Decided to wait a cycle...now what? Forum

[gobuffs10]

My LSDAS GPA is not good, at all, and my LSAT was also not good. I'm retaking and waiting a cycle to apply. My problem now is what to do until then. I have a degree in History and a minor in Philosophy. I was planning on teaching or law school and decided against teaching. Now I'm not sure what I can do with my degree. I figured when I apply next year that some time working will be beneficial, but it's my understanding that a year working at Subway is not really considered work experience.

Does anyone have any ideas of what to do with this degree? My only choice seems to be more school. I was hoping my internship at a firm was going to turn into a paid position, but alas, the economy and all that. Now I'm scratching my head with graduation looming. Thoughts?

[The Gentleman]

Americorps would be worth checking out.

[IAFG]

"with this degree" isn't a terribly helpful mentality because your degree isn't going to open any doors on its own.

get on indeed.com and look for entry-level work in your city. if there isn't any, think about cities you'd like to be in. go to your school's career services office and see who, if anyone, is recruiting. think about industries rather than jobs; what industry would you like to know more about? not necessarily law, if you do still want to go to law school, think about who you'll have as clients.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

A few ideas (in addition to trying to find a job):
-Take community college classes
-find some public interest area you are interested in and try to volunteer
-see if any of your old professors need a research assistant

[LurkerNoMore]

"with this degree" isn't a terribly helpful mentality because your degree isn't going to open any doors on its own.

get on indeed.com and look for entry-level work in your city. if there isn't any, think about cities you'd like to be in. go to your school's career services office and see who, if anyone, is recruiting. think about industries rather than jobs; what industry would you like to know more about? not necessarily law, if you do still want to go to law school, think about who you'll have as clients.

This. You are getting a liberal arts degree. It's a check the box requirement for a ton of jobs. Go to your career services office, moster.com, etc. and see what's out there.

[gobuffs10]

Thanks for all the ideas. I had no idea where to begin the job hunt. CC classes may not be a bad idea...anything to raise that LSDAS GPA.

[Taffybear2]

CC classes won't raise your gpa after you have already graduated (they won't count with lsac) . I am taking a year off as well. Just finished this quarter with school. I'm a psych major. I searched craigslist found a paid legal related admin internship for a year.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Thanks for all the ideas. I had no idea where to begin the job hunt. CC classes may not be a bad idea...anything to raise that LSDAS GPA.

Yeah, like the poster above pointed out, if you already graduated your GPA is now set in stone. I took CC classes in the year between just because I like to learn (and I like health insurance). If you have some background in a language, take a few more classes. It won't make you fluent, but if you have some time to devote to it you could get significantly better. Take an accounting class if you have absolutely zero background in that regard. Take some web programming classes. Just a few ideas.

[Sandro]

get ready for the longest two years of your life.

[09042014]

If you can't get a decent LSAT then you should forget law school.

Follow IAFG's advice. There are very few jobs only for liberal arts majors, but there are tons of jobs for anyone with a bachelors. That is where you should look.

Find an entry level in a medium to large companies office and work your ass off.

[hokie]

I say *try to find* work. With your degree, it will indeed not be easy, but maybe you could find a position like teaching English overseas? There seems to be relatively high demand for the job and it pays pretty well. I have a few friends that gone this route and they love it (plus it's on a year contract so it's perfect for the time gap before law school). If literally cannot find ANY work, trying interning (granted you can cover living expenses by living at home or something) or just get a part-time job at a restaurant and do lots of volunteer work you're interested in.

[09042014]

I say *try to find* work. With your degree, it will indeed not be easy, but maybe you could find a position like teaching English overseas? There seems to be relatively high demand for the job and it pays pretty well. I have a few friends that gone this route and they love it (plus it's on a year contract so it's perfect for the time gap before law school). If literally cannot find ANY work, trying interning (granted you can cover living expenses by living at home or something) or just get a part-time job at a restaurant and do lots of volunteer work you're interested in.

Why are you guys so allergic to real work?

[sanjola]

get ready for the longest two years of your life.

This.

[hokie]

I say *try to find* work. With your degree, it will indeed not be easy, but maybe you could find a position like teaching English overseas? There seems to be relatively high demand for the job and it pays pretty well. I have a few friends that gone this route and they love it (plus it's on a year contract so it's perfect for the time gap before law school). If literally cannot find ANY work, trying interning (granted you can cover living expenses by living at home or something) or just get a part-time job at a restaurant and do lots of volunteer work you're interested in.

Why are you guys so allergic to real work?

lol just stating it as it is. If he is dead set on law school anyways, why not find a job that gives you a unique opportunity to travel overseas, experience a different culture, all while earning decent money? Not entirely sure what you qualify as 'real work', but good hours, included housing, organized trips in Europe/Asia > slaving at some random company any day. I work close to biglaw hours (with only 3 vacation days in 2010 b/c I had to cancel my paid vacation for work the day before I was leaving) and if I could get paid around the same and work less, I would in a heartbeat (even at the expense of a 'lesser' title/position), especially knowing that I plan on switching to a legal career. Who wouldn't?? Call it what you want, but it is the sensible choice. The OP knows he is going to law school and will probably work insane hours after gradation (granted if he finds a job in this economy). What is the rush to work 65 hr+ weeks? If you're perception of 'real work' is a long work day, then I think your perception is highly skewed (or we can agree to disagree ). But if you are stating that the teaching position is not real work b/c it has little relevance to his major, then as a liberal arts graduate, I understand the difficulties in finding a position that aligns with one's major and simply suggested an opportunity that might 'fit the bill' for his time between now and law school. Ok this is my long rant and I am finished now. kthanksbye

[gobuffs10]

I'm with hokie on the 'real work' thing.

I didn't know the CC classes wouldn't count towards my GPA. Thanks for the heads up.

Desert, I know I can get a decent LSAT if I prepare. I've always done really well on standardized testing, so I was way overconfident and all I did to prepare was 2 PTs. It wasn't overconfidence as much as pure arrogance, and I paid for it.

Out of curiosity, why will it be the longest two years of my life? Sounds miserable.

EDIT: FWIW, I don't graduate til May. GPA *could* end up around 2.8...not sure if that helps me at all.

[hokie]

Your sub-3.0 gpa will definitely not help lol but if you can score 170+, I think you will have a good shot at many great schools (possibly even T14 if you truly get an awesome LSAT). Since you still have one semester left, work you ass off to raise your GPA or YOU WILL REGRET IT when applying later on,

And to answer your question, it will be the longest two years of your life because you will be in pre-law school purgatory...........and waiting in general just blows

[gobuffs10]

Haha I didn't figure 2.8 looked any better than 2.6.

If I need to hit 170 I should probably start studying now for June, huh? Or should I do the 3 months thing? Guess I'll shoot for 180 and see where I land.

Waiting sucks. I had all summer to get ready for the test. One day I'll learn, I hope.

[09042014]

Haha I didn't figure 2.8 looked any better than 2.6.

If I need to hit 170 I should probably start studying now for June, huh? Or should I do the 3 months thing? Guess I'll shoot for 180 and see where I land.

Waiting sucks. I had all summer to get ready for the test. One day I'll learn, I hope.

It takes less than 3 months. Any longer and you are probably just dumb.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Haha I didn't figure 2.8 looked any better than 2.6.

If I need to hit 170 I should probably start studying now for June, huh? Or should I do the 3 months thing? Guess I'll shoot for 180 and see where I land.

Waiting sucks. I had all summer to get ready for the test. One day I'll learn, I hope.

It takes less than 3 months. Any longer and you are probably just dumb.

It took me longer than 3 months, but I may be a dumb. But even a dumb with persistence can raise their score significantly if given some time.

OP- why not consider delaying when you graduate? Talk it over with your parents and school counselor and let them know increasing your GPA above a 3.0 could mean a lot for law school admissions.

[JDHopeful]

I took two years off (one before applying, and one as I want for acceptances/rejections) working as a paralegal for a law firm.

Decent experience, not great, but you do learn alot about the law and its practice and I got some pretty good LORs outta the deal.

Keep an open mind when looking for jobs, too...

[fastforward]

If you haven't graduated yet, you have a golden opportunity. Consider not applying for your degree and put in another undergrad year; maybe pick up another major. Do not concern yourself much with the difficulty of the courses. Resolve to get all As. If your school awards A+ grades, so much the better, even if your school does not award points beyond 4.0. LSAC will count these as a 4.3. And your LSAC grade summary will show a strong upward trend. Here's more about LSAC GPA (LinkRemoved) from our website. Resolve to do serious, smart LSAT prep.

It all depends on how badly you want it. Your initial post reflected some ambivalence. On the other hand, if your heart sank when you read ^ post to forget law school, then that should tell you something.

Hope this helps.

[JDHopeful]

If you haven't graduated yet, you have a golden opportunity. Consider not applying for your degree and put in another undergrad year; maybe pick up another major. Do not concern yourself much with the difficulty of the courses. Resolve to get all As. If your school awards A+ grades, so much the better, even if your school does not award points beyond 4.0. LSAC will count these as a 4.3. And your LSAC grade summary will show a strong upward trend. Here's more about LSAC GPA (LinkRemoved) from our website. Resolve to do serious, smart LSAT prep.

It all depends on how badly you want it. Your initial post reflected some ambivalence. On the other hand, if your heart sank when you read ^ post to forget law school, then that should tell you something.

Hope this helps.

Wayyy better idea than mine. Do this.

[gobuffs10]

Finishing with a 3.0 instead of a 2.8 really looks that much better? Will it actually impact my chances?

I'm all for another year of undergrad, but the problem is I live at home to save on rent and my school is way cheaper than my sister's so my parents foot the bill. I'm just not sure how I can pull off another year with my funding and place of residence gone.

I don't mean to sound ambivalent. I have dug myself quite the hole and I'm terrified I won't crawl out I guess. I think any uncertainty stems from a huge fear of failure, more than anything.

As far as grade trend, I'm at 1.9, 1.7, transfer, 3.2, 3.2, 3.5. I had some extra courses so my UGPA is 3.5 or 3.6 (still waiting for the final tally to go up). All I'll say for the 1.9 and 1.7 is that I was a kid who was not even close to prepared for being off on my own.

If coming above 3.0 will help that much, I think that's what I need to do. I just don't know how. I've never had to take out student loans, I don't know the process, and I would have to find somewhere else to live. Still, if it would pay off, it definitely seems like the way to go.

Thanks guys. You have all been extremely helpful. I have some decisions to make in the next month.

EDIT: Browsing LSN and LSP, it looks like a 3.0 would indeed help, and also mean that I don't HAVE to get in the 170s to have a shot. It would be nice though.

[Taffybear2]

perhaps also instead of doing a full more year of undergrad you could do your summer at a cc and then just one more semester at your undergrad. that may save money. summer school at a cc shouldn't be too difficult.

[gobuffs10]

perhaps also instead of doing a full more year of undergrad you could do your summer at a cc and then just one more semester at your undergrad. that may save money. summer school at a cc shouldn't be too difficult.

Another good thought.