Any chance to get into a decent law school Forum

[michellebenedik]

I very much want to attend law school and practice law. Unfortunately, I did not have that mindsight when I began my undergraduate studies. I began my undergraduate career studying nursing. 3 years into my studies, I suffered a stroke and prior to that time I lost interested in becoming a nurse, and changed my major to political science. Suffering a stroke really took a toll on my undergraduate record. I will graduate August 2013, and am interested in applying during the 2013-14 cycle. When I graduate this August, although, a University accum of 3.15 will be posted on my transcript, the LSAC gpa will be deplorable at 2.35.

I took the June LSAT and received a score of 169. I do have a 3 semester upward trend of A's.

Another option that I have, and am not getting my hopes up that this will come to fruition or work in my favor, but my school has a late Withdrawal option where you can submit a form, indicating which semester you wish to retroactively withdrawal and attach any verifiable documentation. Although, I realize that I have a better reason than the average student, I feel (whether irrational feeling or not) that because I didnt know about this option and did not act on this right away, that although I am eligible, it will raise questions as to why I waited so long and they will deny the petition. This will make a drastic difference in my gpa however, and raise it from a 2.35 to a 3.00

Now, suppose, my request is denied. I have a 2.35 LSAC gpa and 169 LSAT, and 3 semester upward trend of A's, coupled with great LORs and PS

1. Is the 169 LSAT enough to offset the abysmal gpa, where a Tier 1 School (20-50) would accept me if I blanket them?

2. I have excessive W's on my transcript from semester upon semester of Withdrawal after my stroke, all I can do is write an addendum, but still doesnt that look to admissions that all those W's have the potential of being F's (when in my case they arent)? They are non-punitive.

3. Should I even apply, given that I have more Withdrawals than the average person, and an abysmal gpa, along with a decent 169 LSAT score?

[Rahviveh]

Its possible your GPA will be overlooked due to your stroke. Anecdotally I know people who really outperformed their numbers because they had legit health reasons for a poor GPA. Its in these cases where an addendum can be helpful. The problem is that you are likely looking at sticker at any places you get into. A couple more points on the LSAT would be helpful

[michellebenedik]

Thanks for all the help. I am really sorry to ask a silly question, but what does "looking at sticker" mean? sorry to ask.

[Davidbentley]

Thanks for all the help. I am really sorry to ask a silly question, but what does "looking at sticker" mean? sorry to ask.

Sticker Price. As in the manufacturer's suggested retail price. As in, you are not going to get a scholarship that would significantly lower the cost of attendance.

[Nova]

1. Is the 169 LSAT enough to offset the abysmal gpa, where a Tier 1 School (20-50) would accept me if I blanket them?

2. I have excessive W's on my transcript from semester upon semester of Withdrawal after my stroke, all I can do is write an addendum, but still doesnt that look to admissions that all those W's have the potential of being F's (when in my case they arent)? They are non-punitive.

3. Should I even apply, given that I have more Withdrawals than the average person, and an abysmal gpa, along with a decent 169 LSAT score?

1. Yes. Many T1 schools will accept you. Schools like UMN and WUSTL will probably give you scholarships because of your LSAT

2. Ws are not that big of a deal

3. Dont worry about the Ws. 169 is like the 96-97th percentile. On TLS its decent. IRL its a really good score that will get you money at regionals. If you are sure you want to practice law, apply to GULC, Cornell, Michigan, UCLA, USC, and Vandy as reaches (schools with 169 LSAT medians or below). Apply to UMN/GW/WUSTL/Emory/Fordam type schools as targets (youll probably get a scholarship atleast one). Apply to schools outside the T30 that interest you as safties.

[dietcoke0]

Enjoy St. Louis.

You'll get into a lot of schools, and your numbers are unique, so ask for fee waivers from everyone, apply to many schools, use what scholarships you do have to leverage different schools.

http://schools.lawschoolnumbers.com/

That site will now be your best friend. Pretty much look at every school 18 and above, get a feel for what sort of numbers they take, and target ones that have better LST numbers, and areas you wish to live after graduation.

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/

I had slightly better numbers (170/2.65) and got 50%+ scholly at top 25 school, and am satisfied with it it. I imagine you could have similar numbers.

Work hard in law school, get good grades, bust your ass on job hunts (too many people expect a CSO to find them a job) and profit.

[michellebenedik]

Thanks everyone for all the great help, as I stated above, I had had a stroke in undergrad,

my numbers are: 2.35/169.

Do adcomms, tend be more favorable towards people that have these numbers that have been out of undergrad for at least a year OR is it equal,if like me you will be in undergrad when you apply?

I would think that if you had a 2.35 and one semester to go, that wouldnt they waitlist you to see your next semester grades, if they are stellar than admit you?

[michellebenedik]

Also, law school numbers wasnt very helpful to me since I dont see hardly anyone with a 2.35/169...of course I see 3.5/169, but not my numbers. Is it possible that only 5 percent use LSN...and there are others in th 95 percent that dont put their numbers on that may have been admitted to T 50 schools with my stats?

Does suffering a stroke in undergrad that you address in an addendum weigh equally as someone who has a 2.35/169 that say was in active duty and has been out of undergrad for 5 years?

[dietcoke0]

Look at past years, and just look at under 3.0. No school you are going to apply to is going to have a 3.0 as 25%. So for adcomm, you are a detriment to the GPA no matter what it is, but an assist to the LSAT.

Yeah, I would use your stroke as a PS. Talk about how it changed your life, and how you've had to persevere. You would probably get a small forgiveness for GPA, but not going to get into GPA heavy schools because of it.

You'll be fine. Ask for fee waivers at all schools you plan to apply to. I only paid for like 3 schools out of the 16 or so I applied to.

[michellebenedik]

Thanks for all the help...last question, promise...

I am from Ohio and went to undergrad in Ohio.....Ohio State ranked #39 has a 75 percent LSAT of 165 and mine is 169, would the fact that not only do I have an understandable reason for the lower gpa, coupled with that I have ties to Ohio, help in terms of Ohio State or does location not matter?

[northwood]

Thanks for all the help...last question, promise...

I am from Ohio and went to undergrad in Ohio.....Ohio State ranked #39 has a 75 percent LSAT of 165 and mine is 169, would the fact that not only do I have an understandable reason for the lower gpa, coupled with that I have ties to Ohio, help in terms of Ohio State or does location not matter?

I think if you are applying a state school, having ties to the state may help you, but not a ton. Your LSAT score helps negate your GPA, and your reasons for the GPA( the stroke) also help mitigate it. If you write about the stroke like a poster above me said, I think those three things may help.

If you went to Undergrad in Ohio that helps too ( or have parents living there)

[michellebenedik]

Sorry, thought my last post was my last, but thought of one last question.

Suppose given my 2.35/169 LSAT, I decide to postpone applying for 1 year and since I am still in undergrad if I can raise it to a 2.5 and retake the LSAT for a 170-173, and have 1 year of valuable work experience, would I have a chance of getting accepted at Northwestern? Or is 1 year not enough?

[northwood]

Sorry, thought my last post was my last, but thought of one last question.

Suppose given my 2.35/169 LSAT, I decide to postpone applying for 1 year and since I am still in undergrad if I can raise it to a 2.5 and retake the LSAT for a 170-173, and have 1 year of valuable work experience, would I have a chance of getting accepted at Northwestern? Or is 1 year not enough?

depends on what work you do for that year. NW has a tendency ( at least from what I heard) to be WE friendly. But if your WE is just waiting tables, or being a cashier or something, then it probably wont help that much. Raising your score and grades will definately help. besides waiting year will ensure that the three years of misery is what you want to do.