Asian-American Forum

[iskim88]

[deleted]

[joonhp]

My first post. starting with a question-

I'm currently in the Korean military (enlisted - we are drafted for 2 yrs) so I still have some time left before I go through any of what all of you are probably in the process of going through, but I thought, hey, why not ask a question if somebody might be willing to answer? =p

I attend a pretty well-known private school (popular amongst Koreans... -_-;), a US-born citizen (and came to the Korean military to get dual-citizenship), and still have 3 semesters left to go... which I'll be finishing in 2013 after my service in the military is done. Oh, and I'm currently a double-major in politics and urban design.

I had finished my sophomore yr before I came to the military, but credit-wise, I finished up to my first semester of junior yr.
My GPA is currently a 3.61, and if I assume that I only get As from this point on, I'll finish with something like a 3.75.
My GPA is that low because I screwed up in my freshman yr. It did show a trend of going up though... My GPA per semeseter was: 2.9 -> 3.63 -> 3.87 -> 3.72 -> 4.0. (the 3.72 was 18 credits + 16 hrs of internship every week for a semester)

I had interned at 4 different places (Korean Congress, a Korean company, a Japanese and an American company) and have some other major extra curricular activities I could list on my resume... though I know that these elements are trivial compared to what I get on my LSAT and my GPA.


Well, enough about myself, and here are my questions:

1. My Freshman yr, I had a C+ and a B- which ruined my GPA. The C+ one was a honors seminar only for incoming freshman, so I cannot retake that- but the B- one, I could retake it. If I do retake it, my GPA would boost up to 3.81 from a 3.75- should I do that? reading through the posts I realized that unless that old grade is purged out of the transcript, they'll calculate the GPA WITH the re-taken class in it. Would that be a risky move? should I just finish with a 3.75 than a 3.81 without a re-take? would it be worth it?

2. Assuming that I get above a 170 on my LSAT (I'm currently scoring somewhere around 163 plus-minus range in the PTs- and I still have like 2 yrs to study for it within the military and outside of the military so I think I'll be able to improve that much) by continuously studying for it, what would my chances be to a so-called top-14, tier 1 schools?

3. Does being an Asian-American (with US-citizenship) have a lot to do with the application process? I'm trilingual - I speak Korean, English and Japanese fluently, but if I were to rank these three in languages I honestly think Korean would be number one since it's my mother langauge as I've lived in Korea more than half of my life.



Thanks for reading such a long post- waiting for a quality reply from any of you guys out there benevolent enough to give an answer to these long questions =]

Long story short, don't retake the course. Write an addendum about your poor semester if you have a good reason. There are numerous sites that will help you gauge your chances.--www.lawschoolpredictor.com, http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com--use them.

[prelaw10]

[quote="iskim88"]

1. My Freshman yr, I had a C+ and a B- which ruined my GPA. The C+ one was a honors seminar only for incoming freshman, so I cannot retake that- but the B- one, I could retake it. If I do retake it, my GPA would boost up to 3.81 from a 3.75- should I do that? reading through the posts I realized that unless that old grade is purged out of the transcript, they'll calculate the GPA WITH the re-taken class in it. Would that be a risky move? should I just finish with a 3.75 than a 3.81 without a re-take? would it be worth it? Agreed with poster above; don't retake.

2. Assuming that I get above a 170 on my LSAT (I'm currently scoring somewhere around 163 plus-minus range in the PTs- and I still have like 2 yrs to study for it within the military and outside of the military so I think I'll be able to improve that much) by continuously studying for it, what would my chances be to a so-called top-14, tier 1 schools? Assuming you get above a 170, with a 3.75, you have a really good shot at the lower t-14s. If you get mid 170s, with your 3.75, you still have a shot at Harvard and Stanford (assuming you have good LORs and interesting extracurricular activities/WE). I'm not sure if many Korean military alums apply to American law schools, but if it is a rare occurrence, that would be to your advantage when it comes to admissions to to very elite schools.


3. Does being an Asian-American (with US-citizenship) have a lot to do with the application process? I'm trilingual - I speak Korean, English and Japanese fluently, but if I were to rank these three in languages I honestly think Korean would be number one since it's my mother langauge as I've lived in Korea more than half of my life. I'm not sure what you are asking here. Aren't you NOT an Asian American? Hence, serving the Korean military right now? At any rate, being tri-lingual would only be a plus -- a very slight soft. As far as I know, international students are held to equal standards when it comes to law school admissions. Getting a job after graduating is the hard part. You'd have to be BETTER than your American peers in order to compel employers to vouch on your behalf for a work visa. Obviously this isn't relevant if you plan on using your JD in Korea. As for English fluency, it doesn't matter for admissions. Though you might want to honestly evluate your comfort level with English as your succss in law school boils down to a final exam that requires lots of writing in a very limited amount of time (you'll also be doing a LOT of intense reading and analytical thinking throughout the semester). But seeing as you're majoring in politics at Duke and plan on 170+, you'll be OK, I think.

By the way, I only have one international friend (from France) attending law school, so most of my perception on the internationl student topic is based off his experiences.

Good luck!

[motiontodismiss]

prelaw10-he's an American citizen. He doesn't need any work visa (but he will if somehow going into the Korean military results in him losing his citizenship).

OP-did nobody tell you that Korea doesn't recognize (or allow, for that matter) dual citizenship? btw I don't think you'll have time to study for the LSAT in the military. Rumor is it's not a fun place to spend your time (not to mention all the idiots with half your IQ being your "superiors"-I use the term vaguely here-and harassing you for being "too smart").

[iskim88]

prelaw10-he's an American citizen. He doesn't need any work visa (but he will if somehow going into the Korean military results in him losing his citizenship).

OP-did nobody tell you that Korea doesn't recognize (or allow, for that matter) dual citizenship? btw I don't think you'll have time to study for the LSAT in the military. Rumor is it's not a fun place to spend your time (not to mention all the idiots with half your IQ being your "superiors"-I use the term vaguely here-and harassing you for being "too smart").

they actually just passed a law earlier this year allowing dual-citizenship to those who finish their compulsory military service. The US doesn't care, so I can keep both once I'm outta here

and because I'm in the Air Force, it probably is a lot different from the rumors you have heard... if i were in the army, i wouldn't even be able to post this right now in the base with so many superiors around me lol
but you are right about the idiot superiors... it does annoy me but i think i'm learning patience :p it is a virtue to be learned some point in your life right?
so the air force gurantees you a lot of your own time - which is why I can study at this place. we serve 3 months longer than the army, but we get to go home often and we get treated a bit more like a human being - so i don't regret coming here :p

[iskim88]

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