What are my chances? Forum

[TyM]

LSAT: 171

Undergrad GPA: 3.3

Major: Philosophy, Law & Society

Minor: Political Science

Graduation Date: Graduating in May 2015

Other factors:
-Member of sorority for all 4 years of college
-Member of pre-law fraternity, phi alpha delta, for two
-Professional internship with Disney for six months
-Worked for two years during college
-Disability; mild head injury
-Planning on taking a year off after college to volunteer
-GPA is low because I started off with wrong major & severe medical issues; my major GPA is a 3.8.


I'm wondering what my chances are to get into several top law schools including UCLA.

[francesfarmer]

[Pneumonia]

work hard senior year to boost your GPA

[transferror]

-GPA is low because I started off with wrong major; my major GPA is a 3.8.

...wrong major? As in it was wrong because it was harder than you thought it would be? Please don't say that in a personal statement or addendum, highlight your improvements instead of trying to excuse your poor start.

[TyM]

-GPA is low because I started off with wrong major; my major GPA is a 3.8.

...wrong major? As in it was wrong because it was harder than you thought it would be? Please don't say that in a personal statement or addendum, highlight your improvements instead of trying to excuse your poor start.

Wrong major as it was the wrong decision for my specific interests and skills. It was not harder than my current major. My major is more work than it ever could have been; however, I had no true passion for the former. In addition to this, I was dealing with medical issues. Despite the fact that I was not trying to excuse my poor start, I am noting this because of my superior major GPA. My pre-law advisor suggested that I highlight this facet in my applications.

[Nova]

Your prelaw advisor is wrong.

Not being interested in classes is not a legit reason to do bad in them.

I'm taking insurance law right now. Its Ok that I get a B- in it cause insurance law sucks right?

Med excuses are legit tho.

[TyM]

Your prelaw advisor is wrong.

Not being interested in classes is not a legit reason to do bad in them.

I'm taking insurance law right now. Its Ok that I get a B- in it cause insurance law sucks right?

Med excuses are legit tho.

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.

[transferror]

-GPA is low because I started off with wrong major; my major GPA is a 3.8.

...wrong major? As in it was wrong because it was harder than you thought it would be? Please don't say that in a personal statement or addendum, highlight your improvements instead of trying to excuse your poor start.

Wrong major as it was the wrong decision for my specific interests and skills. It was not harder than my current major

Skills and interests? You just memorize shit and regurgitate. It has nothing to do with skills or interest. You fucked up. Get over it. Listen to Nova - Don't make excuses, highlight your improvement. If your academic advisor told you otherwise, s/he was wrong. If your medical issues can explain your grades, use that and you'll be fine.

[Nova]

Let TLS be your prelaw advisor

[TyM]

Skills and interests? You just memorize shit and regurgitate. It has nothing to do with skills or interest. You fucked up. Get over it. Listen to Nova - Don't make excuses, highlight your improvement. If your academic advisor told you otherwise, s/he was wrong. If your medical issues can explain your grades, use that and you'll be fine.

I will completely admit to the fact that I am accountable for my mistakes. I was addressing the fact that you said that it was "wrong because it was harder than thought it would be". It wasn't harder. I was dealing with medical issues, and I focused all of the energy I had at the time on my classes involving aspects of law. I wasn't healthy enough to spend the amount of time memorizing necessary to get good grades in my other courses. I will absolutely highlight my improvement in my statements, as I indicated by thanking Nova for the advice. I appreciate your advice regardless.

[TyM]

Let TLS be your prelaw advisor

Probably a good idea.

[transferror]

Skills and interests? You just memorize shit and regurgitate. It has nothing to do with skills or interest. You fucked up. Get over it. Listen to Nova - Don't make excuses, highlight your improvement. If your academic advisor told you otherwise, s/he was wrong. If your medical issues can explain your grades, use that and you'll be fine.

I will completely admit to the fact that I am accountable for my mistakes. I was addressing the fact that you said that it was "wrong because it was harder than thought it would be". It wasn't harder. I was dealing with medical issues, and I focused all of the energy I had at the time on my classes involving aspects of law. I wasn't healthy enough to spend the amount of time memorizing necessary to get good grades in my other courses. I will absolutely highlight my improvement in my statements, as I indicated by thanking Nova for the advice. I appreciate your advice regardless.

You should be fine if you focus on your medical issues and highlight your improvement. Your LSAT is outstanding and you have a great shot at good $$ from top 25 schools. Best of luck.

[TyM]

You should be fine if you focus on your medical issues and highlight your improvement. Your LSAT is outstanding and you have a great shot at good $$ from top 25 schools. Best of luck.

Thank you. I truly appreciate your advice, and I will put it to good use.

[MistakenGenius]

Post removed.

[TyM]

I like this guy. Seriously OP, listen to what these guys have to say. I absolutely adore a ton of people on this site, especially Bagelboy, Cicero, and Malice. My pre-law advisor stupidly told me that I only had a shot at my state school because of a large amount of W's. She didn't account for the fact that I had those W's because of medical withdrawals due to cancer. These guys told me to shoot for the stars, and 6 months later I was choosing between the Hamilton and Yale. TLS basically changed my life. Listen to these awesome bastards. Good luck OP.

(Also, OP, you have to realize that you're competing against people with addenda like mine. Don't say you did poorly because you weren't passionate about the subject. Seriously, how would that look when these adcomms have seen people who did poorly because they were passionate about surviving a terminal disease? )

I won't put that in; the only reason I considered it was because of my pre-law advisor's suggestion. Thank you so much for sharing your story and your advice!

[Balthy]

I like this guy. Seriously OP, listen to what these guys have to say. I absolutely adore a ton of people on this site, especially Bagelboy, Cicero, and Malice. My pre-law advisor stupidly told me that I only had a shot at my state school because of a large amount of W's. She didn't account for the fact that I had those W's because of medical withdrawals due to cancer. These guys told me to shoot for the stars, and 6 months later I was choosing between the Hamilton and Yale. TLS basically changed my life. Listen to these awesome bastards. Good luck OP.

One of the best posts I've read. Hope everything is good now mistakengenius.