Top Law Schools

Hello Everybody,

Just want some thoughts what ya'll think my odds are of getting into a top 14 school. If its even worth the money to apply to a few of them...

My gpa: 3.2
LSAT: find out in a few days (but if i did like i did on my practice tests it'll be mid to late 150s at best)

My softs:

I spent the first 10 years of my life in a small village in Ethiopia. Came with my uncles family, who mistreated my younger brother and i. Despite starting school in the 5th grade in the 5th grade, i quickly learned the language and was reading at college level by 10th grade. graduated hs with honors and 18 college credits. i also began reconnecting and financially supporting my family in Ethiopia in the tenth grade.

-The nine years with my uncle's family was hell, less than month after hs grad took my younger brother and split. Put myself through college while taking care of my younger brother and financially supporting my family back in Ethiopia (hence the many jobs). i stayed in school and did not let my grades slip even hard times, like the time my brother and i had live out of my car for a few months.

-Why law school? I knew a few months of being in the states that i wanted to dedicate my life towards helping close the enormous gap that exists between those in the third world (my village for example) and those in the first world. I won many scholarships in high school on the theme that i wanted to make documentaries to help better the lives of people across Ethiopia. I believe education is the best way to do that, hence my jobs (from tutoring to working with youth dealing with alcohol and drug abuse to preparing immigrant students for college) in the last five years of working with youth. Always enjoyed politics, government, and history. Decided sophomore year of college that law school was the best way (instead of films) to continue with my life mission. Joined the debate team and school pre law society to get a feel for law as a profession, took part in a program at a local law school for minority students. Than took out a bunch loans and interned for a law firm in DC, loved it, and want to go back to DC area for law school.

Taking a year off before law school, been living out of a tiny trailer (which isn't tough for since i have plenty of experience living out of my car during college) on a construction site working as a security guard since a week after grad from college. Why? it allows me to a place to live while i continue to financially support my family, study for the LSAT (took in dec) and most importantly save up enough mula so i can finally make the trip back to Ethiopia to see my folks after 15 long years.


Gamma Phi Epsilon (Social>President)

C.U.R.E. Africa (Mentorship Program Coordinator) (helped raise $30, 000 to restore school in somalia)

Ethiopian Student Association (President)

Communities for African Villages (Secretary) (helped raise enough money for two water wells in Zimbabwe)

Alpha Kappa Psi ( Business > Community Service Chair)

SDSU Debate Team

Pre-Law Society member

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i would appreciate any all positive feedback/comments/school suggestions etc.

Thanks ya'll.

The T14 is VERY unlikely as a 3.2/15* AA.

I would suggest you start gearing up for a Feb/June retake ASAP.

Nova hit this issue right on the head.


For future purposes however, it would probably be unnecessary to mention anything OTHER than your GPA, your LSAT score, and your URM status. Law school admissions is almost entirely a numbers game. Save the rest of the information for a possible personal statement thread.

Nova, do Africans get the AA boost? Honest question, I can't tell if he's a citizen or not.

OP, retake the LSAT. Also I think that working in film is more likely to make the positive change in the world that you seek than will working as a lawyer. So I would probably just stick with/go back to that. What do you think lawyers do? And how do you see a job as a lawyer helping to affect change in another country? Even if these lawyer jobs exist, how likely are you to get one?

BigZuck wrote:do Africans get the AA boost?

Yup.

IDK. Anecdotes seem split...

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=119122

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&t=197885

I would guess yes.

Are you black? That's what will determine whether you get an affirmative-action boost.

Either way your background is really interesting and would really make for a great personal statement and story.

Appreciate the responses. I'm new to this forum thing so i apologize if did not follow all the rules.

To answer some questions.

I have green card, so not yet a citizen (different story of its own). But i figure since the race selection is always Black/African American i think they treat the two the same. And that means i get URM boost ya'll are talking about.

The question about weather i know what lawyers do and to go back to film instead of law to achieve my goals: I have a pretty good idea of what lawyers do. What i'm looking for is the experience not necessary of a job that will have me working directly with Africa, but a legal in government etc. What i'm interested in is bringing systematic change to some of the issues millions in Africa are dealing with on a daily basis (thats a long term goal not straight out law school) I believe receiving legal training in one of the world's foremost legal systems will be beneficials in more ways than i can imagine. Which is why i'm not too concerned with which law school i go to (sure it'll be nice to go to a top school) because i see a legal career in the right filed as a stepping stone to what i want to do not the end game.

Again i appreciate the feedbacks.

lonewolf120 wrote:Appreciate the responses. I'm new to this forum thing so i apologize if did not follow all the rules.

To answer some questions.

I have green card, so not yet a citizen (different story of its own). But i figure since the race selection is always Black/African American i think they treat the two the same. And that means i get URM boost ya'll are talking about.

But you are black, right? I mean, if you're a white guy or an asian who grew up in an African village then no, you won't get an affirmative-action boost.

lonewolf120 wrote:Appreciate the responses. I'm new to this forum thing so i apologize if did not follow all the rules.

To answer some questions.

I have green card, so not yet a citizen (different story of its own). But i figure since the race selection is always Black/African American i think they treat the two the same. And that means i get URM boost ya'll are talking about.

The question about weather i know what lawyers do and to go back to film instead of law to achieve my goals: I have a pretty good idea of what lawyers do. What i'm looking for is the experience not necessary of a job that will have me working directly with Africa, but a legal in government etc. What i'm interested in is bringing systematic change to some of the issues millions in Africa are dealing with on a daily basis (thats a long term goal not straight out law school) I believe receiving legal training in one of the world's foremost legal systems will be beneficials in more ways than i can imagine. Which is why i'm not too concerned with which law school i go to (sure it'll be nice to go to a top school) because i see a legal career in the right filed as a stepping stone to what i want to do not the end game.

Again i appreciate the feedbacks.

Nope to the bolded. Law school only teaches you to be a lawyer, and of course provides you with a credible signal to be employed in that capacity. Not only does law school not educate you for whatever you're likely thinking of, but it also does not help you in getting employed in the way you're imagining (it's a "negative" signal on a resume).

Also, you should be very very concerned which law school you go to. Do some research.

Suralin wrote: Also, you should be very very concerned which law school you go to. Do some research.

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/

Job prospects at most American law schools blow.

yes i am black not white African.

and i've done plenty of research regarding the prospects of what jobs are like for lawyers. but i don't live my life by stats, if i did i would not be where i am at today. the odds of me even making it to this great country were like a million to one, but i did. and i plan on making use of it the best way i can. My professional experiences so far and the experience of living in and interning for a top law firm in dc have convinced me that i can use a law background to achieve my long term goals.

lonewolf120 wrote:yes i am black not white African.

and i've done plenty of research regarding the prospects of what jobs are like for lawyers. but i don't live my life by stats, if i did i would not be where i am at today. the odds of me even making it to this great country were like a million to one, but i did. and i plan on making use of it the best way i can. My professional experiences so far and the experience of living in and interning for a top law firm in dc have convinced me that i can use a law background to achieve my long term goals.

The first bolded part is pretty irrelevant man--that is, you could have beaten the odds up to this point, but that has little bearing on whether you'll beat the odds in the legal market (and don't mistake it for anything but a market). And I don't quite know what you mean when you say you don't live your life by stats; facts about your possible courses of action and their consequences should certainly matter if you're trying to make a rational choice (minimize risk, maximize value according to your goals, etc.).

Second bolded part: fair enough, but you should also be willing to listen to the professional experiences of others who have gone through this law school business--many of them regret the choice(s) they made.

Ok, but you can still put yourself in a way better position by retaking the LSAT.

sub 160 makes almost all first tier schools reaches with your GPA.

165+ basically makes you T14 secure. Or you could go to a T30 with a big scholarship. http://myLSN.info/udaof0

Law school does not give you legal training. Law school maybe "teaches you how to think like a lawyer" (the evidence that it actually does this is limited to the subjective impressions of law professors) and gives you a piece of paper through which you can get a job where you can get legal training.

I am not sure how you think a law degree and substantial law school debt will help you make documentaries about poverty. The best way to do that would be to go out and do it. Learn about film on your own time. Go on a microfinancing site like Kickstarter and get a grant or loan, using your background to convince people to fund your project.

thanks for the feedback guys. either i wasn't very clear in explaining my goals are people read into things too much. but either way the feedbacks did help me tweak my personal statement and DS to make sure i was very clear about my career goals.

so again i say thanks. maybe i'll post up my ps and ds once i'm done in the proper forum and ya'll can have a go at it.