View Full Version : Graduate/Law School rotten GPA question - need some advice
foldedspace
07-16-2004, 02:05 AM
I graduated in 1993 with a Political Science degree. Now, at 34, I'd like to pursue law school. But my GPA is crummy (too much fun in college, I suppose). Should I:
1. Get a masters degree (prerequisites for an MBA in Technology would be 60 hours of work).
2. Get a second bachelors degree in CS or similar (related to current field, network admin, but will anything transfer after 10 years?)
3. Just take a couple of years of undergraduate CS courses (still useful in and of themselves to my current career) to bump my cumulative GPA, score well on the LSAT and pray?
I'm thinking a second degree, bachelors or masters, will be viewed somewhat separately from my first degree, while extra undergraduate courses will just be lumped in with the rest.
rogrees
07-16-2004, 02:41 AM
As a recent law school graduate, I can tell you that you should avoid it at all costs...do anything else that can earn you a living. But if you insist on going to law school, don't worry about bumping your undergrad GPA. Just get a decent LSAT score, 165 or higher, and you'll be able to get into any second tier school, possible even some of the lesser first tier schools. But again, my advice is to run the other way.
--rogrees
PS. If any of you know of a law firm that is hiring in the Los Angeles area, please let me know.
foldedspace
07-16-2004, 02:54 AM
I've heard this from other law students. What turned you off? And how much can a great LSAT score offset a cruddy GPA?
rogrees
07-16-2004, 03:27 AM
The work load in law school is just not comparable to any work done so far. Granted, it's not medical school, but if you wanted to be a doctor you'd be there already, right? There is so much in law school that is just completely pointless. None of it prepares you for the realities of practice, save one or two legal writing courses. In addition, nothing in law school prepares you for the bar exam. Basically, all law school accomplishes is three years of indoctrination of common law theories that aren't followed anymore.
But seriously, I really am glad I did it. I wouldn't have let anyone talk me out of it either. Just know that if you don't keep up, you better be happy with a bottom 50% graduation rank. It definitely worth it if you wanna do anything to increase your earning power. But if I could have earned $65,000 or $70,000 before law school, I never would have done it. Unfortunately, though, I graduated with a philosophy degree instead of listening to my mother and getting a CS degree.
--rr
IIIsynthtaxIII
07-16-2004, 05:48 AM
Is is common knowledge that your LSAT scores are more important than your GPA? My friend wrote the DAT this year and was not granted interviews at a few really good schools because her GPA wasn't stellar (not bad though), even though out of 6 (I think) sections on the DAT, she scored as the top person in Canada on 2 sections! Apparently, University of Toronto dental school only considers the DAT scores after they weed people out by GPA... But she got into Western, which was her first choice anyway, so no harm done. Competition in Canada for law, medicine and dental is BRUTAL! I don't know how it compares to the situation in the US though.
foldedspace
08-08-2004, 04:44 PM
The info I've been getting says that the LSAT is a lot more important than GPA....but that's not to say that grades don't matter. They DO. Fortunately for me, since I've been out of school for a while, the standardized test will count a lot more towards admissions...that is as long as I get a 160 or higher. ;)
Now the problem is choosing full time programs vs. part time. Full time would be better, but finding a way to actually do that and survive is something I haven't come up with yet.
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