4.0 Univ of TN MBA with legal issues looking at Vandy, Duke Forum

[bdmizzo]

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[burtonrideclub]

Just be honest about them and none of these really matter. All that matters is your UG GPA though, the 4.0 in grad school does not.

[jdhonest]

Handing over the bag of pot was a narc move...admissions won't look kindly upon that, Narky McNarkison

[lostjake]

University of Tennessee
Undergrad: Service Management, 3.4 GPA
MBA: Finance, 4.0 GPA
Work Experience: Considerable professional research experience while in undergrad

GMAT: 710 (92nd percentile), 6.0/6.0 Writing
Diagnostic LSAT: 163
LSAT Goal: 175+ on October Exam

Legal Issues:

Freshman year: officer came to my door claiming dorm room smelled like pot. "immediately complied", handing over a bag of pot that was in a commons area. Roomate wasn't present. No arrest. Placed on unsupervised probation by University. Completed all probation without problems. If I had ever dreamed I'd be going to law school, I wouldn't fought harder to argue this.

Sophomore year: arrested for underage consumption and public intoxication due to a misunderstanding. Found innocent, arrest record fully expunged.

First semester of MBA: cited for open container while drinking a beer in my own front yard. Advised by officer I could probably get the citation dropped. Again, didn't think I'd be going to law school, so I just paid it off.

I'm curious how these events will play into my application, and if I still have a chance of getting into top schools. I will be required to answer "Yes" to both the "academic disciplinary" and "ever been arrested" questions. Any feedback on my chances, or suggestions on how to handle this, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Serious lulz at this.

[cavebat2000]

lol. Maybe do AA first.

[bdmizzo]

Just be honest about them and none of these really matter. All that matters is your UG GPA though, the 4.0 in grad school does not.

I've worked very hard to retain a 4.0, and it's my most recent experience. It's also an accelerated MBA (completed in 3 semesters), so I thought that might show evidence that I can definitely handle the law school workload. Any further explanation into why my grad school GPA doesn't matter?

lol. Maybe do AA first.

I've considered something along these lines, but since none of the charges are very serious, AA or some type of narcotics class may look more like an admission of guilt. What do you think?

[colemf]

They are not going to care about your MBA, grad. GPA, or work exp. If you want Vandy or Duke with your UG GPA and Crim. recond your going to need a 175 plus, actually a 177 plus.

[iShotFirst]

Just be honest about them and none of these really matter. All that matters is your UG GPA though, the 4.0 in grad school does not.

I've worked very hard to retain a 4.0, and it's my most recent experience. It's also an accelerated MBA (completed in 3 semesters), so I thought that might show evidence that I can definitely handle the law school workload. Any further explanation into why my grad school GPA doesn't matter?

Because schools report Undergrad GPA range to USNews and other organizations, therefore they only care how you fit into and help/hurt their range. Masters is just a fairly common soft.

[colemf]

As far as why your grad. GPA does not matter, it is simply a numbers game, they have to report your UG GPA for ranking purposes so that is all they care about.

[holydonkey]

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Never talk to the police.

Good luck on the LSAT. 170 and your GPA is good for the T14.

[bdmizzo]

Masters is just a fairly common soft.

Only 13 of Vandy's 195 1L students hold "advanced degrees"... I understand the numbers game, but doesn't my hard work count for anything?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 4885833865#
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Never talk to the police.

Yeah that's great advice unless you're an 18 year old kid whose already signed a waiver saying they have the right to inspect your dorm room at any time.

[keg411]

Only 13 of Vandy's 195 1L students hold "advanced degrees"... I understand the numbers game, but doesn't my hard work count for anything?.

Unfortunately, no. Undergrad GPA + LSAT. Everything else are soft factors, which may help you as a tiebreaker, but I wouldn't rely on them. Work on your LSAT. 163 is a solid diagnostic, but if you want Vandy/Duke, you need to be in the 170's.

As for the addendum stuff, just disclose the incidents and exactly what happened each time and it shouldn't hurt.

[thisguy456]

Only 13 of Vandy's 195 1L students hold "advanced degrees"... I understand the numbers game, but doesn't my hard work count for anything?.

Unfortunately, no. Undergrad GPA + LSAT. Everything else are soft factors, which may help you as a tiebreaker, but I wouldn't rely on them. Work on your LSAT. 163 is a solid diagnostic, but if you want Vandy/Duke, you need to be in the 170's.

As for the addendum stuff, just disclose the incidents and exactly what happened each time and it shouldn't hurt.

Plus it's fairly common to find people with master's degrees and 3.9+ GPAs.

[bdmizzo]

I appreciate all the input from everyone. Obviously, my legal issues show a common thread. Any thoughts on completing a narcotics and alcohol class? Does this show that I am responsible and concerned about my education, or does it look more like an admission of guilt and therefore a weakness?

[stratocophic]

Only 13 of Vandy's 195 1L students hold "advanced degrees"... I understand the numbers game, but doesn't my hard work count for anything?.

Unfortunately, no. Undergrad GPA + LSAT. Everything else are soft factors, which may help you as a tiebreaker, but I wouldn't rely on them. Work on your LSAT. 163 is a solid diagnostic, but if you want Vandy/Duke, you need to be in the 170's.

As for the addendum stuff, just disclose the incidents and exactly what happened each time and it shouldn't hurt.

It should probably be in the mid-170s with a 3.4. That's pretty low for Duke, near the lowest mark on LSN, and Vandy doesn't let in too many splitters.

http://vanderbilt.lawschoolnumbers.com/ ... Cycle=0910

[icydash]

While this isn't conclusive evidence or anything, last admissions cycle my non-URM friend (171/3.3 , top 100 undergrad but not Ivy, no masters/exceptional softs) got in to Georgetown. So like others have said, I think you're GPA is good enough for the T14 as long as you get a 171ish+ on your LSAT.

Also like others have said, unfortunately your MBA/any grad degrees are a strong soft at best. 80-90% of how your application is viewed is based on your UGPA and LSAT scores--so kill the LSAT. I have a masters also (engineering, decent school) and wanted so hard to believe my 4.0 master's from an Ivy would make some difference. It didn't. Like at all.

Also echoing other people here, I think if you're honest and disclose all the trouble you got into in your younger years, you'll be fine. All of these violations where not serious or expunged.

[jacko]

University of Tennessee
Undergrad: Service Management, 3.4 GPA
MBA: Finance, 4.0 GPA
Work Experience: Considerable professional research experience while in undergrad

GMAT: 710 (92nd percentile), 6.0/6.0 Writing
Diagnostic LSAT: 163
LSAT Goal: 175+ on October Exam

Legal Issues:

Freshman year: officer came to my door claiming dorm room smelled like pot. "immediately complied", handing over a bag of pot that was in a commons area. Roomate wasn't present. No arrest. Placed on unsupervised probation by University. Completed all probation without problems. If I had ever dreamed I'd be going to law school, I wouldn't fought harder to argue this.

Sophomore year: arrested for underage consumption and public intoxication due to a misunderstanding. Found innocent, arrest record fully expunged.

First semester of MBA: cited for open container while drinking a beer in my own front yard. Advised by officer I could probably get the citation dropped. Again, didn't think I'd be going to law school, so I just paid it off.

I'm curious how these events will play into my application, and if I still have a chance of getting into top schools. I will be required to answer "Yes" to both the "academic disciplinary" and "ever been arrested" questions. Any feedback on my chances, or suggestions on how to handle this, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I love the optimism. It's kind of like stating that your goal is to be the chair of the Appropriations Committee or you want the have a threesome with two Victoria' Secret models... it's just probably not in the cards.

[Nicholasnickynic]

Lol... agree with above poster.

[bdmizzo]

Well I've spent my entire life defying the odds, and I don't plan to quit now. Thanks to those who added value to this thread via thoughtful and constructive responses.

[goodolgil]

Well I've spent my entire life defying the odds, and I don't plan to quit now. Thanks to those who added value to this thread via thoughtful and constructive responses.

I didn't know people actually talked like that.