Pollux
Member
Good luck, man. I really do hope everything works out for ya.
Law School & Lawyer GAF
- Thread starter SD-Ness
- Start date
Good luck, man. I really do hope everything works out for ya.
Seraphinianus
Banned
Thanks!
also, for anyone who might think they want to do the same thing but aren't in completely dire straits, keep in mind I'm 6th from the bottom of my class at john marshall in chicago, i.e. a death sentence that precludes me from even applying to places, and also an indicator that my heart and mind were seriously not in it. The work really does get super easy, but when you're mentally frozen, it just doesn't matter, which I understand better now than in all my life. I really should've dropped out after I got a 1.75 in 1L. also, everything about my experience has made me hate the industry with a passion. So, if you still have decent grades and are actually able to places, keep at it.
Jesus. Best of luck. What are you going to do now?
Seraphinianus
Banned
back to community college to take math classes to get up to calc 2, then applying to comp sci programs at UIC and urbana, neiu if I fuck up those math courses, which I won't. which is the program I should've done way back when and what everyone told me to do, but I was pretty idealistic and well fed at the time, so I went for sociology > law school. all in all, it was a fun and enlightening detour.
Like I said, good luck. At least you've got a good topic for your grad school entrance essay.
Seraphinianus
Banned
going for a bachelor's actually (lower entrance reqs, easier to get into, same job opps, cheaper.) haha, I could write a book on it, but I'm hoping I can talk with the admissions people enough to show them that it was just an unfortunate experience that requires little explanation in light of As in math courses and a demonstrated head start on the subject.
anyway, i don't want to derail or attention whore....I appreciate the wishes, it's been hell these past few years.
Use what, his death? Or whatever an examination of his brain reveals?
Seraphinianus, good luck to you, ya brave bastard. I actually flunked out my first semester (1.15 GPA), re-enrolled and eventually graduated. Should have took flunking out as a sign, this debt isn't worth it for me personally. On the same page as you with just being disgusted with the profession and my classmates in general.
Transferring to where?
ZackieChan
Member
I may be transferring to a T-4 after this Corporations final tomorrow...
Pollux
Member
Uh, have a list of like 20 schools and I doubt you want the whole thing but I want to get back to the South. I was planning on transferring to Northeastern, but with me and the GF heading for a breakup after 4 years...I think I just need to get out of Boston. So, back to the South it is.
lol sarcasm? Or serious? Torts is melting my brain and I just can't tell anymore
you're in Boston? Cool. is it just a location thing, or are u looking to swap up schools?
I'm assuming he means Tier-4.
Cool. Aiming for anything south of Tennessee?
Pollux
Member
Uhm...A bit of both. I had pretty good LSAT scores and my GPA soph.-senior year was like a 3.25 (so not stellar but not terrible), but b/c of freshman year which was like a 1.9, I had a cumulative GPA of like 2.8 or something. Cut off that freshman year and I wouldn't be where I'm at now. But the main reason I stayed in Boston was for the GF. With that ending...ya know.
I just need to reset. So if I can get back to the South, and move up from the shit tier I'm currently in that would be awesome. If I can get back to the South period, that would be acceptable. If I can just get out of Boston to reset...I wouldn't complain.
Hope that made sense....
Including Tenn.: The rest of the SEC (excluding Arkansas and the Mississippi schools), Tulane, Loyola New Orleans, Richmond, Miami. I think that's it for south of Tenn.
What's your GPA and class rank currently?
Pollux
Member
Not a clue, we have year long classes for 1st year. 1st semester is worth 20% of our grade, and 2nd semester is worth 80% of our grade. I only have 2 final grades so far. B in Crim, and a B+ in Legal Writing. 1st Semester I think I had a 3.0 on the dot...
I'm guessing that's not a good sign for my transfer prospects?
Dude Abides
Banned
Good luck zmoney. Boston legal market is saturated anyway.
In New York news, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals (NY's highest court) has announced that a condition of bar admission will be 50 hours of pro bono. Because if anybody can give poor people valuable representation, it's new law grads and law students with no experience! Those are our New York values. Wouldn't want to require actual lawyers to do pro bono, after all.
http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuter...o_bono_requirement_for_prospective_attorneys/
In New York news, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals (NY's highest court) has announced that a condition of bar admission will be 50 hours of pro bono. Because if anybody can give poor people valuable representation, it's new law grads and law students with no experience! Those are our New York values. Wouldn't want to require actual lawyers to do pro bono, after all.
http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuter...o_bono_requirement_for_prospective_attorneys/
Not so bad. I'm an alumnus of Alabama (J.D.) and Florida (LL.M., Tax), so if you want me to write you a LoR to either of those schools, let me know.
Pollux
Member
Thanks Dude. I have my internship up here and then based on how the transfer apps go, I should be out of Boston. If I get rejected from everywhere, I can just stay where I'm at. I have nothing wrong with the school, I just need to get out to reset my life.
Thanks! GAF fo' life! I need to check on what they want as far as LOR's go (I think it's just law school profs for transfers and maybe employers) but I'll let ya know. Do most of the state schools give preference to instate residents? I saw that a couple did but I wasn't sure if they all did.
I don't think Alabama does, as we've made purposeful strides over the past decade to establish a "diverse" student population. I have no clue about UF.
I would think they would love out-of-state students as you guys pay higher tuition rates.
Edit: when are your applications due?
Makes sense. Good luck with whatever you decide, and let me know if I can help out in any way.
Hello, Lawyer-GAF.
Still an undergrad here and I'm looking at law schools.
I have a question. How much do factors outside of GPA and LSAT contribute towards acceptance? There's a prestigious law school a little north of me I've been looking at and for this year's class the 75th percentile for GPA was 3.69 which I am better than and a 169 LSAT, which I have yet to take.
I'm asking because I don't really have any good letters of recommendations to boost my portfolio and don't really envision myself meeting someone prior to graduation that would be a good letter of rec and I wanted to know if that would affect me if I can hit the 75th percentile for GPA/LSAT.
Thanks.
Also, I guess I have a second question. How hard is it to hit a 169 LSAT? I did pretty decent on the SAT without any studying, so would I be okay with lots of preparation or is 169 an insane score?
Still an undergrad here and I'm looking at law schools.
I have a question. How much do factors outside of GPA and LSAT contribute towards acceptance? There's a prestigious law school a little north of me I've been looking at and for this year's class the 75th percentile for GPA was 3.69 which I am better than and a 169 LSAT, which I have yet to take.
I'm asking because I don't really have any good letters of recommendations to boost my portfolio and don't really envision myself meeting someone prior to graduation that would be a good letter of rec and I wanted to know if that would affect me if I can hit the 75th percentile for GPA/LSAT.
Thanks.
Also, I guess I have a second question. How hard is it to hit a 169 LSAT? I did pretty decent on the SAT without any studying, so would I be okay with lots of preparation or is 169 an insane score?
Pollux
Member
Which school? B/c it really varies from school to school.
USC.
Pollux
Member
Basically. Although good recs can help out. But keep in mind a really good GPA can offset a mediocre LSAT score. By mediocre I mean right below the school's average.
Okay, awesome.
I edited in a 2nd question but I don't know if ya'll saw so I'll just ask again; I know it's really relative but how hard is it to get a 169 on the LSAT? I know 180 is perfect but is the average a lot lower than a 169?
Pollux
Member
Well, I walked in on test day and got a 163 without really looking at anything beforehand. I also decided I wanted to go to law school a few weeks before the LSAT date. But I would study my ass off if I were you, it's def. within reach.
That's encouraging. Thanks for your help.
Pollux
Member
Good luck! Keep us updated on how the application process goes, and all that stuff.
Hey Law GAF, almost done with my first year. It's been brutal and I'm not completely sure I would have gone had I known the sacrifices I was going to make, but I also know that I'm in it for the long haul and that it's probably where I belong.
It's definitely obtainable, especially if you spend time or money on a preparation course, but most importantly if you devote yourself to a routine over the summer and practice it. I slacked off, especially on logic games, and that hurt me, but if you prepare under timed conditions you'll figure out how to mitigate your flaws (and trust me, you will be better at some parts of the test than others).
I'll also say this about the SAT v LSAT: they're not comparable. I walked into the SAT and blew it away. The LSAT isn't like that. It's like law school itself... you'll think you know something but you're competing with the best and brightest and you'll find your limits.
Also, USC's pretty difficult to get into; good luck!
It's definitely obtainable, especially if you spend time or money on a preparation course, but most importantly if you devote yourself to a routine over the summer and practice it. I slacked off, especially on logic games, and that hurt me, but if you prepare under timed conditions you'll figure out how to mitigate your flaws (and trust me, you will be better at some parts of the test than others).
I'll also say this about the SAT v LSAT: they're not comparable. I walked into the SAT and blew it away. The LSAT isn't like that. It's like law school itself... you'll think you know something but you're competing with the best and brightest and you'll find your limits.
Also, USC's pretty difficult to get into; good luck!
SerArthurDayne
Member
All the answers above are correct. They get ranked on GPA and LSAT, so that is all they care about in reality. LSAT more, because it is easier to get GPA.
LSAT- I found it to be pretty easy. I felt that logic games were the hardest part, and my weakest point. I spent about two weeks studying only logic games, and did maybe 10 practice sections total. Worked for me as I believe I only missed one on the actual thing.
My advice- take a practice test, identify weaknesses, and then focus on those weaknesses only. Things like Reading Comprehension- don't bother. Maybe learn what they might do to trick you, but at this point in your life you aren't going to have an epiphany and suddenly comprehend reading as you never have before.
169 is a tough number to get. It is like 97th percentile right? You will have some dummies in there to fill out the bottom, but I have heard there are less people just taking the LSAT of late because they have no goals, so probably less than there have been.
Your practice test will probably put you in the ballpark, plus or minus a bit. Take one early, identify weaknesses. Take one after you practice and you will know what you are looking at.
Thank you all for the advice and knowledge! Seriously, this has been the most helpful thread I've ever experienced on GAF.
I just hit 66 units this semester, so I still have quite a ways to go before the application process, and I just started looking at schools, but this has definitely been really helpful. I'll make sure to be well prepared for the LSAT and hopefully I get my score to be somewhere around where I want.
Thanks again!
The score distribution varies from test to test, but the 50% percentile is usually around 150 or so. 169 is probably in the 95th+ percentile range.
And you can't really "study" for the LSAT in the traditional sense, since the test isn't drawing from any knowledge base you can conceivably develop. Practice tests are helpful, but they're more about giving yourself a feel for the questions that are on the test and putting yourself in a place where you can work through them without wasting too much time.
That said, I'd just take a few practice tests until you feel that you both have a handle on what the LSAT actually is and can reasonably finish all or most of the test in the time limit. My entire study plan comprised a few practice tests a day for the week before the test and I did fairly well, so it's not impossible to achieve a good score even with a limited time.
No problem man. I'm going to law school in SoCal as well (Pepperdine) so if you ever want any impressions, let me know.
I'd strongly consider taking a few years off between undergrad and law school. Nearly all of my friends from law school who went straight through wishes they had taken a few years. Unfortunately, most of them say as much because they hate being a lawyer and only went because they were unsure what to do with their lives immediately out of undergrad or didn't really understand the legal industry at all. Just think on it!
Frank the Great
Banned
definitely study the logic games thoroughly. i winged the LSAT and while i did well enough to get into a decent school (158 with a very high GPA) i really dropped the ball with the logic games. i had no idea what i was doing. there are all kinds of tricks and methods to learn to make them easier and you should really learn them.
i went into exams and standardized tests without studying my whole life but the LSAT (like law school exams) are a different beast.
i went into exams and standardized tests without studying my whole life but the LSAT (like law school exams) are a different beast.
elrechazado
Banned
This was the last page of my property exam. And no, I'm not kidding:
swag
This was the last page of my property exam. And no, I'm not kidding:
This meme has the potential for some humor, but this is not an example of that.
in general, there are definitely easier ways to make money than going to law school. however, for some, i think it's worth it to go. if you have a worthless degree, law school may be a decent choice. but only then, you should only go if you're going into a top 6 school, a top 14 with a scholarship, or a non top 14 that is the strongest school in its region with substantial scholarship. but be prepared to drop out if you are below the median of the class. just my opinion.
SerArthurDayne
Member
Where are you trying to go?
I assume first semester grades were kind to you?
Also, I don't recognize you anymore.
I assume first semester grades were kind to you?
Also, I don't recognize you anymore.
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