176, 3.7 LSAC GPA Forum

[jbagelboy]

if you have a computer science degree from an ivy league school, market salary at any major tech firm is almost as much as what you would get from a decent biglaw position after 3 years of LS and a ton of debt. why not just work in the valley for two years and then decide if you really want to give it up for law school

[ManoftheHour]

if you have a computer science degree from an ivy league school, market salary at any major tech firm is almost as much as what you would get from a decent biglaw position after 3 years of LS and a ton of debt. why not just work in the valley for two years and then decide if you really want to give it up for law school

This. Go work for Apple or Google or something.

[Dr. Dre]

I wish law schools were more like med schools in that they would care EVEN MORE about GPA/LSAT than any shit work experience. At this rate (the rate in which LS's are caring more about WE), we're sooner or later going to be on par with MBA programs in the concern for WE. And MBA programs are a joke.

[Cicero76]

i'm going to stick to what i said, only because i'm not convinced he has strong enough softs atm to make the 3.75 gpa look good to sls or yls. sls has been taking people as low as 3.5 gpa, according to lsn, and that's probably because softs really are much more important to the school. yls isn't going to be easy with either 3.7 or 3.75, but no softs will definitely be a death knell. if he had spectacular softs in his pocket, i'd agree with the gpa strategy. atm, though, i think the optimal strategy is get a stellar internship and kill senior year.

You're missing the point. Internships aren't good softs. If you want WE, go work. If you want TFA/whatever, do it. No one cares if you answered phones for two months in DC. I honestly believe that adcoms rank internships below WE, even if that WE is Starbucks.

I don't buy this. I'm a K-JD accepted at all 3 of HYS, and I believe my internships--all of which I think could be objectively described as very impressive--played a big role in my success. JS had lots of questions about them in my interview, and seemed very excited by them.

Feel free to PM me for more details.

(That said, I think the numbers pretty convincingly show that the OP could greatly improve his/her chances by raising his/her GPA .05-.1 points.)

+1; K-JD here with middling numbers accepted at HY (WL at S). My internship in the US senate was a big talking point and the centerpiece of my app's "narrative." Some portion of every class has to be KJD and there are no "real WE" things those people can do, so you have to do SOMETHING.

EDIT: For Noodley One---my GPA is at Yale's 25th and my LSAT at their median, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get in based on stats alone as a KJD

[jbagelboy]

i'm going to stick to what i said, only because i'm not convinced he has strong enough softs atm to make the 3.75 gpa look good to sls or yls. sls has been taking people as low as 3.5 gpa, according to lsn, and that's probably because softs really are much more important to the school. yls isn't going to be easy with either 3.7 or 3.75, but no softs will definitely be a death knell. if he had spectacular softs in his pocket, i'd agree with the gpa strategy. atm, though, i think the optimal strategy is get a stellar internship and kill senior year.

You're missing the point. Internships aren't good softs. If you want WE, go work. If you want TFA/whatever, do it. No one cares if you answered phones for two months in DC. I honestly believe that adcoms rank internships below WE, even if that WE is Starbucks.

I don't buy this. I'm a K-JD accepted at all 3 of HYS, and I believe my internships--all of which I think could be objectively described as very impressive--played a big role in my success. JS had lots of questions about them in my interview, and seemed very excited by them.

Feel free to PM me for more details.

(That said, I think the numbers pretty convincingly show that the OP could greatly improve his/her chances by raising his/her GPA .05-.1 points.)

+1; K-JD here with middling numbers accepted at HY (WL at S). My internship in the US senate was a big talking point and the centerpiece of my app's "narrative." Some portion of every class has to be KJD and there are no "real WE" things those people can do, so you have to do SOMETHING.

EDIT: For Noodley One---my GPA is at Yale's 25th and my LSAT at their median, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get in based on stats alone as a KJD

As a side note, while I am not k-jd, it was a summer internship I did at an international body abroad between my junior and senior year of UG that piqued the interest of interviewers at two top schools, and like cicero was potentially more important to my app than my current full time consulting job.

That being said, my postgrad WE has been crucial to informing my appreciation for industry, law, and professionalism, and I wouldnt be surprised if the experience helps me with interviews at law firms. While it might not play as crucial a role in admissions, Im glad I did it and unless your HYS bound I would encourage k-jds rejected from hys to do the same

[CourCour]

Do not go to law school. My friends are computer engineers. They have jobs that let them express their creativity and play with nerf guns. Plus they rake in the $$. They have head hunters, get this, actually calling to offer them new jobs with better benefits and money. They wear tshirts to the office.

My little bro (6 years younger) who went to state school and graduated with a sub 3.0 GPA in CS is making more money out of school than I am after reaching a chief of staff position in government.