Top Law Schools

Mods, feel free to move to Off-Topic, and I do apologize if this is in the wrong forum.

I won't bore you all with my life story, but the long and short of it is this: I messed around when I first got out of high school, tried to work and go to school at the same time, and my grades ultimately suffered due to absences. Now I'm back in school, and after a summer session and fall I've completed 28 credits, overall I'm at an even 40. My GPA right now is a 3.6 (cumulative 3.0), and my LSDAS is at 2.10. I'm taking 6 classes every semester and 4 in the summer to expedite the process (With no work commitments to distract me).

I guess all I want to know is, with 2/3 of undergraduate studies left, and assuming I keep this type of GPA up (3.5 and above), do I even have a shot/enough time to raise my GPA to a respectable level to be accepted into a T25? (I know I'd need a killer LSAT score as well)

I'm really sorry if this isn't where it's supposed to be, it's just that it's my first post and I didn't think it was right of me to invade the Off Topic forum sanctuary. Anyway, thanks for your time.

At splitter friendly schools, a high 160's LSAT will help you get in even with a low GPA (think 2.X/168 for WUSTL). With a low 170's LSAT you can get into other programs like GW, GULC PT (maybe), and NU ED if you have work experience even if you have a GPA in the 2.7-2.99 range.

Can't you get up to something like 120 credits total or more? If you got straight F's on those first 12 credits and get a 3.5 with the next 100 or so you can get over a 3.0.

If you can get above a 3.0 and manage a 170+ LSAT you can get into the lower T14. However, because you won't be getting above a 3.3 or so you are unlikely to get into schools that don't like splitters (Boalt, UCLA, Duke, Vandy, UT, etc).

bk187 wrote:At splitter friendly schools, a high 160's LSAT will help you get in even with a low GPA (think 2.X/168 for WUSTL). With a low 170's LSAT you can get into other programs like GW, GULC PT (maybe), and NU ED if you have work experience even if you have a GPA in the 2.7-2.99 range.

Can't you get up to something like 120 credits total or more? If you got straight F's on those first 12 credits and get a 3.5 with the next 100 or so you can get over a 3.0.

If you can get above a 3.0 and manage a 170+ LSAT you can get into the lower T14. However, because you won't be getting above a 3.3 or so you are unlikely to get into schools that don't like splitters (Boalt, UCLA, Duke, Vandy, UT, etc).

Thanks for the response. I guess I just have to keep busting my ass. I'm not familiar with the GULC PT acronym though, what exactly does that stand for?

McLusky wrote:

bk187 wrote:At splitter friendly schools, a high 160's LSAT will help you get in even with a low GPA (think 2.X/168 for WUSTL). With a low 170's LSAT you can get into other programs like GW, GULC PT (maybe), and NU ED if you have work experience even if you have a GPA in the 2.7-2.99 range.

Can't you get up to something like 120 credits total or more? If you got straight F's on those first 12 credits and get a 3.5 with the next 100 or so you can get over a 3.0.

If you can get above a 3.0 and manage a 170+ LSAT you can get into the lower T14. However, because you won't be getting above a 3.3 or so you are unlikely to get into schools that don't like splitters (Boalt, UCLA, Duke, Vandy, UT, etc).

Thanks for the response. I guess I just have to keep busting my ass. I'm not familiar with the GULC PT acronym though, what exactly does that stand for?

Georgetown University Law Center, Part-Time.

How long ago were your poor grades?

NZA wrote:

McLusky wrote:

bk187 wrote:At splitter friendly schools, a high 160's LSAT will help you get in even with a low GPA (think 2.X/168 for WUSTL). With a low 170's LSAT you can get into other programs like GW, GULC PT (maybe), and NU ED if you have work experience even if you have a GPA in the 2.7-2.99 range.

Can't you get up to something like 120 credits total or more? If you got straight F's on those first 12 credits and get a 3.5 with the next 100 or so you can get over a 3.0.

If you can get above a 3.0 and manage a 170+ LSAT you can get into the lower T14. However, because you won't be getting above a 3.3 or so you are unlikely to get into schools that don't like splitters (Boalt, UCLA, Duke, Vandy, UT, etc).

Thanks for the response. I guess I just have to keep busting my ass. I'm not familiar with the GULC PT acronym though, what exactly does that stand for?

Georgetown University Law Center, Part-Time.

How long ago were your poor grades?

2007, started back up summer 2010. Thanks for the clarification.

I do have Work Experience, I'm half Peruvian/half Greek, and speak both languages if that helps.

McLusky wrote:

NZA wrote:

McLusky wrote:

bk187 wrote:At splitter friendly schools, a high 160's LSAT will help you get in even with a low GPA (think 2.X/168 for WUSTL). With a low 170's LSAT you can get into other programs like GW, GULC PT (maybe), and NU ED if you have work experience even if you have a GPA in the 2.7-2.99 range.

Can't you get up to something like 120 credits total or more? If you got straight F's on those first 12 credits and get a 3.5 with the next 100 or so you can get over a 3.0.

If you can get above a 3.0 and manage a 170+ LSAT you can get into the lower T14. However, because you won't be getting above a 3.3 or so you are unlikely to get into schools that don't like splitters (Boalt, UCLA, Duke, Vandy, UT, etc).

Thanks for the response. I guess I just have to keep busting my ass. I'm not familiar with the GULC PT acronym though, what exactly does that stand for?

Georgetown University Law Center, Part-Time.

How long ago were your poor grades?

2007, started back up summer 2010. Thanks for the clarification.

I think you'll be okay if you write a good addendum. Hard to even really say what your chances are if you won't be applying for a few years, really. Plus, you still haven't taken your LSAT.

But if I were you, I wouldn't have the attitude that a high-ranking law school is out of the question.

bk187-What schools are considered lower T14?

NZA-I anticipate a good night sleep, finally.

Thanks a lot guys.

That's what she said?

And what's the deal with airplane food?

Should've clarified, anticipate a good night's sleep because it's been grating on me. Being 23 and seeing my friends already in law school/grad school and me being where I'm at has been a source of unhappiness for a while.

McLusky wrote:bk187-What schools are considered lower T14?

NZA-I anticipate a good night sleep, finally.

Thanks a lot guys.

The lower T14 is generally schools ranked 7 through 14.

The schools which you would at least have a possibility at with a 3.0+/170+ would be Michigian, Virginia, Penn, Georgetown, Cornell, and Northwestern.

Sorry for the bump, but I didn't feel I should start a new thread. So, I'm just about to finish up at my CC, and I've brought my GPA up from a 1.1 (I know, awful time in my life) to a 2.73. Still a terrible GPA, but I think I'm on my way to ending up with a decent one. As you can see, with a GPA like that I still don't have my pick of schools for undergrad, even with a good personal statement. I got in to the University of Colorado at Denver, but it's another city school, and I think I'd prefer to be on a traditional campus for a little bit. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I do transfer to Boulder after only one semester at UCD does me having attended 4 schools hurt my chances at getting in to a good law school? Should I just suck it up, go to UCD and stay there?

As always, any help will be very much appreciated.

McLusky wrote: I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I do transfer to Boulder after only one semester at UCD does me having attended 4 schools hurt my chances at getting in to a good law school? Should I just suck it up, go to UCD and stay there?

The short answer is schools will only care what your final GPA is, not how you got there.

The long answer is the very topmost schools (read: Yale) might see all your transfers as a red flag, but most won't. More importantly, I think, you can tie all this up into a nice narrative for an addendum: I messed around, got a godawful GPA, straightened out, went to CC but my bad grades held me back when I transferred, so I kicked ass at UCD and went to the school I wanted all along. Now you're not some guy who can't figure out what he wants, you're a guy who knows exactly what he wants and did all he could to get it.

But one more thing: I wouldn't go to UCD with your heart set on transferring. It'll be impossible to be happy there if your plan is just to GTFO ASAP. If you go in with an open mind, you might just end up liking the place and deciding to stay, and the transfer option will still be there...

JazzOne wrote:That's what she said?

180

Yukos wrote:

McLusky wrote: I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I do transfer to Boulder after only one semester at UCD does me having attended 4 schools hurt my chances at getting in to a good law school? Should I just suck it up, go to UCD and stay there?

The short answer is schools will only care what your final GPA is, not how you got there.

The long answer is the very topmost schools (read: Yale) might see all your transfers as a red flag, but most won't. More importantly, I think, you can tie all this up into a nice narrative for an addendum: I messed around, got a godawful GPA, straightened out, went to CC but my bad grades held me back when I transferred, so I kicked ass at UCD and went to the school I wanted all along. Now you're not some guy who can't figure out what he wants, you're a guy who knows exactly what he wants and did all he could to get it.

But one more thing: I wouldn't go to UCD with your heart set on transferring. It'll be impossible to be happy there if your plan is just to GTFO ASAP. If you go in with an open mind, you might just end up liking the place and deciding to stay, and the transfer option will still be there...

Many thanks for the response. I shouldn't discount UCD before I've taken a class there.