Top Law Schools

Have never written a forum post before but was wondering if some experienced people might provide some advice on what law schools I should be looking at and whether or not I should write an addendum.

I have a 3.28 GPA from an ivy league university with a 172 LSAT score (might retake, unclear). I am Latina (Puerto Rican) and have a lot have had a non-profit internship every summer since the 11th grade. I graduated with honors in my major. Right now I'm a paralegal at a V10 law firm.

I'm not sure what law schools I should be aiming for. My dream is Duke but that might be down the toilet. My worry is my very low GPA. As an undergrad I had to work around 30hr/wk to help finance my education. Should I write an addendum to help explain my situation or is work study not considered a valid pretext warranting one?

NotGoodWithUsernames wrote:Have never written a forum post before but was wondering if some experienced people might provide some advice on what law schools I should be looking at and whether or not I should write an addendum.

I have a 3.28 GPA from an ivy league university with a 172 LSAT score (might retake, unclear). I am Latina (Puerto Rican) and have a lot have had a non-profit internship every summer since the 11th grade. I graduated with honors in my major. Right now I'm a paralegal at a V10 law firm.

I'm not sure what law schools I should be aiming for. My dream is Duke but that might be down the toilet. My worry is my very low GPA. As an undergrad I had to work around 30hr/wk to help finance my education. Should I write an addendum to help explain my situation or is work study not considered a valid pretext warranting one?

Were you a STEM major?

us3rnam3 wrote:

NotGoodWithUsernames wrote:Have never written a forum post before but was wondering if some experienced people might provide some advice on what law schools I should be looking at and whether or not I should write an addendum.

I have a 3.28 GPA from an ivy league university with a 172 LSAT score (might retake, unclear). I am Latina (Puerto Rican) and have a lot have had a non-profit internship every summer since the 11th grade. I graduated with honors in my major. Right now I'm a paralegal at a V10 law firm.

I'm not sure what law schools I should be aiming for. My dream is Duke but that might be down the toilet. My worry is my very low GPA. As an undergrad I had to work around 30hr/wk to help finance my education. Should I write an addendum to help explain my situation or is work study not considered a valid pretext warranting one?

Were you a STEM major?

no polisci and chinese double major

.

IMO, the key to writing an effective addendum is to be brief, sincere, and to not come across as whining. But sincerity is really the most important. So if that is truly the primary factor that held your grades back, definitely write one. If anything, I think it's sometimes worse to not write one and have ad coms make their own assumptions.

Also, if you make sure the rest of your application is strong, I think you'd have a shot at Duke plus other similar caliber schools. Write a dope personal statement (seriously..)and get recommendations from professors that ACTUALLY know you and can attest to your work as a student. Do that and I wouldn't be surprised if you had several good options down the road.