What are my chances? Feeling discouraged :/

mmmmmkk99

Good afternoon (morning, night, whatever time of day is it for anyone reading this)

Been studying for the LSATs for quite some time now and I'm taking my first exam this Feb. My dream and target schools are UGA, Emory, GW, or UC Irvine. Long story short, I screwed up my grades during ugrad due to a family illness and having to work 40+ hours a week while supporting my family and my grades pretty much reflect that. First two(ish) years of ugrad I pretty much screwed up my gpa and finally got my cahoots together two or so years ago. My gpa did have an upward trend from that point on and I was able to raise my gpa almost an entire whole point.

With that being said, I realized I needed to make up for a below 25% gpa with a 75% lsat score. I started out with a 150~ range and I've been able to reach scores of 160-165 pretty consistently now. My goal is to get as close to a 170 as possible. I'm just a little discouraged still and I'm constantly looking at #'s and reports from schools figuring out if I even have a chance of attending the schools I dream of going to.

Never posted a discussion on here but just wanted some advice or tips from those of you who might have had the same scores and gpa as me and have been accepted. For reference, my ugrad gpa is a 2.86.

Thanks guys!

lawschool33

Most, if not all, Law schools look at more than just your LSAT and GPA. The applications ask how many years of full time work experience you have, and you have the opportunity to write an addendum explaining any discrepancies in your scores. Write about your struggles in your personal statement. Overcoming adversity is a powerful topic.

10000019

Chances at what? Getting a 170 or getting into the schools you listed?

Tom_Tango

You only have no chance if you don't apply...Just try to get as high of an LSAT score as possible. Think about what is in your control now. No amount of speculation or "chances" responses are really going to help. What will that accomplish? It seems like you have a good list of schools with respect to your LSAT range so just try to squeak out as many points as possible.

Alex

@mozzafiato said:
Good afternoon (morning, night, whatever time of day is it for anyone reading this)

Been studying for the LSATs for quite some time now and I'm taking my first exam this Feb. My dream and target schools are UGA, Emory, GW, or UC Irvine. Long story short, I screwed up my grades during ugrad due to a family illness and having to work 40+ hours a week while supporting my family and my grades pretty much reflect that. First two(ish) years of ugrad I pretty much screwed up my gpa and finally got my cahoots together two or so years ago. My gpa did have an upward trend from that point on and I was able to raise my gpa almost an entire whole point.

With that being said, I realized I needed to make up for a below 25% gpa with a 75% lsat score. I started out with a 150~ range and I've been able to reach scores of 160-165 pretty consistently now. My goal is to get as close to a 170 as possible. I'm just a little discouraged still and I'm constantly looking at #'s and reports from schools figuring out if I even have a chance of attending the schools I dream of going to.

Never posted a discussion on here but just wanted some advice or tips from those of you who might have had the same scores and gpa as me and have been accepted. For reference, my ugrad gpa is a 2.86.

Thanks guys!

Hey @mozzafiato !

Welcome

If your grades were affected due to family illness and having to work a ton to put yourself through undergrad, you can write addenda (or short essays) that explain how those things negatively impacted your grades.

Most importantly, a high LSAT can overcome a low GPA. If you can secure a 165 on your test in Feb, you will have about a coin flip's chance at getting into GWU/Emory/UGA. You should also look at WUSTL, as they love 165+ LSAT scores and give out a good amount of scholarship money.

http://mylsn.info/yazyl1/

Paul Caint

Just FYI I had a friend who had a 2.9 uGPA, studied hard, got a 177 on the LSAT, then got admitted to nearly every T-14 school (including Harvard!). He ended up going to UVA on a full ride.

You can do it!

Kalayaan

@"Paul Caint" said:
Just FYI I had a friend who had a 2.9 uGPA, studied hard, got a 177 on the LSAT, then got admitted to nearly every T-14 school (including Harvard!). He ended up going to UVA on a full ride.

You can do it!

Was he URM or non-trad?

Paul Caint

@AlexSamwell I believe 3 or 4 years out of undergrad working on various political campaigns. He was not a URM.

mmmmmkk99

@10000019 at both