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Non Traditional Applicant

CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 20 karma

Hello Everyone, I would need some helps from everyone:

I am a non-traditional applicant, 29 years old, 7 years of professional working experience in banking and consulting. I finished y undergrad in 2012 and had a GPA of 2.16 (Transcript) and 2.1 (LSAC GPA). I have been in a part-time MBA program since 2017 and will have it completed in June 2020 (Same University). My LSAT is 160, and had 4 good academic recommendations, my MBA and Undergrad school is a T20 school. However, when I looked at the law school predictor results, I only stood at approxi. 5-15% chance for many of the top 100 schools. I am lost, and not sure if I should proceed with my applications, and if there is a chance for me to get into one of the Top 100s?

Any advice? Thank you

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Comments

  • JerryJerry Member
    176 karma

    Statistically, if you apply to 20 schools with a 5% to 15% chance of acceptance, you have between a 64% to 96% chance of getting into at least one of them. That's assuming randomness, of course.

    So, I'd say the platitude, "There's always the possibility." (Well, duh...)

    But I think you also have to consider how much effort you want to put in to the whole process, and what you expect to gain from a legal education. If you don't get into the school you were aiming for, are you still going to pursue law? Also, if you already have an MBA, I don't know how useful a JD will be, unless you're looking to change careers.

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    20 karma

    @Jerry said:
    Statistically, if you apply to 20 schools with a 5% to 15% chance of acceptance, you have between a 64% to 96% chance of getting into at least one of them. That's assuming randomness, of course.

    So, I'd say the platitude, "There's always the possibility." (Well, duh...)

    But I think you also have to consider how much effort you want to put in to the whole process, and what you expect to gain from a legal education. If you don't get into the school you were aiming for, are you still going to pursue law? Also, if you already have an MBA, I don't know how useful a JD will be, unless you're looking to change careers.

    Thanks Jerry. Yes, I am looking for a career change. Thanks for the comments, I will try, and if I am able to get into one of the T100 I think I will proceed, just the "%" discourages me.

  • RealLaw612RealLaw612 Member
    1094 karma

    What are the chances of you re-taking the LSAT and getting that 160 a little higher? If I were you (and we’re in similar predicaments as far as Undergrad is concerned) I’d be spending my every waking spare moment preparing for a January retake. A 165+ will change your situation significantly if you can swing it.

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    20 karma

    @99thPercentileOrDieTryin said:
    What are the chances of you re-taking the LSAT and getting that 160 a little higher? If I were you (and we’re in similar predicaments as far as Undergrad is concerned) I’d be spending my every waking spare moment preparing for a January retake. A 165+ will change your situation significantly if you can swing it.

    Thank you! I just took the November one, and I think I performed better compare to the last one. I will see how it goes, and hopefully would get something better than 160, maybe 165. Thank you for the advice, and good luck!

  • lexxx745lexxx745 Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3190 karma

    @99thPercentileOrDieTryin said:
    What are the chances of you re-taking the LSAT and getting that 160 a little higher? If I were you (and we’re in similar predicaments as far as Undergrad is concerned) I’d be spending my every waking spare moment preparing for a January retake. A 165+ will change your situation significantly if you can swing it.

    Every waking moment lol but yep much agreed!

  • Mario RoboMario Robo Alum Member
    266 karma

    What you can do is make sure to write a top notch personal statement.

  • studyingandrestudyingstudyingandrestudying Core Member
    5254 karma

    Don't give up. Try to get really strong LORs, consider writing an explanation for the GPA, and/or maybe catch some ThinkingLSAT episodes that discuss "splitter" applications.

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    20 karma

    Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. Will definitely try to apply for some schools, and hopefully something turns out positively. Good luck everyone!

  • susiewang100susiewang100 Alum Member
    8 karma

    @"CL-11111" said:
    Hello Everyone, I would need some helps from everyone:

    I am a non-traditional applicant, 29 years old, 7 years of professional working experience in banking and consulting. I finished y undergrad in 2012 and had a GPA of 2.16 (Transcript) and 2.1 (LSAC GPA). I have been in a part-time MBA program since 2017 and will have it completed in June 2020 (Same University). My LSAT is 160, and had 4 good academic recommendations, my MBA and Undergrad school is a T20 school. However, when I looked at the law school predictor results, I only stood at approxi. 5-15% chance for many of the top 100 schools. I am lost, and not sure if I should proceed with my applications, and if there is a chance for me to get into one of the Top 100s?

    Any advice? Thank you

    I am also non-traditional applicant! Although I don't know how much weight the personal statement will have, I believe your experiences will definitely highlight your PS! Good luck!!

  • taschasptaschasp Alum Member Sage ⭐
    796 karma

    It's worth noting the law school predictor doesn't take into account where you went to for undergrad (or for your MBA). And it definitely does make a difference.

  • Professor ChaosProfessor Chaos Core Member
    5 karma

    I personally think considering the fact that your GPA is from 7 years ago, your LSAT score should weigh way more than your GPA does. I think it is a good idea to retake the test and hopefully score higher. That will show that your GPA belongs to an era that potentially is no longer a very significant measure for your capabilities. A killer personal statement in combination with a killer LSAT score should get you where you want to go. Your application is more than just numbers. You got this :)
    Good luck!!!

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    20 karma

    @taschasp said:
    It's worth noting the law school predictor doesn't take into account where you went to for undergrad (or for your MBA). And it definitely does make a difference.

    Thanks Man!

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    20 karma

    @"Professor Chaos" said:
    I personally think considering the fact that your GPA is from 7 years ago, your LSAT score should weigh way more than your GPA does. I think it is a good idea to retake the test and hopefully score higher. That will show that your GPA belongs to an era that potentially is no longer a very significant measure for your capabilities. A killer personal statement in combination with a killer LSAT score should get you where you want to go. Your application is more than just numbers. You got this :)
    Good luck!!!

    Thank you !!!

  • lexxx745lexxx745 Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3190 karma

    To be honest, at the top schools, I think GPA is pretty neccessary. As in, perhaps a 2.1 will exclude you no matter how high your lsat is. But that would only be the case, and even then im not sure, at the very top schools like HYS. Quite a few of the T-14s value GPA though. Even so, I think with a higher LSAT you could for sure get into some of the 20s, and to answer your last question, definitley the 100s. Just go ham on the LSAT!

  • CL-11111CL-11111 Alum Member
    edited December 2019 20 karma

    @lexxx745 said:
    To be honest, at the top schools, I think GPA is pretty neccessary. As in, perhaps a 2.1 will exclude you no matter how high your lsat is. But that would only be the case, and even then im not sure, at the very top schools like HYS. Quite a few of the T-14s value GPA though. Even so, I think with a higher LSAT you could for sure get into some of the 20s, and to answer your last question, definitley the 100s. Just go ham on the LSAT!

    Thank you !

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