL
September 2019 - cited for driving 111mph in a 70mph zone on the way home from Baltimore
I was denied admission into Cleveland-Marshall, and this tells me I'll likely be denied admission into Case Western. Would any law school accept me given these past incidents? Would another 4.0 semester with 21 credit hours and improvement on the LSAT allow admissions offices to look past them?
2011-12 - 1.36 GPA, 23 semester hours (Ohio University)
2018-19 - 3.58 GPA, 43 semester hours (Cuyahoga Community College)
2019-20 - 3.74 GPA, 34 semester hours (Cuyahoga Community College)
Fall 2020 - 4.0 GPA, 16 semester hours (+3 pass/fail hours - Cleveland State University)
I am scheduled to graduate from Cleveland State this semester, and I got a 159 on the LSAT (their 75th percentile is a 156). I was working full-time throughout the last three years while going to school full-time, and having a daughter last semester on top of that limited any efforts at preparing for the LSAT. I could absolutely get within the 170s, but I'm worried about the following disclosures on my application:
Winter 2010 - caught stealing bottles of alcohol from Walmart
December 2011 - caught in underage possession of alcohol while my friend was caught with marijuana in a Circle K parking lot
Spring 2012 - academic probation for a semester in which I failed all classes at Ohio University
Fall 2012-13 - withdrew from Ohio University due to mental health condition
March 2013 - caught for underage consumption of alcohol at a college party in West Virginia
April 2013 - caught for underage consumption of alcohol at a college party at Ohio University
January 2015 - adjudication withheld for disorderly conduct - physical altercation with my dad in Naples, FL
September 2019 - cited for driving 111mph in a 70mph zone on the way home from Baltimore
I was denied admission into Cleveland-Marshall, and this tells me I'll likely be denied admission into Case Western. Would any law school accept me given these past incidents? Would another 4.0 semester with 21 credit hours and improvement on the LSAT allow admissions offices to look past them?