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I need to make a major decision quickly, so I am turning to the experts. I am scheduled to begin law school in a few weeks at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. I was accepted at Mercer, waitlisted at GA State, rejected by UGA, and I didn't apply to Emory, due to an average LSAT score. I will be 40 years old when I start. I am also a wife and mother, so this will be a sacrifice for my family. This isn't a whim. I originally started law school in another state years ago as a traditional student, but a tragedy forced me to withdraw. I am currently not working because I resigned to go to law school full-time this fall. My husband and I will be forced to take out loans to pay for AJMLS. I have a bad feeling that I am making a huge mistake. I do have some lawyer friends that think it would be "ok" for me to attend AJMLS. My husband and I are wondering if I should hire an LSAT tutor to get my score out of the average range (3.5 LSAC G.P.A.) and re-apply to UGA, GA State and apply to Emory for next fall. The only downside to waiting is I am already going to be 40 and I stopped working to do this (tough job market). I have always regretted leaving law school and not returning. Oh, and I was a paralegal for three years right after college, so know practicing law isn't like "The Good Wife." Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Since I cannot post anonymously in this forum, all I can say is: this is probably NOT a good decision.

Not a good idea at all. Probably would not go there under any circumstances, and I definitely would not take out debt to go there.

You likely will never become a real lawyer (e.g., employed) if you go to JMLS. Only 26% of 2011 graduates had full-time, JD-required jobs 9 months out. And odds are, many of those jobs were terribad.

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bloobook wrote:Possible solution: Maybe you can enroll at a community college or university to take classes that will boost your GPA,

Not after you already completed your first degree

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Also John Marshall is not worth attending under any circumstances.

secondtimearound17 wrote:I need to make a major decision quickly, so I am turning to the experts. I am scheduled to begin law school in a few weeks at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. I was accepted at Mercer, waitlisted at GA State, rejected by UGA, and I didn't apply to Emory, due to an average LSAT score. I will be 40 years old when I start. I am also a wife and mother, so this will be a sacrifice for my family. This isn't a whim. I originally started law school in another state years ago as a traditional student, but a tragedy forced me to withdraw. I am currently not working because I resigned to go to law school full-time this fall. My husband and I will be forced to take out loans to pay for AJMLS. I have a bad feeling that I am making a huge mistake. I do have some lawyer friends that think it would be "ok" for me to attend AJMLS. My husband and I are wondering if I should hire an LSAT tutor to get my score out of the average range (3.5 LSAC G.P.A.) and re-apply to UGA, GA State and apply to Emory for next fall. The only downside to waiting is I am already going to be 40 and I stopped working to do this (tough job market). I have always regretted leaving law school and not returning. Oh, and I was a paralegal for three years right after college, so know practicing law isn't like "The Good Wife." Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

165.

Though you touch on many of the reasons not to go there.

why spend a great deal of money on jmls when you could just spend a couple hundred dollars on seriously prepping for the lsat? Seriously, many of us have taken the test multiple times, I think you should too! Plus, 40 isn't that old. You're 40 this year, and you'll be 41 next year...not much of a difference. I know sitting out a year sucks, but it could be worse, like you could be going to JMLS. Seriously, take time to study, retake, use you're time off productively, and reapply to UGA and all those other places. With a good score you could get great scholarships.

Do NOT do this. The job prospects out of John Marshall are absolutely abysmal -- do a quick Google search and you'll find this (there are many blogs devoted to the subject). The only way you should even conceive of doing this (especially with a FAMILY on the line) is if you receive close to a full scholarship. Job prospects are tough even out of a top-14 law school, so this really isn't worth mortgaging your future for. Don't believe the phony job stats that these third tier law schools post, because they outright lie/fudge the numbers. The New York Times has written extensively about this.

To put things in perspective: I'm planning on attending a top ten school in the fall and am paying sticker... which I've been told by many people is a silly thing to do. I don't have a family and still am worried about the risk... that's how rough this market is. Even going to a really great school and mortgaging your future is risky in this economy; don't make it worse by attending a school where you will have virtually no job prospects.

Retake the LSAT and maybe try getting into a regional powerhouse school with a good scholarship. But hold off on this for sure.

secondtimearound17 wrote:I need to make a major decision quickly, so I am turning to the experts. I am scheduled to begin law school in a few weeks at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. I was accepted at Mercer, waitlisted at GA State, rejected by UGA, and I didn't apply to Emory, due to an average LSAT score. I will be 40 years old when I start. I am also a wife and mother, so this will be a sacrifice for my family. This isn't a whim. I originally started law school in another state years ago as a traditional student, but a tragedy forced me to withdraw. I am currently not working because I resigned to go to law school full-time this fall. My husband and I will be forced to take out loans to pay for AJMLS. I have a bad feeling that I am making a huge mistake. I do have some lawyer friends that think it would be "ok" for me to attend AJMLS. My husband and I are wondering if I should hire an LSAT tutor to get my score out of the average range (3.5 LSAC G.P.A.) and re-apply to UGA, GA State and apply to Emory for next fall. The only downside to waiting is I am already going to be 40 and I stopped working to do this (tough job market). I have always regretted leaving law school and not returning. Oh, and I was a paralegal for three years right after college, so know practicing law isn't like "The Good Wife." Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

TITCR

I would say dont do it ! Study hard for the LSAT and try for a better school.

this is worth losing my TLS virginity for...

DO NOT GO TO THAT SCHOOL.

UGA, which is a much better school than JMLS, charges $15,000/year in tuition, which is much lower than JMLS ($35,000).
Georgia State also is a much better school, and only charges $12,000/year. Those are amazing deals, study and retake the lsat, seriously. It doesn't seem like those schools really give that much money in scholarships...but why the hell should they? If my instate schools were that cheap, I would jump for joy.

I'm no expert, but I am in Atlanta and can tell you that job prospects coming out of John Marshall are TERRIBLE. Please stay away. Don't spend money on them.

Like the poster above said, Georgia and Georgia State are fantastic deals, and Georgia especially has a great record of employment in Georgia. Start studying today to re-take the LSAT in October.

This is a wonderful community of intelligent, compassionate people. First to the degree issue: I'm stuck with my GPA because I already have a master's degree.
When I use the LSAT predictor, I need about 10 points to be competitive at UGA and Emory. I could possibly get in with less than that, but then it would be a "reach." Is that an achievable goal? I plan to hire a tutor. Has anyone increased by that much? Thank you to all of you for taking the time to help me!

secondtimearound17 wrote:This is a wonderful community of intelligent, compassionate people. First to the degree issue: I'm stuck with my GPA because I already have a master's degree.
When I use the LSAT predictor, I need about 10 points to be competitive at UGA and Emory. I could possibly get in with less than that, but then it would be a "reach." Is that an achievable goal? I plan to hire a tutor. Has anyone increased by that much? Thank you to all of you for taking the time to help me!

Yes people have improved by that much. For sure.

secondtimearound17 wrote:This is a wonderful community of intelligent, compassionate people. First to the degree issue: I'm stuck with my GPA because I already have a master's degree.
When I use the LSAT predictor, I need about 10 points to be competitive at UGA and Emory. I could possibly get in with less than that, but then it would be a "reach." Is that an achievable goal? I plan to hire a tutor. Has anyone increased by that much? Thank you to all of you for taking the time to help me!

What tutor company do you plan to hire? By no means am I arguing against a tutor if yuou need the structure and everything, but there is a lot of free advice and study plans on this site.

The only thing I have read in this thread that I would consider telling you to try for would be Emory, but even that is a little bit of a stretch especially for taking out significant money to do it.

That is not a horrible GPA by any stretch. What kind of LSAT range are we wroking with? With the right score you could be looking at t-14 but I don't know if that is do-able considering you have a family and such. Is moving possible?

10 points is very possible. You'll need to really buckle down and commit to it though. Good luck OP!

Thank you romothesavior for the helpful advice and encouragement!

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secondtimearound17 wrote:I need to make a major decision quickly, so I am turning to the experts. I am scheduled to begin law school in a few weeks at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. I was accepted at Mercer, waitlisted at GA State, rejected by UGA, and I didn't apply to Emory, due to an average LSAT score. I will be 40 years old when I start. I am also a wife and mother, so this will be a sacrifice for my family. This isn't a whim. I originally started law school in another state years ago as a traditional student, but a tragedy forced me to withdraw. I am currently not working because I resigned to go to law school full-time this fall. My husband and I will be forced to take out loans to pay for AJMLS. I have a bad feeling that I am making a huge mistake. I do have some lawyer friends that think it would be "ok" for me to attend AJMLS. My husband and I are wondering if I should hire an LSAT tutor to get my score out of the average range (3.5 LSAC G.P.A.) and re-apply to UGA, GA State and apply to Emory for next fall. The only downside to waiting is I am already going to be 40 and I stopped working to do this (tough job market). I have always regretted leaving law school and not returning. Oh, and I was a paralegal for three years right after college, so know practicing law isn't like "The Good Wife." Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Contact AJMLS and let them know you can't afford it. Demand a full scholarship. Look at the ASU Scholarship thread to get some great ideas on how to do it. If not, retake the LSAT.

best of luck and congratulations for getting into law school.

secondtimearound17 wrote:Thank you romothesavior for the helpful advice and encouragement!

I have waited 3 years for a 0L to say this to me.

PolySuyGuy wrote:

secondtimearound17 wrote:I need to make a major decision quickly, so I am turning to the experts. I am scheduled to begin law school in a few weeks at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. I was accepted at Mercer, waitlisted at GA State, rejected by UGA, and I didn't apply to Emory, due to an average LSAT score. I will be 40 years old when I start. I am also a wife and mother, so this will be a sacrifice for my family. This isn't a whim. I originally started law school in another state years ago as a traditional student, but a tragedy forced me to withdraw. I am currently not working because I resigned to go to law school full-time this fall. My husband and I will be forced to take out loans to pay for AJMLS. I have a bad feeling that I am making a huge mistake. I do have some lawyer friends that think it would be "ok" for me to attend AJMLS. My husband and I are wondering if I should hire an LSAT tutor to get my score out of the average range (3.5 LSAC G.P.A.) and re-apply to UGA, GA State and apply to Emory for next fall. The only downside to waiting is I am already going to be 40 and I stopped working to do this (tough job market). I have always regretted leaving law school and not returning. Oh, and I was a paralegal for three years right after college, so know practicing law isn't like "The Good Wife." Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Contact AJMLS and let them know you can't afford it. Demand a full scholarship. Look at the ASU Scholarship thread to get some great ideas on how to do it. If not, retake the LSAT.

best of luck and congratulations for getting into law school.

No. Don't go to JMLS even with a full scholarship.

OP: You need to get different "lawyer friends" than those who advised you that attending Atlanta's JMLS would be "okay".

Georgia & Georgia State are the law schools that you should be targeting.