Awful GPA 2.27 - Decent LSAT 159 Forum

[badbeatjackpot]

I am a Asian Canadian (Will being Asian help me or hurt me?)
Graduated undergrad 5 years ago. Terrible student during undergrad 2.27 GPA (My father died when I was in Grade 10 and I pretty much shut off from life. Now that I look back, it's kind of scary. I was a zombie during undergrad and the only reason I went was because I was expected to go to University. Pretty much skipped all my classes, no effort, etc. I used to open my textbooks the night before the final exam. I took the LSAT 5 years ago and scored a 149 which was pretty much indicative of my lifestyle. Since then, some other crushing events have occured in my life that snapped me out of my funk. I realized that life doesn't owe me anything despite the bad hands I was dealt and if I don't do anything about it now, the rest of my life will be a waste.
Being 5 years out of school, do my grades have the same impact as someone that just finished school or is there a way to escape my former life?
Since then, I have matured (esp after marriage and working a lot of shitty jobs)
I am taking the LSAT in Dec. I have honestly studied my ass off and know my limitations. I have been scoring 159 consistently and know that there is not much more room to improve and I would be happy with a 159-160

Schools that I am planning on applying to are

California Western
Whittier
Thomas Jefferson
Golden Gate.

Do I have a shot at anything better?
i.e.
Pepperdine
Santa Clara
UNLV
U Hawaii
Gonzaga
Seattle U

I have looked at sites like lawschoolnumbers but no ones has a crappy GPA like I do. I didn't even think that GPAs could go that low.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[deadpanic]

I am a Canadian-Korean (Will being Asian help me or hurt me?)

I don't think it will matter much, especially the schools you are applying to, but it certainly won't hurt.

Do I have a shot at anything better?
i.e.
Pepperdine
Santa Clara
UNLV
U Hawaii

No, sorry.

You are probably out at most of your other schools (minus Thomas Jefferson & Whittier), but maybe someone more familiar with those schools can give you a better prediction. Best of luck.

[jakeoooh]

You probably have a good shot at your targeted schools, I'm doubtful about the "better" schools on your list though. Check out lawschoolpredictor to get some better ideas. I think general wisdom is that when dealing with unranked schools odds of 50% or more gives you a good shot.

[badbeatjackpot]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

[kittenmittons]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

It's still the best indicator of your performance in an academic environment

[kalvano]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

It helps somewhat, but nowhere near enough to offset.

[eatmykant]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

Being out of school for a while is certainly better than coming right out of UG with a 2.2, but the only think that can offset your GPA is solid work experience. You mentioned working crappy jobs - this is probably not the type of work experience AdComs are looking for. What I recommend is that you attach an addendum explaining your grades and give your Personal Statement a strong story and sense of who you are, and why, despite your grades and crappy jobs, you deserve a chance at LS.

I wish you the best of luck, just hang in there!

[OneKnight]

I am a Canadian-Korean (Will being Asian help me or hurt me?)

I don't think it will matter much, especially the schools you are applying to, but it certainly won't hurt.

Do I have a shot at anything better?
i.e.
Pepperdine
Santa Clara
UNLV
U Hawaii

No, sorry.

You are probably out at most of your other schools (minus Thomas Jefferson & Whittier), but maybe someone more familiar with those schools can give you a better prediction. Best of luck.

You're probably in at GG and Cal Western, but Whittier and TJ you might be looking at a WL (more likely at TJ than at Whittier)
Don't waste your money at Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and Hawaii. On the other hand, you MIGHT get a bite at UNLV through a WL, which you might be able to fight your way off. Def. worth the app. fee IMO.
(Obligatory retake remark goes here)

Good luck!

[UofO]

Why not look into Canadian schools? I believe you fit the category of a 'mature applicant'.

U of T being an example:

--LinkRemoved--

[badbeatjackpot]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

Being out of school for a while is certainly better than coming right out of UG with a 2.2, but the only think that can offset your GPA is solid work experience. You mentioned working crappy jobs - this is probably not the type of work experience AdComs are looking for. What I recommend is that you attach an addendum explaining your grades and give your Personal Statement a strong story and sense of who you are, and why, despite your grades and crappy jobs, you deserve a chance at LS.

I wish you the best of luck, just hang in there!

Thanks for your input. By crappy jobs, I meant not fully utilizing my assets. I was working a job that I was not passionate about. I wasn't flipping burgers at McDonald's or anything.

[badbeatjackpot]

Why not look into Canadian schools? I believe you fit the category of a 'mature applicant'.

U of T being an example:

--LinkRemoved--

Thanks for your suggestion

I believe my score is not good enough for U of T but maybe that could work for other schools.

[kittenmittons]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

Being out of school for a while is certainly better than coming right out of UG with a 2.2, but the only think that can offset your GPA is solid work experience. You mentioned working crappy jobs - this is probably not the type of work experience AdComs are looking for. What I recommend is that you attach an addendum explaining your grades and give your Personal Statement a strong story and sense of who you are, and why, despite your grades and crappy jobs, you deserve a chance at LS.

I wish you the best of luck, just hang in there!

Thanks for your input. By crappy jobs, I meant not fully utilizing my assets. I was working a job that I was not passionate about. I wasn't flipping burgers at McDonald's or anything.

Blatant Burger King/Wendy's trolling

[badbeatjackpot]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

Being out of school for a while is certainly better than coming right out of UG with a 2.2, but the only think that can offset your GPA is solid work experience. You mentioned working crappy jobs - this is probably not the type of work experience AdComs are looking for. What I recommend is that you attach an addendum explaining your grades and give your Personal Statement a strong story and sense of who you are, and why, despite your grades and crappy jobs, you deserve a chance at LS.

I wish you the best of luck, just hang in there!

Thanks for your input. By crappy jobs, I meant not fully utilizing my assets. I was working a job that I was not passionate about. I wasn't flipping burgers at McDonald's or anything.

Blatant Burger King/Wendy's trolling

No, the input was great. I should have been more specific when I wrote "crappy jobs"

[koehn2]

Have you thought about Pacific McGeorge? You might have a chance there with you LSAT. It might be worth a shot.

[Robert398]

I cannot say whether it will help much, but I think you should attach a GPA addendum explaining what happened, and why.

[beach_terror]

Alas, the random thread resurrections continue.

[Thirteen]

Does being out of school help ease the crappy GPA or does it carry the same weight?

It helps somewhat, but nowhere near enough to offset.

[bigvinny]

Retake

[JoeFish]

Jesus. A thread bump, to say something not even remotely original or important, after... lemme see here... 924 days.

Winning.

[jcccc]

Flame

[dailygrind]

Terrible bump.