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Hi All. Long story short: I graduated with about a 2.9 GPA from a decent liberal arts college (it's ranked somewhere between 40 - 50). For the last two years I have been working as an Investment Banking Analyst for one of the "Elite Boutique" firms. For the sake of this question, my GPA was overlooked during the recruitment process for the role.

I have a 172 on the LSAT - 2020 and I'd like to try and get into U San Diego or Cal Western. I'm hoping that my time in IB will separate me from my GPA.

Why the bad GPA: during college my mother was diagnosed with a bad late-stage cancer. I was told right before finals and I lost my focus. I then spent the next few years travelling home a lot from school to help take care of her, during which time I was actually able to get my grades back up - but the hit I took for the initial semester was severe enough to skew my final GPA. There's more to the story, but that's the summary.

Looking to know what my chances are given the GPA, GPA addendum, LSAT score, and IB experience.

If you are really at an EB, then none of the job you can get from San Diego or Cal Western is going to be better than your current job, even if you choose to stay for A2A instead of going to buyside.

If you are at a small shop that is one of those self-proclaimed EBs, then it really doesn't help raising eyebrows for your law school application to overcome your low GPA.

If you have already have a decently paying job that you can tolerate then don’t bother with law school at all.

IB doesn’t really help you, and there’s no getting around the bad GPA. Factors other than UGPA and LSAT typically don’t move the needle unless it’s something extremely impressive like a Rhodes Scholarship, inventing a revolutionary medical device, or something comparable. You might still get into the law schools you’re targeting, but as per my first paragraph, it’s not likely to yield a better job outcome than what you have now.

talons2250 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:15 pm

If you have already have a decently paying job that you can tolerate then don’t bother with law school at all.

IB doesn’t really help you, and there’s no getting around the bad GPA. Factors other than UGPA and LSAT typically don’t move the needle unless it’s something extremely impressive like a Rhodes Scholarship, inventing a revolutionary medical device, or something comparable. You might still get into the law schools you’re targeting, but as per my first paragraph, it’s not likely to yield a better job outcome than what you have now.

I already have a good paying job with benefits and eventually a pension but law is something I just can't forgo. I really can't risk being in late middle age or older and not having took the chance on a field I am passionate about. I don't think it is far fetched to say most people do not love being bankers.