Will I get accepted into Law School? Forum

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CamachoMike

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Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by CamachoMike » Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:25 pm

Hello, my questions is: Will I get accepted into law school?

I am a currently a student at New Mexico State University. I am majoring in Government with 2 minors in International Relationships and Immigration Policy and want to get into Law School.

I have a good GPA when it comes to classes that only have to do with my career. In all my Government related classes I have mostly A's and just a few B's averaging a 3.7 GPA in those classes.

The problem is that I took forever to find a career that I really enjoyed and that I that I was good in. Before becoming a government major I went through almost every career you could think of. I tried Business, Civil Engineering, Animal Science and my transcript is full of classes I could pass. I have several W's, F's, D's and C's, but these classes have nothing to do with anything related to Law or my major. I had horrible first years in college because I started at age of 17, living away from home, was immature and had depression. Then I also really struggled with math and physics classes failing both twice (non help towards my Government major). My cumulative GPA is 2.9.

I scored a 165 on my LSAT which is not bad for my second time.

I have also been involve in plenty of school organizations and extracurricular activities including work.

Will my low GPA prevent me from getting accepted into Law School?

I'm particularly looking at Texas Tech Law School

Thank you.
Last edited by CamachoMike on Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

AJordan

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by AJordan » Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:34 pm

Any particular reason for Texas Tech? You probably have a shot at some good money from UH/SMU, especially if you could squeeze three or four more points out of the LSAT. Don't sell yourself short.
Last edited by AJordan on Sat Jan 27, 2018 4:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Ronan

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by Ronan » Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:34 pm

No.

TragicBronson

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by TragicBronson » Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:38 pm

You should be fine for Texas Tech. You're below their 25th GPA but well above the 75th LSAT. You will make it a more sure thing if you can get the GPA to around a 3.1 by graduation (which would be between their 25th and 50th). Also, a GPA addendum might be nice, especially if the depression has been officially diagnosed. Most of all, max out the GPA.

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luckyirish13

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by luckyirish13 » Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:04 pm

Yes you can get into law school, and you can actually do MUCH better than Texas Tech. You should look a lot higher, because a 165 LSAT puts you in a decent position. Like TragicBronson said, you can get your GPA up to above a 3.0 before you graduate, write an addendum, and then retake the LSAT and try to get an even better score. The better you do, the more chance you have at a great school on scholarship.

Even with what you have right now, a 2.9 and a 165 LSAT, you can get into a Tier 1 school. http://mylsn.info/n98yjh/

Texas Tech's employment numbers are not terrible, but only 60% of the graduates get a job in law, and many of those are not great law jobs. Only 4% are in Biglaw. https://www.lstreports.com/schools/texastech/

If you go to a better school, you can have much better potential outcomes in the future. For instance, if you want to go to law school in Texas, UT is much better than Tech. Over 75% are working in law, and over a third have jobs in Biglaw. https://www.lstreports.com/schools/texas/

I did a search for those with a GPA between 2.9 and 3.2 with an LSAT between 165 and 170 (attainable goals as long as you work) and more than half of those were able to get into UT. http://mylsn.info/nq39fm/

The point is, you absolutely can get into law school, and if you raise your GPA a bit, retake and get an even better score on the LSAT, and set your sights higher, you can get into a really good law school, potentially even with some scholarship money.

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lawlzzz

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by lawlzzz » Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:08 pm

You can get into a much better school than Texas Tech.

I had similar numbers (2.8, 166) and I got into a number of law schools with scholarship money, including schools in the Top 20-30 range. I even managed to get on the WL at UCLA, though ultimately got dinged (I had been expecting an outright ding. lol)

Do whatever you can to get that gpa up though, since you're still in school. See if you can retroactively drop some classes, especially the Fs and Ds. That's what I should've done.

Write an addendum to your application explaining your gpa. Basically guide them through your transcript and create a narrative of what was going on behind the numbers and the grades, both the bad and the good. If you have an upward trend in your later years (which it seems that you do) highlight that and explain what you were doing differently at that point; what made you improve? And highlight your gpa in your major. This is what I did. I also had extenuating circumstances.

Good luck!

CamachoMike

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by CamachoMike » Sat Apr 22, 2017 2:20 pm

Thanks for your help guys!! I'm really looking forward to Law School. The reason I had been looking at Texas Tech was because New Mexico students get in-state tuition which is around 23k per year. I also plan to open my own office as an Immigration Attorney and not work in a large Law firm. The good thing is that there is plenty of work for Immigration Lawyers in my home town, El Paso TX. I will definitely be applying soon to other Law Schools, particularly in Texas and see where I can get accepted and get the most money.

Amangi

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Re: Will I get accepted into Law School?

Post by Amangi » Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:30 pm

Hello,

I am very curious to see if you applied to Texas Tech. I read your original post and Is exactly the same situation I am in. I am even from El Paso too and I want to apply to Texas Tech as well for the same reasons and the fact that it is so close to El Paso. I would love to have the opportunity to talk to you and maybe get some guidance. I am about to register for the LSAT. Please feel free to send me an email at osvaldo.santiagoramo@intermetro.edu

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