Advice on Admissions Process & Decision Forum

[BCEagles2014]

Hi everyone,

With my LSAT test date fast approaching (June 12th), I am weighing my options on how to approach the admissions process. I will spare you all the details (I've written two other posts detailing my circumstances if you wish to look) but the quick sparknotes version is that I'm in a situation where I have to deal with a sub 3.0 GPA due to a very poor freshman-sophomore year period. I finished strong in the latter half of undergrad, but I'm aware that matters little to admissions as they mostly like at the overall GPA. I have been working for 3 years now, most recently at a mobile tech startup in Manhattan. I am shooting for a 170 on the LSAT, but realistically I'll probably get around 160-165 if I had to guess.

I have been speaking with admissions deans from a variety of schools to get an idea of what the process looks like and what schools would be realistic goals for me. My more notable conversations were with Boston College (my alma mater) and Pace University. When speaking with BC, I simply was asking for advice as an alumnus. They had my grades on file and were aware of the issues I was dealing with at the time. They said I built up a strong story in my last 2 years as my grades greatly improved, and they also stated that my work experience was very valuable to them and would look favorably in the admissions process. I'm curious from your experiences how genuine they are being with me. Is this all just fluff or can my personal statement and WE amend a weak GPA and keep me in consideration for T1 schools? Of course, this would also require a strong LSAT score.

When speaking to Pace Law, which I know is not reputable at all, the dean indicated that I would either have to have a 3.0 GPA or a 152 LSAT or higher to be admitted. I'm very confident I can surpass that 152 LSAT, so while I do not take anything for granted I know that Pace would give me a great chance for admission and possibly scholarship money. The dean at Pace also stated that they would accept my June LSAT score for this upcoming fall's class which is appealing to me. I would like to start law school ASAP as I believe the longer I wait, the easier it is to delay it until I eventually don't do it at all.

My question is should I shoot to go to Pace or another equally ranked school so that I can start as early as this fall and perhaps get scholarship money or do I wait another year for the possibility of getting into a better ranked school with little to no possibility of any scholarship money? And if I do decide to go with the first option, is transferring from a Pace to a better school after the first year a viable/possible option? Would appreciate your thoughts and advice. Thank you!

[UVA2B]

Get an LSAT. Get a high LSAT (shoot for 180, don't be satisfied until you've exhausted every resource on TLS to get the highest score possible). Survey your options only when you've done this.

WE and PS are necessary to get into better schools, but they are not sufficient. You need a high LSAT to offset your crap GPA (and yes, the ADCOMs are somewhat full of crap. They'll think your narrative persuasive if it comes with the right LSAT score).

What do you want to do with a law degree? Where do you want to practice? In what type of job? When you're dealing with regionals (which is the type of schools you're considering right now), where you want to practice, what type of job you want, and how much debt you're taking on becomes the only things that ultimately matter. BC on a good scholarship can make perfect sense if you want to practice in Boston and would be comfortable with the most likely outcome that you'll be working in a job that pays $45-60k/year starting out (with little to no data suggesting that number will ever drastically improve unless you're particularly entrepreneurial).

You're focusing on only half of the equation right now, and you need to focus on the whole equation. Without knowing your goals for the degree, no one can/should advise you to go to any school (T13 being the possible exception, but even there it's not absolutely a good call to pull the trigger on).

[tncats]

Hi everyone,

With my LSAT test date fast approaching (June 12th), I am weighing my options on how to approach the admissions process. I will spare you all the details (I've written two other posts detailing my circumstances if you wish to look) but the quick sparknotes version is that I'm in a situation where I have to deal with a sub 3.0 GPA due to a very poor freshman-sophomore year period. I finished strong in the latter half of undergrad, but I'm aware that matters little to admissions as they mostly like at the overall GPA. I have been working for 3 years now, most recently at a mobile tech startup in Manhattan. I am shooting for a 170 on the LSAT, but realistically I'll probably get around 160-165 if I had to guess.

I have been speaking with admissions deans from a variety of schools to get an idea of what the process looks like and what schools would be realistic goals for me. My more notable conversations were with Boston College (my alma mater) and Pace University. When speaking with BC, I simply was asking for advice as an alumnus. They had my grades on file and were aware of the issues I was dealing with at the time. They said I built up a strong story in my last 2 years as my grades greatly improved, and they also stated that my work experience was very valuable to them and would look favorably in the admissions process. I'm curious from your experiences how genuine they are being with me. Is this all just fluff or can my personal statement and WE amend a weak GPA and keep me in consideration for T1 schools? Of course, this would also require a strong LSAT score.

When speaking to Pace Law, which I know is not reputable at all, the dean indicated that I would either have to have a 3.0 GPA or a 152 LSAT or higher to be admitted. I'm very confident I can surpass that 152 LSAT, so while I do not take anything for granted I know that Pace would give me a great chance for admission and possibly scholarship money. The dean at Pace also stated that they would accept my June LSAT score for this upcoming fall's class which is appealing to me. I would like to start law school ASAP as I believe the longer I wait, the easier it is to delay it until I eventually don't do it at all.

My question is should I shoot to go to Pace or another equally ranked school so that I can start as early as this fall and perhaps get scholarship money or do I wait another year for the possibility of getting into a better ranked school with little to no possibility of any scholarship money? And if I do decide to go with the first option, is transferring from a Pace to a better school after the first year a viable/possible option? Would appreciate your thoughts and advice. Thank you!

If you're going to have a sub 3 GPA, you'll want to get your LSAT as high as possible. Don't bank on transferring to a better school. Take some time to get into at least the high 160s on the LSAT, or obviously the 170s if you can, and then aim for better schools in the region you want to work.

Go to Law School Numbers and search for users with your GPA and various LSAT scores to see what a difference those points can make. There are plenty of people on TLS with sub-3 GPAs, myself included, who are choosing between several T1 options. Don't settle.

[emkay625]

Do NOT go to Pace.

Any law school that will let you take the June LSAT and enroll this fall is not a school worth going to. Even with scholarship $, you'd be looking at six figures of debt and bad employment outcomes.

Start studying now for the LSAT. Use the guides here to max out your score. Take the October test, and the December test if you need to retake.

[Rigo]

Do NOT go to Pace.

Any law school that will let you take the June LSAT and enroll this fall is not a school worth going to. Even with scholarship $, you'd be looking at six figures of debt and bad employment outcomes.

Start studying now for the LSAT. Use the guides here to max out your score. Take the October test, and the December test if you need to retake.

[enoca]

I would like to start law school ASAP as I believe the longer I wait, the easier it is to delay it until I eventually don't do it at all.

This is a bad reason to do anything. If your interest in law school is gonna wane in just a year, then it will be a good thing that you didn't go.

[albanach]

If you're going to have a sub 3 GPA, you'll want to get your LSAT as high as possible. Don't bank on transferring to a better school. Take some time to get into at least the high 160s on the LSAT, or obviously the 170s if you can, and then aim for better schools in the region you want to work.

And, with limited retake opportunities, don't sit the test if you think you're still in the low 160s. You need a higher score to make law school worthwhile unless you can afford to give away a couple of hundred thousand dollars.

[snowball2]

Pace Law placed exactly one 2016 graduate in a biglaw job and zero in Federal clerkships. That should give you an indication of what opportunity a 152 LSAT (50th percentile) will give you. Aim as high as possible to get your foot into a door that will give you a reasonable shot at meaningful employment. With money, if such a thing is possible.