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Regaining Confidence Post Academic Dismissal

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 9:15 pm
by Kpyrhdp0912
I was at a t3/t4. I've read a few threads with stories of academically dismissed law students re-entering law school but I cannot find anything regarding what they did to regain confidence in returning, especially having to start from scratch. I was offered to restart due to unexpected circumstances. The curve was a 2.33. I completed my courses with credits and grades listed here:

Civil Procedure (5 credits, 1st semester) C+
Criminal Law (3 credits, 1st semester) C+
LRW 1 (2 credits, 1st semester) C+
Contracts 1 (3 credits, 1st semester) C-
Property 1 (3 credits, 1st semester) D
Torts (4 credits, 1st semester) C

LRW 2 (2 credits, 2nd semester) D
Legal Problem Solving & Analysis (2 credits, 2nd Semester) B-
Criminal Procedure (3 credits, 2nd semester) D-
Contracts 2 (3 credits, 2nd semester) C-
Property 2 (3 credits, 2nd semester) C
Public Law & Legal Process (3 credits, 2nd semester) D

My brother unexpectedly died of a drug OD in September of my 1st semester which completely devastated me (nobody knew of his use except his new g/f). I knew I was in very bad shape to continue on but the school encouraged me to stay, and so I regrettably went into 2nd semester.

I was very depressed and failed to show up to class 60% of time (most of my professors allowed this for me only due to loss). My first semester, studied a lot for class but missed so many classes, unaware of exam issues to look for. Also, corrupt school e.g. fellow classmates had very low UGPA's (2.2, 2.3, etc.). I guess jealous they were admitted without having to work as hard as I did. My UGPA was 3.9 (political science). I don't want to return to previous law school. I ultimately feel that moving to a more reputable school would be best.

Questions: How long after dismissal did it take to regain confidence in reapplying and redoing 1L? What did you do to regain confidence after dismissal? How was it during 2nd try of 1L? Were you bitter about having to retake 1L?

Re: Regaining Confidence Post Academic Dismissal

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 5:22 am
by rcharter1978
Thats a rough story....I guess my question would be whether or not you really want to do law school? I know its cliche, but do you think that your dismissal may have been a blessing in disguise? Do you have a sure job waiting for you after school? I'm not mathematician, but it sounds like your median grade was a C/C+ which sounds pretty rough. But if thats the case, it sounds like in your first semester you pretty much performed at median in most of your classes, with the exception of Contracts and Property. And that was even with having the family difficulty. Property and Contracts can be pretty difficult classes since the concepts are pretty new to most students, so maybe your second time around you can understand some of the ideas a little better.

I guess you must have been grieving the second semester, the Criminal Procedure grade is pretty low.

I'm confused as to how you were ever going to transfer with those grades. And I'm not sure of the process, if you reapply somewhere else, don't they get your first set of grades?

Either way....I feel your pain, I did terrible in undergrad because I really wasn't ready to put in any work. You seem fairly bright which is why I question whether you really want to be in law school.

And wait a second, if you had a 3.9 and a good LSAT, what in the world were you doing in a t3/t4 law school in the first place?

Re: Regaining Confidence Post Academic Dismissal

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 12:34 pm
by L_William_W
I NEARLY got dismissed from law school. I attended CUNY in NYC, which is a very liberal public interest. During my first semester, I felt fairly comfortable. Most of the professors were friendly and I hung out with a clique. There were many parties on campus as well as guest speakers. The only class that seemed difficult was contracts. Everything was good, until I saw my grades:

Contacts B-
Criminal Law B-
Legal writing B-
Legal research C
Constitutional Law D

The D really shocked me. The professor was a hot blonde with a bubbly personality. She gave the class candy on Halloween and she was always smiling. I felt betrayed. My GPA was a 2.28. 2.3 was the minimum GPA required to stay in good standing. I didn't enjoy getting a letter stating that I was on academic probation.

During the next semester, I was so apprehensive. To make matters worse, I had the same blonde professor who gave me a D. I studied extra hard and practically lived in the library. Unfortunately, I bombed the civ pro, contracts, and torts midterms. I started making plans to find a job after getting kicked out of law school. However, I said to myself that if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down swinging. I said a prayer on the day before the finals. I felt confident after I took the contracts final. I also lucked out and was able to take civ pro pass/fail. Everything was good- until it was time to take the family law midterm. My blonde nemesis gave us the hardest final I've ever seen. After that exam, almost everyone in the class was like, "What the fu**?" I thought it was over.

I had two days to prepare for the last final exam, torts. I studied 14 hours each day. I grinded it out during the 4 hour exam. When the exam was over, I thought that I was going to get a dismissal notice. These were my final grades:

Legal research A-
Torts B+
Legal writing B
Contracts B-
Civ Pro Pass
Family Law D

Despite getting screwed over by my archenemy (again), I was safe. My GPA was a 2.72

The fall semester of my 2L year was, for the most part, uneventful. However, only 67% of the CUNY students passed the July 2011 bar. In order to keep their accreditation, 75% of the students had to pass. Under the pressure of the bar committee, they raised the GPA to stay in good standing from 2.3 to 2.5. That nearly proved to be my downfall.

I was nervous as hell during the spring 2012 semester. I bombed the Property midterm since I didn't understand the rule against perpetuity. I literally begged for help from the A students in the class. I received a B on a business law midterm. It was a decent grade, but I was still nervous. When it was time for the finals, I was scared. Once again, I made plans for my life after I got kicked out. I passed property by the skin of my teeth, but that was the least of my problems

Business law A
(class that I can't remember) A-
Employment Law B
Property B-
Mediation D

That's right, a D in mediation. To this day, I'm still perplexed as to what happened. I will admit that I underestimated the class. However, the professor was a cantankerous old hag who played favorites. She had utter disdain for me. The worst part was that mediation was a clinic class- I could've chosen another clinic. My GPA was a 2.52. 3 points made the difference between me being a success in life and me being homeless. I wouldn't been tens of thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for.

After that experience, I never fully recovered. Seeing her in the hallway made me sick, literally and figuratively. I started having migraines as well as a bout of depression. In my 3L year, I took another clinic but had to repeat that class in a 7th semester- I was so distraught over what happened in mediation that I stopped caring about life. I eventually graduated, but I wasn't a happy camper.

I bombed my first two attempts on the NY bar (February, July 2014) http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=265383. I took Jersey and failed (July 2015). By the grace of God, I passed the July 2015 NJ bar.

Not to sound cliché, but when you get knocked down, get back up.

Re: Regaining Confidence Post Academic Dismissal

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:46 pm
by Kpyrhdp0912
Rcharter - I was dismissed in May of 2014 so it has been a while. I want to return to law school, the legal study and becoming an attorney is all I've ever wanted/strived for. I have found long-term employment, decent salary.

My property professor in my first semester was fired. I had a different professor 2nd semester that actually knew what he was teaching, why 1st semester grade was low partially due to confusion by canned professor. I picked t3 school because it was a rash decision. Plain and simple - I didn't care to research and wanted to get away from family.

L_William: Thanks for replying. A friend of mine was devastated after failing it once but he is practicing now after retaking it February of 2015.

Contracts was the most difficult. I complained to school about my LRW professor who I did okay with first semester but not so 2nd. I was so upset with her after meeting with her about my 2nd semester final....I complained, as did many others, to the dean about her and learned 2 months later from my former classmates that she was forced to retire. No connection with students and played favorites with male students (she was disturbingly cougar ish). I was one of many complainants about her attitude/behavior.