3.3 GPA, 176 LSAT, non-traditional. Forum

[Chris16]

Hi y’all, I’ve been a lurker for quite awhile but have yet felt the need to post until now and just seek your general thoughts on my experience and desires. I’m mostly interested in practicing real estate or intellectual property and am considering applying to UC Berkeley, UofChicago and Stanford.

I’m 25 years old, I graduated with a BA in Philosophy and Spanish from a small, private university in the PNW.

My GPA is 3.3 and my LSAT is 176.

I speak French, Spanish, Arabic and Korean. After college I spent a year in Korea, studying language at a university there and then did the same in Egypt and France.

Law school is something I thought about while in college but brushed it off. Once I graduated you couldn’t have forced me back into a classroom like that, but I’ve come back around and it is now on my radar.

My main concern is my GPA but also that once I graduate from law school I have the opportunity to travel, I’m open to working really anywhere except California, although I don’t mind going to school there.

I’m able to self-fund some of my studies but am motivated by scholarships, and would like to take on the least amount of loans as possible, so that is a factor.

Thanks

[cavalier1138]

...am considering applying to UC Berkeley, UofChicago and Stanford.

My GPA is 3.3 and my LSAT is 176.

Unfortunately, you picked three of the most grade-selective T13 schools. But the good news is that you shouldn't have been focusing on three random schools from the T13 in the first place, so you're still in decent shape.

You're a splitter, so you should be applying broadly across the T13. I wouldn't bother applying to HYS, but if you have cash to burn, go for it.

My main concern is my GPA but also that once I graduate from law school I have the opportunity to travel, I’m open to working really anywhere except California, although I don’t mind going to school there.

Then your school selection was weird. Obviously Berkeley and Stanford have national reach, but why would you pick two California powerhouses if you don't want to live/work in that state? And what do you mean by having "the opportunity to travel?" Are you talking about vacations? Or about being able to regularly pick up and move to a different state/country? The latter is much more difficult to pull off.

Additionally, you may want to learn a little more about IP. "Soft" IP jobs are notoriously difficult to land, and you don't have the qualifications for the more science-y "hard" IP work.

TL;DR You have a decent shot at admission somewhere in the T13, but your goals and current school focuses are discordant/weird.

[Chris16]

Then your school selection was weird. Obviously Berkeley and Stanford have national reach, but why would you pick two California powerhouses if you don't want to live/work in that state? And what do you mean by having "the opportunity to travel?" Are you talking about vacations? Or about being able to regularly pick up and move to a different state/country? The latter is much more difficult to pull off.

Additionally, you may want to learn a little more about IP. "Soft" IP jobs are notoriously difficult to land, and you don't have the qualifications for the more science-y "hard" IP work.

TL;DR You have a decent shot at admission somewhere in the T13, but your goals and current school focuses are discordant/weird.

I mean travel for work, not vacations.

There's a difference between living and working in a place and living and going to school there. I like California for going to school, but I don't want to live and work there, I'm not surprised this seems weird though.

[albanach]

I mean travel for work, not vacations.

Have you thought about an MBA and consulting work?

As an attorney for travel early in your career, I'd imagine you want to focus on litigation not real estate/IP.

Do you want to be a litigator? Are you okay with travel if it means sitting in one office for ten hours on each day of your trip deposing witnesses, followed by a return to your hotel room where you work until bedtime?

[The Lsat Airbender]

I mean travel for work, not vacations.

The vast majority of lawyers work in the same place 365 days a year - some litigators bounce around across the US but they're going to random American cities (Wilmington! Little Rock! Cleveland!) and working 17-hour days the whole time (since you only really do this for trials nowadays).


If you want to travel frequently you should look into something like sales or consulting. Also, no offense, but wanting to travel for work is a weird aspiration. It's a famously miserable lifestyle.

[nixy]

Real estate and IP are also fields that aren’t going to lend themselves to travel (maybe IP falls into the “travel to unglamorous places and work 17-hour days for trial” category). You actually have the language skills to aim for something like the Department of State or actual international law jobs (though these are very few and far between).

[Chris16]

I mean travel for work, not vacations.

Have you thought about an MBA and consulting work?

As an attorney for travel early in your career, I'd imagine you want to focus on litigation not real estate/IP.

Do you want to be a litigator? Are you okay with travel if it means sitting in one office for ten hours on each day of your trip deposing witnesses, followed by a return to your hotel room where you work until bedtime?

Mmmm... Would I need an MBA for entry into consulting at this point, or is it something I could pick-up later after being a consultant? I'm not going to lie, I see law as more technical, which is appealing to me.

Real estate and IP are also fields that aren’t going to lend themselves to travel (maybe IP falls into the “travel to unglamorous places and work 17-hour days for trial” category). You actually have the language skills to aim for something like the Department of State or actual international law jobs (though these are very few and far between).

I've looked into Foreign Service, but not other DS jobs, which is something I should do. Is there a difference between "international law" jobs and actual international law jobs?

I mean travel for work, not vacations.

The vast majority of lawyers work in the same place 365 days a year - some litigators bounce around across the US but they're going to random American cities (Wilmington! Little Rock! Cleveland!) and working 17-hour days the whole time (since you only really do this for trials nowadays).

If you want to travel frequently you should look into something like sales or consulting. Also, no offense, but wanting to travel for work is a weird aspiration. It's a famously miserable lifestyle.

I know, but I would enjoy being able to employ my communication abilities in my work and I do like to travel. My perspective that I could do that and be a lawyer in real estate/ip has shifted.

[totesTheGoat]

There's a difference between living and working in a place and living and going to school there. I like California for going to school, but I don't want to live and work there, I'm not surprised this seems weird though.

The problem is that, even for the national schools, the hiring is biased locally. Here in DC, I've never worked with a Berkeley or Stanford grad. When I worked in Palo Alto, I never encountered a Georgetown grad. Doesn't mean that you're precluded from working on the opposite coast, but it does mean that going to a CA school may not be the smartest decision if you're opposed to working in CA.

Overall, it sounds like you have a general idea of what you like and don't like, but not the strongest conception of what lawyers do, especially in the practice areas you listed. I encourage you to continue to ask questions and get a better understanding of the profession you're wading into so that you are sure that you want to do this. Gathering more information never hurt anybody.