Life experiences and good grades VS bad grades 10 years ago Forum

[CoffeeLuvr]

I'm waiting on my LSAT, but if I score between 155 - 159 (Thats what I was hitting during practice tests) Anyone think any of the top 50 Law Schools would be willing to give me a chance? Below are the stats for my grades.

The bad grades I have are my my first years in college from 2000 - 2004. I failed out and enlisted in the military in 2005, worked my way up to E-6 and have been a paralegal for the JAG corps for the last 6 years. I have several letters of recommendation from the attorneys I worked for and my resume shows all of my legal work since 2008, specifically when I deployed to Iraq to work for an JAG and when I worked in the legal office onboard an aircraft carrier. When I wasn't deployed I took classes online and on the bases to finish my degree. From 2005 (Schools 2 and up), my cumulative GPA is a 3.91. I have to submit a statement to each law school because I was suspeneded over those horrible grades and, believe me, I take full responsibility for my actions in my statement. Anyone think I have any chance or will all of the law schools just look at my cumulative GPA and say No way?

Cumulative GPA = 3.01 (167 credits) (186 total - 19 unconverted)
School 1 GPA = 1.73 (71 credits)
School 2 GPA = 3.80 (30 Credits)
School 3 GPA = 4.0 (6 credits)
School 4 GPA = 3.87 (31 credits)
Degree Granting GPA = 4.0 (48 credits)

[tskela]

Most (all?) schools in the top 50 will have LSAT medians at 160+. And with your GPA being below 25th percentile at most schools (the cumulative 3.01 is the only thing that matters), your LSAT should be a lot higher than 155-159 to make up for it. Retake.

Edit: I'm sure your softs would give you a good boost, but other posters could provide better information on that.

[guano]

Don't take this the wrong way, but, with an LSAT below 160, you probably shouldn't go to law school. At the very least study harder and do a retake. There are plenty of guides on TLS that can help you boost your score.

[jk148706]

.