166 cc dropout looking to turn it around in 4 year college Forum

[toothbrush]

could very well incline top law schools to ignore my junior college zeroes when they assess the strength of my application. Such is the holistic nature of affirmative action. no

2.) Not so---not when an applicant's viability is independent of helping the target school move up in the rankings IN THE FIRST PLACE! no

3.) If I'm a poor analytical writer, so too are the finest appellate litigators and jurists in the nation, whose styles (and rich vocabularies) lolI've successfully "ARROGATED." So bite me. You send me your latest essay; I'll send you mine; and we'll compare.lolx2 (You're attacking my "communication skills" because you find my forceful style "off-putting," not because you think I write shoddy prose. Gimme' a friggen' break haha.)i missed the joke

[chuckbass]

Ignoring all of the other misjudgments here, there is just way too much cart before horse with this kid.

[CoffeeIsLife]

Ignoring all of the other misjudgments here, there is just way too much cart before horse with this kid.

+1

[cron1834]

Dude, get back to me when you've completed a couple years of undergrad, to say nothing of actually having a fucking bachelor's degree. These are just fever dreams right now. And yes, your writing sucks independently of how off-putting you are. I'd suggest you get some feedback from people who have authored (in addition to mine, of course).

[lieph82]

Look up the definition of the word "arrogate," and I think you'll find the sentence in which you used that word to be really amusing, buddy.

[csprizzle38]

Yep, all of my judgments are misjudgments (all two of them haha): 6 years removed from anything less than an 'A', URM status, summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa/Honors College, 166 LSAT achieved beforehand (which proves I worked my ass off in undergrad solely to get into law school), and an addendum pointing all of that out will not induce a top schools to use me to help them diversify... Despite the fact that if they were to control for my junior college record, assuming I pull all that off, I would make a VERY viable WHITE applicant at Penn/UVA/Chicago/Michigan/Northwestern/Georgetown/Berkeley.

As to the charge that I've *misstepped* in "putting the cart before the horse," think about: Now I'll be super-motivated to maintain perfect grades in undergrad!! That's the whole point.

[csprizzle38]

Look up the definition of the word "arrogate," and I think you'll find the sentence in which you used that word to be really amusing, buddy.

It would be a "shell answer choice" on the GRE Verbal, to "arrogate" a term from the inimitable PowerScore haha.

[FSK]

Good luck then. You've got a lot of work to do.

[CoffeeIsLife]

Yep, all of my judgments are misjudgments (all two of them haha): 6 years removed from anything less than an 'A', URM status, summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa/Honors College, 166 LSAT achieved beforehand (which proves I worked my ass off in undergrad solely to get into law school), and an addendum pointing all of that out will not induce a top schools to use me to help them diversify... Despite the fact that if they were to control for my junior college record, assuming I pull all that off, I would make a VERY viable WHITE applicant at Penn/UVA/Chicago/Michigan/Northwestern/Georgetown/Berkeley.

As to the charge that I've *misstepped* in "putting the cart before the horse," think about: Now I'll be super-motivated to maintain perfect grades in undergrad!! That's the whole point.

Motivation is good and all but I think everyone here would say that your "choice" to not withdraw from a CC and just take F's gives us no reason to think you can get a 4.0 from here on. This sounds like all of the "I'll just try really hard and end up in the top of the class and transfer out of the TTTT shit hole I decided to attend" threads that you can read since you enjoy sitting in your room reading alone.

[csprizzle38]

Good luck then. You've got a lot of work to do.

Amen brother...

To the skeptics---CoffeeIsLife---I say: Remember that it only seems daunting because it's being conceptualized as four years, rather than semester by semester. Given my law school ambition, don't you think that after ONE SEMESTER of straight A's in challenging classes, I'll keep my shit together? Just gotta' get on that Dean's List once to keep myself on it all four years. Keep your fingers crossed I keep my shit together.

[toothbrush]

Amen brother...

To the skeptics---CoffeeIsLife---I say: Remember that it only seems daunting because it's being conceptualized as four years, rather than semester by semester. Given my law school ambition, don't you think that after ONE SEMESTER of straight A's in challenging classes, I'll keep my shit together? Just gotta' get on that Dean's List once to keep myself on it all four years. Keep your fingers crossed I keep my shit together.

No. I had a 4.0 for my entire UG career except the last one. You'd think I would want to finish out strong and nab summa. You are speaking as if putting the words into the universe make them true - when they're not. You are putting the cart way before the horse and it's embarrassing to watch and read. I know that you have good intentions but you need to slow down and go step by step.

[CoffeeIsLife]

Good luck then. You've got a lot of work to do.

Amen brother...

To the skeptics---CoffeeIsLife---I say: Remember that it only seems daunting because it's being conceptualized as four years, rather than semester by semester. Given my law school ambition, don't you think that after ONE SEMESTER of straight A's in challenging classes, I'll keep my shit together? Just gotta' get on that Dean's List once to keep myself on it all four years. Keep your fingers crossed I keep my shit together.

I'm fine being called a skeptic but there are too many things that could happen to ruin your imaginary perfect 4.0. You could get sick, have a family issue, have a personal issue, maybe you will have to work at some point to pay for various things, or maybe you will change over the next 4 years. What happens if you get a 3.8, which is still Dean's List, and decide that is good enough and you start shooting for a 3.8 instead of a 4.0 your LSAC GPA would drop as a result.

Honestly if it was this easy to motivate you I don't think you would be on your second try at college. I know things happen but you have an extremely irrational belief in yourself and your ability to get a 4.0 for the rest of school.

More power to you if you can pull this off, but you haven't even started your 1st semester.

[csprizzle38]

Amen brother...

To the skeptics---CoffeeIsLife---I say: Remember that it only seems daunting because it's being conceptualized as four years, rather than semester by semester. Given my law school ambition, don't you think that after ONE SEMESTER of straight A's in challenging classes, I'll keep my shit together? Just gotta' get on that Dean's List once to keep myself on it all four years. Keep your fingers crossed I keep my shit together.

No. I had a 4.0 for my entire UG career except the last one. You'd think I would want to finish out strong and nab summa. You are speaking as if putting the words into the universe make them true - when they're not. You are putting the cart way before the horse and it's embarrassing to watch and read. I know that you have good intentions but you need to slow down and go step by step.

I just said that I am taking it step by step. I've earned A's on exams before, man... without even trying. Is my assumption that I can do the same at a state school while actually trying what you feel I should be embarrassed about?

Anyway, when I claimed, in essence, that "once I become a star student first semester I will feel so good about myself and excited for my law school prospects that I'll remain focused," I didn't take myself to be "making my claim true just by putting the words out there." That's a perfectly rational forecast of my mindset after first semester... If you disagree, that's fine.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Dude, you really can't talk about PBK/summa/4.0 in honors college until you've done that. You just can't. No one goes to college saying "I think I'll slink through with a bunch of Cs"; everyone wants to be at the top. Maybe you will be. But come back in 4 years and let us know.

Also, you're harping on taking 400-level courses. You realize that every major requires you to take 400-level courses, right? They're senior level courses. Everyone who graduates in a major takes them.

[chuckbass]

You may also find that you'd rather have some fun and get a 3.8 while also partying a lot. Or you may have some dick profs that screw up your GPA because they don't like you, which in your case seems likely. Good luck bro.

[csprizzle38]

Good luck then. You've got a lot of work to do.

Amen brother...

To the skeptics---CoffeeIsLife---I say: Remember that it only seems daunting because it's being conceptualized as four years, rather than semester by semester. Given my law school ambition, don't you think that after ONE SEMESTER of straight A's in challenging classes, I'll keep my shit together? Just gotta' get on that Dean's List once to keep myself on it all four years. Keep your fingers crossed I keep my shit together.

I'm fine being called a skeptic but there are too many things that could happen to ruin your imaginary perfect 4.0. You could get sick, have a family issue, have a personal issue, maybe you will have to work at some point to pay for various things, or maybe you will change over the next 4 years. What happens if you get a 3.8, which is still Dean's List, and decide that is good enough and you start shooting for a 3.8 instead of a 4.0 your LSAC GPA would drop as a result.

Honestly if it was this easy to motivate you I don't think you would be on your second try at college. I know things happen but you have an extremely irrational belief in yourself and your ability to get a 4.0 for the rest of school.

More power to you if you can pull this off, but you haven't even started your 1st semester.

Yeah, there are a number of possible negative catalysts I would have no control over: e.g., cancer, becoming good at math and deciding to pursue a career in investment banking, four or five A-'s. But since my 166 LSAT proves I'm as smart as I am motivated, only the last one listed is a legitimate threat to my goal (not to summa or Phi Beta Kappa, but to a 3.4 LSAC GPA). (Admittedly, I fully expect to earn two or three A's/B+'s in classes like formal logic, accelerated french, and business finance.) I don't need a 4.0 to make the basic case I want to make to law schools.

[180kickflip]

Why didn't you post this in the URM section? So many of your claims about how holistic affirmative action admissions etc. works are opposite what I've read posted by actual minority admits over the past year. If you want to get advice from people whose admissions cycles have (or will) most closely resemble your own potential cycle, ask in the URM threads. Maybe the answers you receive there will be better able to answer your questions and offer advice.


(all assuming this is real which I still find amazing)

[csprizzle38]

Dude, you really can't talk about PBK/summa/4.0 in honors college until you've done that. You just can't. No one goes to college saying "I think I'll slink through with a bunch of Cs"; everyone wants to be at the top. Maybe you will be. But come back in 4 years and let us know.

Also, you're harping on taking 400-level courses. You realize that every major requires you to take 400-level courses, right? They're senior level courses. Everyone who graduates in a major takes them.

The point is that the 166 LSAT (which I could probably bump up, but only marginally--two or three points at most, I suspect) will motivate me to kick ass academically. And this is UMaine we're talking about, not Princeton (the Ivy where it's hardest to get A's, I've read).

Respectfully, I disagree that taking a panoply of advanced courses every year is the same thing as fulfilling 400-level requirements for a major. If you look over my schedule, you'll see that I take about as many business/econ courses as I do history (until senior year, at least, when I'll have taken all of the bad-ass ones that'll make me feel like Gordon Gekko haha).

[chuckbass]

Also, moreso than anything discussed ITT, I think the most important thing for you is to mature and grow up. Even if everything works perfectly just as you plan, these things alone do not make for much of a career if you are insufferable and nobody wants to work with you.

[CoffeeIsLife]

All I'm trying to say is nothing is guaranteed in life and you need to be able to accept your outcome if you don't achieve PBK, Summa or various other goals.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Dude, you really can't talk about PBK/summa/4.0 in honors college until you've done that. You just can't. No one goes to college saying "I think I'll slink through with a bunch of Cs"; everyone wants to be at the top. Maybe you will be. But come back in 4 years and let us know.

Also, you're harping on taking 400-level courses. You realize that every major requires you to take 400-level courses, right? They're senior level courses. Everyone who graduates in a major takes them.

The point is that the 166 LSAT (which I could probably bump up, but only marginally--two or three points at most, I suspect) will motivate me to kick ass academically. And this is UMaine we're talking about, not Princeton (the Ivy where it's hardest to get A's, I've read).

Respectfully, I disagree that taking a panoply of advanced courses every year is the same thing as fulfilling 400-level requirements for a major. If you look over my schedule, you'll see that I take about as many business/econ courses as I do history (until senior year, at least, when I'll have taken all of the bad-ass ones that'll make me feel like Gordon Gekko haha).

How many undergrad transcripts have you looked at?

Also, I thought this was the honors college at a respectable state university and hence RIGOR. You need to keep your arguments consistent.

[jchiles]

I majored in history and several of my 300 and 400 classes were easier than 100 and 200 level ones, so course number/description is not always a good proxy for actual difficulty and the effort you will need to put in. How well you do, especially at the upper end (difference between B+ & A- etc.) can have a lot to do with how well your writing style meshes with your professor, or at least how well you can read what they are looking for. By senior year I knew what professors/courses I could reasonably expect to get an A or A- in, but I think its impossible to honestly, credibly believe that, based solely on your own intelligence, you will get a 4.0. You just don't know enough yet and its dangerous to plan that far into the future relying on getting that grade.

[csprizzle38]

Why didn't you post this in the URM section? So many of your claims about how holistic affirmative action admissions etc. works are opposite what I've read posted by actual minority admits over the past year. If you want to get advice from people whose admissions cycles have (or will) most closely resemble your own potential cycle, ask in the URM threads. Maybe the answers you receive there will be better able to answer your questions and offer advice.

(all assuming this is real which I still find amazing)

I've gone on lawschoolnumbers and read plenty of evidence that being an openly gay AA URM (the former will be my diversity statement, I think.. I can actually make that seem interesting) with a 166-169 (if I retake) will give me a bump.

Let's assume I pull off my plan of earning A's at a state school: My chief argument to the law schools will be that "if you forget about cc zeroes, I'd be an average white applicant at your school. So of course you should use me to diversify, notwithstanding my technical GPA and middling LSAT."

I don't know what you mean by "real." I'm not a figment of your imagination haha.

[csprizzle38]

Dude, you really can't talk about PBK/summa/4.0 in honors college until you've done that. You just can't. No one goes to college saying "I think I'll slink through with a bunch of Cs"; everyone wants to be at the top. Maybe you will be. But come back in 4 years and let us know.

Also, you're harping on taking 400-level courses. You realize that every major requires you to take 400-level courses, right? They're senior level courses. Everyone who graduates in a major takes them.

The point is that the 166 LSAT (which I could probably bump up, but only marginally--two or three points at most, I suspect) will motivate me to kick ass academically. And this is UMaine we're talking about, not Princeton (the Ivy where it's hardest to get A's, I've read).

Respectfully, I disagree that taking a panoply of advanced courses every year is the same thing as fulfilling 400-level requirements for a major. If you look over my schedule, you'll see that I take about as many business/econ courses as I do history (until senior year, at least, when I'll have taken all of the bad-ass ones that'll make me feel like Gordon Gekko haha).

How many undergrad transcripts have you looked at?

Also, I thought this was the honors college at a respectable state university and hence RIGOR. You need to keep your arguments consistent.

Ya' got me! (Seriously... Good call. Damn...)

[csprizzle38]

I majored in history and several of my 300 and 400 classes were easier than 100 and 200 level ones, so course number/description is not always a good proxy for actual difficulty and the effort you will need to put in. How well you do, especially at the upper end (difference between B+ & A- etc.) can have a lot to do with how well your writing style meshes with your professor, or at least how well you can read what they are looking for. By senior year I knew what professors/courses I could reasonably expect to get an A or A- in, but I think its impossible to honestly, credibly believe that, based solely on your own intelligence, you will get a 4.0. You just don't know enough yet and its dangerous to plan that far into the future relying on getting that grade.

I agree: nothing is certain, and the difficulty of particular courses isn't necessarily a function of its "level." And I'm definitely going to have work really hard to get an *A* (which is very different than an A- in my case). I think I can do it... Keep your fingers crossed!

I geeked out and bought this book haha.. It suggests scheduling a meeting with your professors right at the outset so you're clear on the expectations for earning high marks and disposing the professor towards giving you them.
http://www.amazon.com/Step-College-Care ... 457606348/