Undergrad Expulsion - 3.65GPA / 170 LSAT / Veteran Forum

[ScamMan101]

Hello... I began my undergraduate education in 2010. After a series of offenses with the institution I was attending I was expelled from the California State School System fucking tragic I know.

Well I thought my life was over and after about 6 months of being horribly depressed I decided to join the military. Being in the military had a huge impact on me and over the course of my service I never had any issues quite the contrary I had an impeccable record and tons of acknowledgments. Fast forward to 2016 I got out and transferred to a fairly prestigious UC. I completely disclosed everything that happened and after a couple interviews I was admitted.

I have a 3.65 GPA and a 170 LSAT.

My question is how much is this expulsion from my original undergraduate institution going to impact me. Am I capable of getting admitting into a T14? I have strong letters of Rec. My GPA and LSAT are not the best and without the expulsion I think being a veteran would give me a little boost. Does anyone have experience applying with a blemish on their record? Should I disclose this immediately in my personal statement or should I just be thorough in my explanation when I click that amazing box saying that I have had disciplinary action in the past?

[t-14orbust]

Definitely depends. You also need to consider the likelihood of passing C&F (to practice law) if you do end up getting admitted to law school. What were the reasons for the expulsion? If they involved dishonesty/cheating (lol at your username), it's really going to be an uphill battle.

[cavalier1138]

What were the reasons for the expulsion?

Yeah, this is the key point. An expulsion for too many underage drinking violations is different than an expulsion for stealing and selling the answer key for a final exam.

This might be something worth hiring an admissions consultant for, because it's a fairly unique situation. I would hope your military service and later academic performance are enough to mitigate the expulsion, but it couldn't hurt to have a professional take a look at your app.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I agree that it's going to depend on what you were expelled for, and that a consultant might be a good idea. To one logistic point, don't address it in your PS unless it actually is something significant about you that you want to make the center of your PS. But ideally the PS paints a positive picture of you, so using it to explain problems is sort of wasting what the PS can do for you. I would think you're best off writing an addendum (which is like being really thorough when you check the box/explain, but you will probably want to submit it as an additional document).