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So I was a real knucklehead in my first five years out of high school, unlike your ordinary young stupid guy that knew enough at least to stay away from school I would keep registering every semester and either drop my classes or just kind of stop showing up without bothering to drop them. Why anyone on the planet would repeatedly do such a thing is a question for another day, but basically what happened is I got my head out of my ass at some point and started to retake all those many many classes I had substandard grades in. Any class that I got less than a C in I retook and got an A, transferred to a four year and have gotten straight A's there too. I have 3 LSATs on record one absence, a 167, and a 172. Since LSAC does not honor any grade forgiveness programs your school might, all those F's and D's dropped my GPA all the way to 2.3....sorry for the novel but am I totally screwed?

my guess would be that if you have any decent work experience with that 172 you might be alright somewhere in the T50 this should give you some idea of what happened to people with numbers like yours last year http://search.lawschoolnumbers.com/user ... Cycle=0910

No, I don't think all hope is lost, especially not with that 172. I did the same thing you did; just screwed around. When I got my act together, I got a 3.3 (about to be a 3.5...hooray me) but my LSDAS is only a 2.59.

According to LSP, with that LSAT and GPA you're a consider at Illinois, Iowa, UC-Davis, Wisconsin, Ohio State, etc. I would not lose hope by any means. You're also a strong at Indiana and Florida.

From someone in your same situation, minus the good LSAT, it's not going to do you any good not to try. Accept that you're not going to get in everywhere you want to go; that doesn't mean you should not try.

Congrats on the 172. Good luck.

It would be helpful if you provided what schools you are looking at.

Thanks for the responses. Well I know top 13 is out of the question not going to apply, and USC/UCLA range is probably unrealistic too but I will apply there and pray. I guess I will apply to pretty much anything on down but if I don't even get into Davis might have to consider other career options considering the job market.

benito wrote:So I was a real knucklehead in my first five years out of high school, unlike your ordinary young stupid guy that knew enough at least to stay away from school I would keep registering every semester and either drop my classes or just kind of stop showing up without bothering to drop them. Why anyone on the planet would repeatedly do such a thing is a question for another day, but basically what happened is I got my head out of my ass at some point and started to retake all those many many classes I had substandard grades in. Any class that I got less than a C in I retook and got an A, transferred to a four year and have gotten straight A's there too. I have 3 LSATs on record one absence, a 167, and a 172. Since LSAC does not honor any grade forgiveness programs your school might, all those F's and D's dropped my GPA all the way to 2.3....sorry for the novel but am I totally screwed?

Are you a URM?

Consider applying to Canadian law schools which often just look at your best three years of college/university. Of course, you need to be willing to practice in Canada, California or New York.

Nice LSAT. If you have WE, you can ED to NU. Other splitter schools include w&l, wustl, uiuc, emory, and possibly gw. Also, don't listen to canadianwolf.

FuManChusco wrote:Nice LSAT. If you have WE, you can ED to NU. Other splitter schools include w&l, wustl, uiuc, emory, and possibly gw. Also, don't listen to canadianwolf.

Why just out of curiousity?

For what it's worth, according to Davis' applicant pool info, 2 people applied last year with 2.25-2.49 and 168-173 but neither were admitted.

Why I even have Davis' catalog I do not fully understand.

The thing with GPA/LSAT is a high LSAT can only supplement a sub-par GPA. Anything below 3 is worse than sub-par (in law school terms) so I'm not suprised by the results. OP, you're in a tough situation you might want to aim lower if your hell bent on law school.

2.3/172? Go for Illinois, Wash U, Iowa, Minnesota, W&L, Wisconsin, etc. Check out LSN.

I'm curious why below 3.0 is more than "sub par", other than the obvious reason being that it shows (in most cases, OP being an exception) a lack of effort or intelligence.

After all, they report medians, not means, so a super low GPA and super high LSAT doesn't really adjust their median. Maybe I'm retarded.

NorCalBruin wrote:I'm curious why below 3.0 is more than "sub par", other than the obvious reason being that it shows (in most cases, OP being an exception) a lack of effort or intelligence.

After all, they report medians, not means, so a super low GPA and super high LSAT doesn't really adjust their median. Maybe I'm retarded.

If it shows a lack of effort or intelligence, it will be a red flag to the university. They are interested in their own statistics. Attrition could be a concern.

BrownBears09 wrote:

NorCalBruin wrote:I'm curious why below 3.0 is more than "sub par", other than the obvious reason being that it shows (in most cases, OP being an exception) a lack of effort or intelligence.

After all, they report medians, not means, so a super low GPA and super high LSAT doesn't really adjust their median. Maybe I'm retarded.

If it shows a lack of effort or intelligence, it will be a red flag to the university. They are interested in their own statistics. Attrition could be a concern.

In my opinion it is not difficult to attain at least a 3.0, especially on a 4.3 scale. An upward trend may negate that if 3rd and 4th years are high, but still a 2.3 is not a score that is considered competitive. I wouldn't be hesitant to say that those accepted with 2.3's are atypical cases especially in the top 60.

It completely depends on his grade addendum. As was already mentioned, the 2.3 doesn't effect the schools median that much (just one spot, maybe keeping it at the same exact point), and the 172 is great.

If you turn in an application as good as your LSAT, you will end up at a T 25 for sure. Just explain to them that you are not lazy and show them years of evidence that you have turned it around.

Honestly, with a proper explanation, you have at least a small shot at any law school with a median LSAT at or below 172 (read all law schools). All depends on how moving your statements are.

GL.

Schools have GPA floors, as simple as that. Hell, UT apparently doesn't take below 3.4, and that includes URMs.

kkklick wrote:

BrownBears09 wrote:

NorCalBruin wrote:I'm curious why below 3.0 is more than "sub par", other than the obvious reason being that it shows (in most cases, OP being an exception) a lack of effort or intelligence.

After all, they report medians, not means, so a super low GPA and super high LSAT doesn't really adjust their median. Maybe I'm retarded.

If it shows a lack of effort or intelligence, it will be a red flag to the university. They are interested in their own statistics. Attrition could be a concern.

In my opinion it is not difficult to attain at least a 3.0, especially on a 4.3 scale. An upward trend may negate that if 3rd and 4th years are high, but still a 2.3 is not a score that is considered competitive. I wouldn't be hesitant to say that those accepted with 2.3's are atypical cases especially in the top 60.

Lol what does scale have to do with it?

Anyway, ED NU, if that fails go to your choice of Illinois Minnesota or WUSTL. Or don't go to law school. Not going is always an option.

Sorry I should have noted I live in Canada we are on a 4.0 scale for converting grades, my LSDAS is 3.67 but my OLSAS is 3.53.

Get a few years of work experience and ED to NU. Or look at the other splitter schools (WUSTL, UIUC, etc)

dissonance1848 wrote:Schools have GPA floors, as simple as that. Hell, UT apparently doesn't take below 3.4, and that includes URMs.

true with UT but it doesn't seem like many schools have GPA floors.