Top Law Schools

I just took a leave of absence/withdrew from a school in the top 15 after one semester. My grades were a part of my decision (GPA 2.75), but ultimately it came down to my heart not being in law school right now due to a number of personal reasons.

Could I apply to another school despite my withdrawal? How would my previous grades for one 1L semester affect my application to other schools?

There doesn't seem to be much information on this out there, or it's tough to uncover. Any insights would be appreciated.

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FredJones wrote:

PunkedbyReality wrote:I just took a leave of absence/withdrew from a school in the top 15 after one semester. My grades were a part of my decision (GPA 2.75), but ultimately it came down to my heart not being in law school right now due to a number of personal reasons.

Could I apply to another school despite my withdrawal? How would my previous grades for one 1L semester affect my application to other schools?

There doesn't seem to be much information on this out there, or it's tough to uncover. Any insights would be appreciated.

PunkedbyReality wrote:I just took a leave of absence/withdrew from a school in the top 15 after one semester. My grades were a part of my decision (GPA 2.75), but ultimately it came down to my heart not being in law school right now due to a number of personal reasons.

Could I apply to another school despite my withdrawal? How would my previous grades for one 1L semester affect my application to other schools?

There doesn't seem to be much information on this out there, or it's tough to uncover. Any insights would be appreciated.

My brother withdrew from a T14 a few years ago and reapplied the next year. If/When you reapply, you'll have to attach that transcript. Since the LSAT is meant to roughly gauge your law school ability, but you already have grades, your LSAT will probably matter much less than your 2.75 unless the personal reasons for your "heart not being in law school" are remarkable. In my brother's case, he had median stats for his T14, but a sub-3 law school GPA and was shut out of the T25, save for our home state's law school. I don't know if it was because of his GPA, or bad reason for restarting, but his applications didn't go as well.

Very helpful .Thank you.

I just withdrew from a top-15 school after one semester due to a host of personal reasons. My GPA was a 2.75 for the semester. In light of this, I have two questions:

1) Could I re-apply and get into a top-10 school given the concern of law schools to maintain their medians in the current landscape?

My relevant admissions information:
LSAT: 169 (2012)
Undergrad GPA: 3.71 (competitive honors program)
First-generation college/grad student
Not a URM

I do have fairly reasonable reasons for performing poorly, and for not thriving at my previous school. I could probably take the LSAT for a fourth time and score in the low to mid 170s as I did in my practice tests.

2) How would admissions committees factor in my semester at my previous school in their evaluation of my application?

There is little information addressing these specific questions on the web, as well as on TLS. Any insight into my chances given this unusual scenario would be greatly appreciated, and helpful to other students in similar situations. Thank you.

Wouldn't be surprised if someone bit (especially if you ED), but you better have a damn good reason for screwing up/dropping out.

twenty wrote:Wouldn't be surprised if someone bit (especially if you ED), but you better have a damn good reason for screwing up/dropping out.

What's an example of a damn good reason? Would it be possible with a 169 LSAT or retake?

I've wondered about this as well. On law schools apps, they always ask about whether you've attended another law school before. I have the sense--I'm not sure where it came from--that having attended and dropped out of another law school is a pretty big black mark, especially for the top schools. I'm not sure if that's true, though.

rpupkin wrote:I've wondered about this as well. On law schools apps, they always ask about whether you've attended another law school before. I have the sense--I'm not sure where it came from--that having attended and dropped out of another law school is a pretty big black mark, especially for the top schools. I'm not sure if that's true, though.

I feel as though it might be viewed this way as well. But I don't know either.

Anyone have creative ideas for how to find out? Any way to get the intel out of admissions committees without self-sabotaging?

PunkedbyReality wrote: Anyone have creative ideas for how to find out? Any way to get the intel out of admissions committees without self-sabotaging?

This isn't all that creative, but you could just anonymously email the admissions offices of top-10 law schools. Explain that you attended another law school for one semester and then dropped out, and that you're considering applying now to other schools and starting over. Ask if they accept applications from people in your situation, and ask if there are any hurdles (procedural or otherwise) that such an applicant has to overcome to be accepted.

I bet you get at least a couple of informative answers.

Now that I think about it more, one problem you could have is that the ABA might require your "new" school to incorporate your first semester grades at your first school. In other words, starting over on a clean slate might not be possible. I can imagine a law school not wanting to put up with that headache. It's not like you're a transfer coming in after having completed a year's worth of ABA-mandated first-year courses.

Ask spivey.

PunkedbyReality wrote:I just withdrew from a top-15 school after one semester due to a host of personal reasons. My GPA was a 2.75 for the semester. In light of this, I have two questions:

1) Could I re-apply and get into a top-10 school given the concern of law schools to maintain their medians in the current landscape?

My relevant admissions information:
LSAT: 169 (2012)
Undergrad GPA: 3.71 (competitive honors program)
First-generation college/grad student
Not a URM

I do have fairly reasonable reasons for performing poorly, and for not thriving at my previous school. I could probably take the LSAT for a fourth time and score in the low to mid 170s as I did in my practice tests.

2) How would admissions committees factor in my semester at my previous school in their evaluation of my application?

There is little information addressing these specific questions on the web, as well as on TLS. Any insight into my chances given this unusual scenario would be greatly appreciated, and helpful to other students in similar situations. Thank you.

Once you got a bad grade in law school , you are damage good.
you can only go to lower school NOT to better school

nothingtosee wrote:Ask spivey.

This is probably your best move. Shit happens and addenda are there for that. I would ask Spivey; that "have you ever attended law school" question is on every app. Even if he hasn't seen one checked yes, he likely knows why it's there and what impact it has.

Tekrul wrote:

nothingtosee wrote:Ask spivey.

This is probably your best move. Shit happens and addenda are there for that. I would ask Spivey; that "have you ever attended law school" question is on every app. Even if he hasn't seen one checked yes, he likely knows why it's there and what impact it has.

Though I'm embarrassed to ask: Who or what is Spivey?

He's the former adcomm who takes questions here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=spivey

Also, this is basically the same as your other thread, so I'm going to merge them, so the results might look a little odd.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:He's the former adcomm who takes questions here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=spivey

Also, this is basically the same as your other thread, so I'm going to merge them, so the results might look a little odd.

Thank you. I have PM'd him.

And sounds good. Thank you.

It's probably in your best interest to call the schools you would like to reapply to.

PunkedbyReality wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:He's the former adcomm who takes questions here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=spivey

Also, this is basically the same as your other thread, so I'm going to merge them, so the results might look a little odd.

Thank you. I have PM'd him.

And sounds good. Thank you.

PM will take a looong time. Put it in the thread

PunkedbyReality wrote:

twenty wrote:Wouldn't be surprised if someone bit (especially if you ED), but you better have a damn good reason for screwing up/dropping out.

What's an example of a damn good reason? Would it be possible with a 169 LSAT or retake?

"My mom died halfway through the semester, and I had to help my 17 year old brother move in with me." is a good reason. "I didn't like my grades, so I want a shot at a clean slate" is not a good reason. Anything between those is going to be a sliding scale of good-bad reason.

PunkedbyReality wrote:

Tekrul wrote:

nothingtosee wrote:Ask spivey.

This is probably your best move. Shit happens and addenda are there for that. I would ask Spivey; that "have you ever attended law school" question is on every app. Even if he hasn't seen one checked yes, he likely knows why it's there and what impact it has.

Though I'm embarrassed to ask: Who or what is Spivey?

made my day