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thanks for the help!

beemomo8 wrote:but my problem is that I am a professional illustrator, been working in the industry for two years now.
my work has been published in books and magazines, received awards, and exhibited my work in Australia, Germany, Seoul and New York.

Nothing about this is a problem, and you are probably cooler than me.

retake. being an artist doesn't make having more points on the LSAT less worth it. It is worth tens of thousands of dollars. Go study.

beemomo8 wrote:hi there...been lurking around the forum for a while but finally decided to seek some opinion on my status.

I am not sure if I even have a chance at any decent school but do I have a slightest chance at Georgetown or any top 20s?

My numbers are 168 and 3.7...sorry about the low numbers
but my problem is that I am a professional illustrator, been working in the industry for two years now.
my work has been published in books and magazines, received awards, and exhibited my work in Australia, Germany, Seoul and New York.

should I apply for somewhere lower? since my resume does not contain any law related work?

you will do better than Georgetown

Does he count as nontraditional? In feel like his experience will really help him out in that regard. I do think he should retake for a 170+, though.

Just do art ; probably is more fun

rad lulz wrote:Just do art ; probably is more fun

And might even pay better.

I am familiar with your numbers, and I can say that you will probably get a T20 for close to full scholarship and snag a couple off the T14 for no $

OP, whether you have any law-related experience really doesn't matter for application purposes.

beemomo8 wrote:hi there...been lurking around the forum for a while but finally decided to seek some opinion on my status.

I am not sure if I even have a chance at any decent school but do I have a slightest chance at Georgetown or any top 20s?

My numbers are 168 and 3.7...sorry about the low numbers
but my problem is that I am a professional illustrator, been working in the industry for two years now.
my work has been published in books and magazines, received awards, and exhibited my work in Australia, Germany, Seoul and New York.

should I apply for somewhere lower? since my resume does not contain any law related work?

Don't apologize for your numbers! Have you thought of retaking by any chance?

I don't have much advice to give, but I'm in a similar boat. One of my majors is also in the arts but not very practical like yours. I assume you will be applying 2014-2015 cycle, have you thought about how to tie your arts experience to law school? Was your undergraduate degree also in fine arts? Why this transition from your field to three more years of a professional degree?

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Where do you want to practice?

3L here. I had very similar stats to you (166 / 3.8) and similar pre-law background (spent ten years post-undergraduate working in the arts and playing music / making art, no legal experience to speak of). I would recommend applying widely and going to the best place that offers you a full scholarship, for the primary reason that the kind of law you seem interested in probably isn't going to net you enough money to justify the expense if you're paying tuition. But if you can keep your debt low enough that you can reasonably consider taking 40k to 60k jobs at the beginning of your legal career, I think you'd find a lot of interesting legal opportunities out there in the non-profit / arts end of the spectrum. Plus you would also have the flexibility to think creatively about ways to build a legal career alongside your artistic career - for example, tapping into arts networks to do freelance legal work in addition to illustration. The key, though, is to keep your debt low enough that you have some flexibility to endure lower pay at the beginning of your legal career while you figure out what you want to do.

As a side-note, I wouldn't worry too much about lacking legal experience. I've actually found that my arts background has come in really useful in law school - it has come up in almost every legal interview I've had, and always in a positive way.

nphominoid wrote: As a side-note, I wouldn't worry too much about lacking legal experience. I've actually found that my arts background has come in really useful in law school - it has come up in almost every legal interview I've had, and always in a positive way.

Care to elaborate?

cotiger wrote:

nphominoid wrote: As a side-note, I wouldn't worry too much about lacking legal experience. I've actually found that my arts background has come in really useful in law school - it has come up in almost every legal interview I've had, and always in a positive way.

Care to elaborate?

Sure, sorry - didn't mean to be cryptic. I have a very brief Interests section at the end of my resume which outlines some of my work in the arts, and it's lead to some good and interesting conversations with interviewers. This is in the public interest sector though; no idea how it would be perceived in the corporate world!

You are almost a definite to get in to Georgetown with your current numbers. If that area is where you are interested in working, there are some other schools that you may want to consider in order to keep your debt level down. George Washington, Univ. of Maryland, Fordham are some that come to mind. But yeah to answer your question, you have a great shot at getting in to GULC. Good luck.