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I'm a 30yo AA F who is LGBT. I am retaking on Sat and my last 3 prep tests were 166, 166 and 168. I hope to hit 170 on test day. I come from an economically disadvantaged background and went through personal losses while in school. I plan to write an addendum for my GPA which would include my undiagnosed ADHD. I've worked full time since graduating 5+ years ago. Most recently at a top 25 law firm. Not going to law school isn't something I'm considering at this point. I have retaken the LSAT and my previous score before the 160 was 149. Don't really have softs.

Assuming I hit at least 165, where should I apply? I assume T-14 is basically out but would I have a chance at maybe 20-40?

Edit: I debated about applying earlier to have that advantage but decided I would be able to raise my score at least 3-5 points which would help me even more.

Thanks!

I don't think anyone can predict, are there any strong regional nearby?
Do you have any semi-strong/strong softs? Publications, military service, non-combat uniformed services?
Any unusual hobbies or interests you excel at (classical music/dance, sports, high programming proficiency?)
You're an incredibly unusual case.

You are going to have a hard cycle. That GPA is going to really hurt your apps. Best of luck on the retake. Even if you hit a 170, I still think its unlikely you get into the t14 and even t25 or so. You might, but you might not. Your stats make you super unpredictable but schools, especially t14s, are going to be really scared with such a low gpa.

apply broadly with fee waivers to all schools in cities you could see yourself living (i.e. T14, next tier of schools, and some TTT). then you can compare scholarships with career outcomes against your desired goals and determine the best fit!

best of luck on the lsat this weekend!

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quietnoise wrote:I'm a 30yo AA F who is LGBT. I am retaking on Sat and my last 3 prep tests were 166, 166 and 168. I hope to hit 170 on test day. I come from an economically disadvantaged background and went through personal losses while in school. I plan to write an addendum for my GPA which would include my undiagnosed ADHD. I've worked full time since graduating 5+ years ago. Most recently at a top 25 law firm. Not going to law school isn't something I'm considering at this point. I have retaken the LSAT and my previous score before the 160 was 149. Don't really have softs.

Assuming I hit at least 165, where should I apply? I assume T-14 is basically out but would I have a chance at maybe 20-40?

Edit: I debated about applying earlier to have that advantage but decided I would be able to raise my score at least 3-5 points which would help me even more.

Thanks!

I normally don't post on these threads, but I find your story very interesting. For me, I applied to law school at a younger age with a similar GPA, a higher LSAT (171), and not nearly as much work experience. I was accepted to two of the lower T14, one of which worked out well for me.

I believe that a high LSAT would be key to your possibly getting a wonderful surprise during this cycle. It would help to alleviate many schools' fears about your academic potential, and help to confirm any employer's recommendation of your work ethic. I'd say focus everything on the LSAT before even thinking about the rest - crack 170, and a lot more doors will open for you, resulting in a wildly unpredictable cycle that will probably give you at least one windfall.

Beyond that, however, I can't offer anything except even more generic advice - make sure that people who are really familiar with your work write recommendations using specific examples. It goes without saying that you should probably get one from your V25. If you want to reference an established condition during an addendum, try to include equally concrete examples of how you've stopped it from being an impediment in other areas.

Best of luck, and I hope this works out for you!

Aristogeiton1 wrote:I don't think anyone can predict, are there any strong regional nearby?
Do you have any semi-strong/strong softs? Publications, military service, non-combat uniformed services?
Any unusual hobbies or interests you excel at (classical music/dance, sports, high programming proficiency?)
You're an incredibly unusual case.

I live in NYC so yea there are a few regionals. I could do Brooklyn, Cardozo, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Temple. I am not ruling out going to a regional then transferring. No military experience. No publications. I play multiple instruments, besides that, I don't really have anything that stands out about me, which is also why I'm having a hard time figuring out a topic for my ps. I wasn't all that active in college either in terms of extra-curricular.

grades?? wrote:You are going to have a hard cycle. That GPA is going to really hurt your apps. Best of luck on the retake. Even if you hit a 170, I still think its unlikely you get into the t14 and even t25 or so. You might, but you might not. Your stats make you super unpredictable but schools, especially t14s, are going to be really scared with such a low gpa.

Yea, it sucks that I'm basically hinging my hopes of going to a decent school with some type of scholarship on my lsat score and luck.

Do not assume you will be able to transfer. Truth be told you have an extremely poor undergraduate record while not engaging in much around you at school. What confidence should you have that at law school you will be able to outcompete your peers and transfer? At those schools you just listed, you'd have to be in the top 5 or so students in the class at least to have a shot transferring up to any place meaningful.

I'm sorry but you need to retake the Lsat until you have a score that will be able to offset your poor undergraduate record. As it stands, your numbers combined with a lack of any sort of softs (which don't matter much anyway, but could at least attempt to mitigate the gpa by saying oh I was a d1 track star and traveled too much, etc) makes it imperative you improve your Lsat. Also, never go to a law school you aren't confortable graduating from. Because year after year people come on this site asking which TTT school they can go to with the hope of transferring and the vast majority can't. Especially in this case where your record shows no indication you will be able to. Sorry to be harsh but you need to know the truth.

grades?? wrote:Do not assume you will be able to transfer. Truth be told you have an extremely poor undergraduate record while not engaging in much around you at school. What confidence should you have that at law school you will be able to outcompete your peers and transfer? At those schools you just listed, you'd have to be in the top 5 or so students in the class at least to have a shot transferring up to any place meaningful.

I'm sorry but you need to retake the Lsat until you have a score that will be able to offset your poor undergraduate record. As it stands, your numbers combined with a lack of any sort of softs (which don't matter much anyway, but could at least attempt to mitigate the gpa by saying oh I was a d1 track star and traveled too much, etc) makes it imperative you improve your Lsat. Also, never go to a law school you aren't confortable graduating from. Because year after year people come on this sight asking which TTT school they can go to with the hope of transferring and the vast majority can't. Especially in this case where your record shows no indication you will be able to. Sorry to be harsh but you need to know the truth.

I do understand using my previous numbers, score and gpa, as predictors of the likelihood of my success, however, one of the main causes of my poor gpa was my adhd, which I have had diagnosed and medicated. I studied over the summer for the September test while working full-time plus about 5-15 hours a week in overtime. More recently, I did not work nearly as much overtime and had more time to study.

Perhaps my score increase would be some type of indicator as to there being a difference in my undergrad studies and now. Otherwise, even if I get a 180, it would still be a gamble if my gpa and score were given equal weight in the ad comm's decision.

quietnoise wrote:

grades?? wrote:Do not assume you will be able to transfer. Truth be told you have an extremely poor undergraduate record while not engaging in much around you at school. What confidence should you have that at law school you will be able to outcompete your peers and transfer? At those schools you just listed, you'd have to be in the top 5 or so students in the class at least to have a shot transferring up to any place meaningful.

I'm sorry but you need to retake the Lsat until you have a score that will be able to offset your poor undergraduate record. As it stands, your numbers combined with a lack of any sort of softs (which don't matter much anyway, but could at least attempt to mitigate the gpa by saying oh I was a d1 track star and traveled too much, etc) makes it imperative you improve your Lsat. Also, never go to a law school you aren't confortable graduating from. Because year after year people come on this sight asking which TTT school they can go to with the hope of transferring and the vast majority can't. Especially in this case where your record shows no indication you will be able to. Sorry to be harsh but you need to know the truth.

I do understand using my previous numbers, score and gpa, as predictors of the likelihood of my success, however, one of the main causes of my poor gpa was my adhd, which I have had diagnosed and medicated. I studied over the summer for the September test while working full-time plus about 5-15 hours a week in overtime. More recently, I did not work nearly as much overtime and had more time to study.

Perhaps my score increase would be some type of indicator as to there being a difference in my undergrad studies and now. Otherwise, even if I get a 180, it would still be a gamble if my gpa and score were given equal weight in the ad comm's decision.

Also so you know I am in your corner. I want you to be successful! While I certainly understand you had medical reasons for your poor gpa, just because you are medicated does not mean you will be all of the sudden able to outperform your whole class who will all want to transfer. I just want to drill home to you that you SHOULD NEVER attend a school you aren't happy graduating from, because the odds are not in your (or anyone else's) favor.

Come back when you get your new score. I have my fingers crossed. But so you know, generally speaking gpa and lsat are weighed 50/50, with some places weighing more lsat than gpa ( and one that does the opposite- Berkeley). If you get a 170+, you at least have a chance to get a scholarship to a regional school worth attending. But if you didn't hit the number this take, be ready to take it again.

quietnoise wrote:I plan to write an addendum for my GPA which would include my undiagnosed ADHD.

Are you sure that ADHD was the only undiagnosed mental disorder you had? I think it'd be worth it to get tested for autism as well.

User has been warned for being an asshole.

Since when did undiagnosed diseases become a soft?

quietnoise wrote:

Aristogeiton1 wrote:I don't think anyone can predict, are there any strong regional nearby?
Do you have any semi-strong/strong softs? Publications, military service, non-combat uniformed services?
Any unusual hobbies or interests you excel at (classical music/dance, sports, high programming proficiency?)
You're an incredibly unusual case.

I live in NYC so yea there are a few regionals. I could do Brooklyn, Cardozo, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Temple. I am not ruling out going to a regional then transferring. No military experience. No publications. I play multiple instruments, besides that, I don't really have anything that stands out about me, which is also why I'm having a hard time figuring out a topic for my ps. I wasn't all that active in college either in terms of extra-curricular.

I would honestly say Temple is your best bet, depending on your upcoming LSAT score, if you break 165, then your options get a little but better, but your GPA will still be a hindrance. I'd recommend an addendum of (of course), and trying to conjure up an kind of soft while you apply to law school.
I'm in your corner as well, I hope you hit your highest PT score.

I wanted to jump in and say, as a music major, I would recommend maybe writing your personal statement about how you learned multiple instruments despite having ADHD. Learning any instrument takes dedication and perseverance, and overcoming a hurdle to still become an accomplished musician can make for a compelling story about determination. Do you maybe have a story about a performance you were particularly proud of or a lesson you had where you had a breakthrough with your attention issues? Just a thought I had reading this. I would also make sure your LGBT experiences are at least present in your application. I think it helped my application honestly.

Keep us updated. I agree you have a unique application.

TedCruz4Prez wrote:Since when did undiagnosed diseases become a soft?

No one claimed this. Read better.

TedCruz4Prez wrote:Since when did undiagnosed diseases become a soft?

I said "I don't really have softs."

OtterLaw wrote:I wanted to jump in and say, as a music major, I would recommend maybe writing your personal statement about how you learned multiple instruments despite having ADHD. Learning any instrument takes dedication and perseverance, and overcoming a hurdle to still become an accomplished musician can make for a compelling story about determination. Do you maybe have a story about a performance you were particularly proud of or a lesson you had where you had a breakthrough with your attention issues? Just a thought I had reading this. I would also make sure your LGBT experiences are at least present in your application. I think it helped my application honestly.

Keep us updated. I agree you have a unique application.

I wouldn't call myself "an accomplished musician" especially since the last performance I had was at my high school graduation. I did learn to play the French horn in school and learned other instruments because friends or family played, like drums, violin, trumpet and clarinet. After high school, I taught myself to play the keyboard and guitar and starting learning how to write music compositions. One of my alternate dream careers is to write scores for movies.

I do have a diversity statement and a GPA/LSAT addendum written.