Self-study
I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was in middle school and I have so much passion for fighting people (lol I’m mean) but I’m getting a little discouraged because GPA matters so much for a T14 school and I ended undergrad with a 3.4. Before I apply to law school I’ll have been working full time in a non-legal field for 3 years. To me my GPA shouldn’t matter at that point but I know it will. Any advice? What LSAT score do I aim for? Help a girl out 😭
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4 comments
@VarenyaAlvakonda - Former admissions officer checking in!
People will be admitted to T14s with lower GPAs, including 3.4's. It happens! The keys are this:
What's the context of the 3.4? There's a big difference between "consistent 3.4" vs "consistent 3.4 in a very challenging major" vs "started at a 4.0 but tailed off for no discernible reason" vs "started low due to family/medical issues but then had a big upward trend" vs etc etc etc.
How long ago was the GPA? You're ultimately going to make an argument that your GPA is not predictive of your future academic capabilities in law school. It's more difficult to make that argument if you just graduated this May versus if you've been working for three years (as you said).
Can you balance it out with a high LSAT? Not to make things simplistic, but if one number hurts one median but the other number helps the other median, then things can balance out. This also gives you something else to point to as the better predictor of your law school GPA.
What does the resume look like? The most compelling splitters are going to be ones with good professional experience that appears to tie into their legal goals.
I hope that helps!
Apply to splitter friendly T14s like Northwestern, University of Virginia (UVA), Cornell, and Georgetown.
There are plenty of schools outside of the T14 that will provide you with a quality education. As long as you know how to network and seek out opportunities for yourself, you will be successful regardless of school rank.
Have you taken your LSAT yet? You may be able to offset the low GPA with a high LSAT score.
Also, try to work on turning your passion for fighting people into a passion for seeking justice. Being mean will hold you back from reaching your true potential and may even close some professional doors. Kindness is a much stronger trait! Good luck :)
7 Sage has an admissions predictor tool that should give you an idea of your chances of getting into a school by entering in your GPA and simulated LSAT score. Try that. https://7sage.com/admissions/predictor
Also, I don't think that getting into a T14 law school is the sole determinant as to whether or not you'll get to be a lawyer. There's like almost 200 accredited law schools in the United States and a law degree from any one of them plus passing your state's bar exam will allow you to practice law. Your actual education probably wouldn't differ much depending on which law school you get into, they all largely use the same socratic method of teaching. Going to a T14 schools would probably afford you more opportunities as far as potential legal career, that much is true. But if you all you care about is helping people, a law degree from any accredited law school would allow you to do that. This is just my opinion, but you might have an easier process if you don't put so much pressure on yourself. Study as much as your schedule can manage to get a good LSAT score, talk to the admissions department of whatever schools you're applying for and ask them for specifics on what you need to do to get in that school. And lastly, chill out. You'll probably be fine, studying can be fun, if let it be. 👍
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