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My freshman year, my academic dishonesty resulted in a year of probation with the only penalty of not studying abroad. It was a foolish case of collaborating on a coding assignment. My partner and I were unaware of the rules of collaboration and submitted the work. It was an isolated incident that has not been repeated since.

My F and Ws were in courses related to the STEM field. I was an engineer and computer science major (hence the coding) but have since switched to public policy. Since then, I have had a steady uptick in GPA.

The term in which the academic dishonesty was committed and 1 of the 2 Ws occurred during a semester when my sibling had an attempted suicide.

The term where I received a failing grade was the subsequent summer and during that time, my father essentially disappeared for three months in a foreign country and was presumed dead (turns out he just prefers not to communicate with his family.)

Although these circumstances are not an excuse for my poor behaviour, I believe them to be rare.

I plan on writing an addendum to address the academic dishonesty and the GPA (specifically addressing the Ws and F).


2.98 GPA at top 10 university --> 3.0 LSAC GPA, 176 LSAT AA URM

softs : Over a year WE with a federal agency, (full and part-time), research in Society in Science division of my university, volunteer work abroad with a youth center that serves children removed from abusive homes, involved in campus multiracial advocacy group, volunteer with non-profits, tutor and college advisor to at-risk high school students.


I understand that the application alone is less than stellar. It is even worse given the sanctions. However, I absolutely know that I want to go to law school. I would like to know what you all think my chances might be at T20 (exclude Y&S).

You will have no problem getting into T20 schools with your stats. You will get some serious $$$ to boot. You should also apply to some T14 schools, you will have a particularly strong shot at schools in the lower T14.

Good luck.

I also plan on applying ED to a T14... Most likely CCN or Northwestern or Penn. If anyone has any suggestions on which would be a better option given my circumstances, that would be greatly appreciated. I understand that it might be hard to comment on but any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!!

Ht2465 wrote:I also plan on applying ED to a T14... Most likely CCN or Northwestern or Penn. If anyone has any suggestions on which would be a better option given my circumstances, that would be greatly appreciated. I understand that it might be hard to comment on but any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!!

Don’t ED - for law school it doesn’t really give you an admissions bump and it will essentially lock you in at sticker price if you’re accepted. Make sure your application is tight and apply broadly and early. You may want to consider hiring an admissions counselor like Spivey, or at least consulting one given your unique situation.