Question about Law School.... Forum

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hmsheena

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Question about Law School....

Post by hmsheena » Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:16 pm

I am currently a freshman in undergrad,
After 2 semesters, I have decided I don't want to go forward pursuing a bio degree because my heart is not in it and I have come to realize my interest in science is almost nonexistent.
However I LOVE political science and theory and relations and all the stuff bundled with it.
I am switching my intended major towards Polisci and will be pursuing it in the fall and REALLY want to go to law school (another thing that I find interesting, Law!), however am afraid because right now my GPA sucks (I just barely passed chem and calc the last 2 semesters, my overall gpa may be near 2.8 for the year).
I feel like I can go really far and get great grades now that I will be pursuing a major that is focused on my passion.
Is it too late for me? Will law schools see my freshman year and reject me even if I make up for it? I want to get into a really good law school and specialize.

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beachbum

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by beachbum » Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:20 pm

hmsheena wrote:I am currently a freshman in undergrad,
After 2 semesters, I have decided I don't want to go forward pursuing a bio degree because my heart is not in it and I have come to realize my interest in science is almost nonexistent.
However I LOVE political science and theory and relations and all the stuff bundled with it.
I am switching my intended major towards Polisci and will be pursuing it in the fall and REALLY want to go to law school (another thing that I find interesting, Law!), however am afraid because right now my GPA sucks (I just barely passed chem and calc the last 2 semesters, my overall gpa may be near 2.8 for the year).
I feel like I can go really far and get great grades now that I will be pursuing a major that is focused on my passion.
Is it too late for me? Will law schools see my freshman year and reject me even if I make up for it? I want to get into a really good law school and specialize.
lol, no. I was 2.6 after my freshman year (in bio, no less), and I'm now attending a lower T14. Work your ass off to bring that GPA up (I graduated with a 3.5, FWIW), and make sure law is really what you want to do, and you'll be fine. Also do well on the LSAT, but don't worry about that right now.

rad lulz

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by rad lulz » Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:21 pm

Get good grades. Do that math to see what kind of GPA you will have. Then enjoy lawschoolnumbers.com

tomwatts

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by tomwatts » Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:59 pm

If you get a 2.8 in the first year, a 4.0 in the next three, and graduate in four years, you'll have a 3.7 in the end. If you do worse than a 4.0 for the next three, you'll have lower than a 3.7. Go nuts with a UGPA and LSAT search.

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Br3v

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by Br3v » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:18 pm

If I were you I would for sure take summer classes if you can afford them/have the time. That way you can bring up your gpa even more than just the 6 semesters of fall/spring left

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Calchexas

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by Calchexas » Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:51 am

Also, going back to your community college during the summer for "GPR buffer" can be huge. For example, Spanish in a summer III course (all summer long) might be MUCH easier than tackling it at your undergraduate institution, even if the content and quality of prof. is the same.

Like the others have suggested, aim for as high as you possibly can; however, know that the difference between GPRs and the differences between LSATs are worlds apart. The difference of 3.75 and 3.79, for instance, is far less important than the difference between 161 and 162 (I suspect I missed out on scholarship money at one institution because of just that). So once you're done bumping your GPR back into solid territory, do what you can to maintain that, and begin investigating the wonderland that is...The LSAT.

(That'll take approximately 1-2 years, by the way. Settle for nothing less than a cumulative 3.5.)

utlaw2007

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Re: Question about Law School....

Post by utlaw2007 » Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:13 am

hmsheena wrote:I am currently a freshman in undergrad,
After 2 semesters, I have decided I don't want to go forward pursuing a bio degree because my heart is not in it and I have come to realize my interest in science is almost nonexistent.
However I LOVE political science and theory and relations and all the stuff bundled with it.
I am switching my intended major towards Polisci and will be pursuing it in the fall and REALLY want to go to law school (another thing that I find interesting, Law!), however am afraid because right now my GPA sucks (I just barely passed chem and calc the last 2 semesters, my overall gpa may be near 2.8 for the year).
I feel like I can go really far and get great grades now that I will be pursuing a major that is focused on my passion.
Is it too late for me? Will law schools see my freshman year and reject me even if I make up for it? I want to get into a really good law school and specialize.
Just make sure you do what everyone else is saying and do much better from here on out. Some top law schools also notice an upward trend in grades in your subsequent years. That's what happened to me. My first year was so so. My second year was absolutely terrible (I partied too much). But my last two and a half years were superb. I stayed in school an extra semester. It actually helped, I assume.

But keep in mind, if you have a maturity problem as I did, you HAVE to demonstrate growth in maturity by doing other things after you graduate from undergrad. Law school, at this point, cannot be a straight shot out of undergrad, at least a very competitive law school can't.

But you can simply avoid having to wait to apply by knocking your grades out of the park from here on out.

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