<p>I'm 39 years old and received my undergraduate degree in Broadcasting 16 years ago, and I have been strongly considering the prospect of enrolling in Law School. </p>
<p>Here's the problem, my undergraduate performance was poor and unremarkable. It was a difficult time in my life and I believe I graduated with something close to a 2.4 GPA. It feels like a lifetime ago now and, like most serious-minded adults in their late 30's, I bear little resemblance to the young man who failed to take his education seriously the first time around.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if a well-reputed law school will take the elapsed time into consideration, especially if I perform VERY strongly on the LSATS this October as I intend to. My top choice school at this time would probably be Rutgers/Newark. Can anyone provide objective feedback on my chances and what else I could do to be a seriously-considered candidate?</p>
<p>Your GPA is going to hurt you obviously. It rules you out at the “top schools.” However for a school like Rutgers-Newark, a strong LSAT can get you admitted. By that I mean a high 160s LSAT. Really, it all comes down to your LSAT at this point. Explore lawschoolnumbers.com and search for applicants with similar GPAs to get a feel for what you are facing.</p>
<p>Most likely, even with a 180, you’re completely shut out of the top 14 and probably have a low chance with the top 20-25. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, most lawyers who make it “big” (meaning 6 figure salaries), must graduate at the top of their class at a t14 school (exceptions are yhs of course where most of the class gets employed by top firms)</p>
<p>If such a big salary isn’t a target for you, then you could go to a lower ranked law school. But keep in mind, even finding a lower pay job is difficult in the current legal market, and it may not be worth all the debt you will go into.</p>
<p>You could consider business school though. Most graduate business schools don’t care about GPA as much, and focus on work experience and GMAT scores. You can explain how you evolved and matured as a person, and business schools will take that into account. Since law schools are so heavily numbers driven, even if you do write in a addendum about your transformation, they may not weigh it heavily.</p>
<p>To the OP, you are contemplating a huge life change as you approach middle age. None of the posters on here (including me) know how Rutgers will look at your application. Why not contact them and test the waters to find out what you can do to maximize your chances?</p>
<p>Further, we do not know of your ambitions, what kind of law you want to practice. If you have a solid background in a professional career, I imagine that would put you in a good position to find any number of law jobs after law school, particularly if they relate to the field you’re already in. Not the highly compensated ‘big law’ jobs in all likelihood, but there are many other kinds of legal jobs out there. Still, you should know that the legal profession is undergoing cataclysmic changes. Many students graduate from law school and struggle to find work these days. That is a risk you must carefully consider.</p>