GPA 2.72, undergraduate. Forum

[notionsse]

Hello !

I’m an undergraduate from a university in China’s Mainland. I will graduate in June, 2023. My GPA is 2.72/4 (or 81/100). I have no internship or work experiences in any areas so far. I have been trying to overcome my mental illnesses since I became an undergraduate. Now I am so much better. I’m major at statistics. I haven’t take the LSAT test yet. If I get 165 or 170 or even 173, what kind of schools can I get admitted into with full scholarship ? I can't go there if I don't have any scholarship.


I don’t mind giving up on applying for a JD and just preparing to apply for a master degree in statistics or computer science. JD is not a second choice for me. I love to analyze news and speeches. That’s why I want to apply for JD.


I still love my major at statistics because I want to get the ability to analyze data. So maybe I will publish a paper in machine learning in the future. Would this help?


I also heard that JD applicants need to have enough work experiences in law areas. Is it true?


Thanks.

[notionsse]

Sorry for the title. I forgot to edit it well.

It should be : GPA 2.72, undergraduate. Should I continue to prepare to apply or should I just give up ?

[nealric]

Hello !

I’m an undergraduate from a university in China’s Mainland. I will graduate in June, 2023. My GPA is 2.72/4 (or 81/100). I have no internship or work experiences in any areas so far. I have been trying to overcome my mental illnesses since I became an undergraduate. Now I am so much better. I’m major at statistics. I haven’t take the LSAT test yet. If I get 165 or 170 or even 173, what kind of schools can I get admitted into with full scholarship ? I can't go there if I don't have any scholarship.


I don’t mind giving up on applying for a JD and just preparing to apply for a master degree in statistics or computer science. JD is not a second choice for me. I love to analyze news and speeches. That’s why I want to apply for JD.


I still love my major at statistics because I want to get the ability to analyze data. So maybe I will publish a paper in machine learning in the future. Would this help?


I also heard that JD applicants need to have enough work experiences in law areas. Is it true?


Thanks.

You really need to take the LSAT before we can provide much help for you regarding your prospects. A 2.73 is low, so you are going to have to apply as a "splitter" if you are able to get a high LSAT score. There may be some tier two or three schools that would be willing to give you a full scholarship with a high LSAT score.

One problem you may face is that the types of employers who are going to hire from tier 2/3 schools are generally not the type who will sponsor a visa. Typically, only large law firms will sponsor visas. Those firms typically only hire from schools ranked in the top 20 or so (or the very top of the class at lower ranked schools), and I'm fairly confident that even a 180 will not get you a full ride at a top 20 school with that GPA. Will local Chinese employers value a second or third tier JD from a U.S. school? I don't know the answer to that, but it's something you need to consider because there's a decent chance you would not be allowed to work in the U.S. after graduation.

It's also important to consider that a JD has little to do with analyzing the news. Of course reading comprehension is important (that's why its' on the LSAT), but the actual experience of law school and the practice of law is not that. What you are interested in sounds more like journalism or political science than law.

JD applicants do not need any work experience to be successful. It's mostly a numbers game. Publishing a paper on machine learning is not likely to have a significant impact on law school applications.

Finally, I hesitate to point this out, but it's relevant to potential law school plans: your English is mostly good, but it's not at the native-speaker level that you really want before attending a U.S. law school. So much of the law depends on fine nuances in language. Language may be a problem for both law school exams and the bar. Statistically, non-native English speakers are much more likely to have difficulty passing the bar.

[nixy]

As an international student, your UGPA won't get counted into schools' average GPAs for rankings purposes. It will get evaluated and will be given a ranking (superior, above average, etc.), but it doesn't have the same impact as an actual number will. It sounds like you won't get a superior and that may be a sticking point for some schools, but the biggest factor will be your LSAT, so aim as high as you can there. I think with a high enough LSAT you may have better options than someone with the equivalent US UGPA, although I can't say how much better.

Otherwise I'd echo everything nealric said, in particular about what a JD prepares you to do. I also think that job opportunities are generally much better in statistics or computer science (though I don't have personal experience in those fields).

[cavalier1138]

Just piling on here. The issue isn't your GPA (although it won't help you). The issue is that you don't seem to have any interests related to being a lawyer.