I took some classes online through another college when I was a freshman. I had too much going on and failed one of the classes because I forgot about it, but I was also going through some medical problems, which were very time-consuming. I am a junior now and have made mostly A's since then. I will probably finish college with a 3.5 LSAC GPA in 5 years because of the transfer and medical problems I had to work through. I am not sure what I will need to score on the LSAT to get into the law schools I want (University of Cincinnati or Chase (NKU). Is it realistic for me to get into law school with my 5 years of undergrad, an F on my transcript, and not a crazy high GPA? Please be honest! I have not seen a lot of people from my research who took longer than 4 years to graduate and got into law school.
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From the AdComm perspective, nothing that you're saying is too much of a stretch to be competitive for admission.
Graduating in five years is pretty normal to see. Nothing odd there!
A 3.5 GPA - in and of itself - is going to be below medians at a lot of schools, but not so much so that it's a reason to be concerned about the applicant. For example, I'm putting the pieces together that if you have an F and you have a 3.5, you probably did reasonably well during the rest of college. While that F isn't great, it sounds like you made it up for it.
Speaking of the F, yup, it's obviously a red flag. But let's jump back in time to the semester right after you got that grade. Let's say you asked someone what you'd have to do to make up for it and be competitive for law admissions. The answers would be 1) were there extenuating circumstances that led to the issue? then be sure to explain those issues and be sure to put those issues in your past, 2) kill it academically over the next few years, and 3) do well on the LSAT and build a good resume. It sounds like there was an extenuating issue - just explain that. And as to #2 - it sounds like you're in the process of doing that. As long as you continue to do so, you're doing all you can. And for #3 - that's something to keep in the back of your mind as you keep going forward. But for now, just worry about continuing to do well academically.
An F but you’ll finish with a 3.5? You’ll be fine. Maybe aim your LSAT for above the median for those two schools, as long as ur around the median you should remain competitive. Write a great addendum that explains, but does not excuse, your situation of an F and 5 years. Law schools, especially those outside the top 14, are looking for candidates with potential. One F in college because of an explicable reason is not going to turn them off, especially if other parts of your application are good. You might not get as much money offers, but they won’t reject you because of one F. Definitely apply.