<p>I would like to confirm something I've noticed in this section of CC.</p>
<p>I'm currently a community college student (El Centro College - Dallas, Texas) planning to matriculate to Southern Methodist University as a Computer Science major/Business Admin. minor or a Business Admin. major/CS minor. I then plan to attend law school at the same university, the SMU Dedman School of Law.</p>
<p>Am I correct that community college students typically experience 'better' law school admission results when they have applied at least one year after graduating from the four-year degree-granting school? Why is this so?</p>
<p>Seeing as I'm currently a CC student, will I have better chances in law school admissions if I wait until I graduate (having acquired the degree and my GPA is 'finalized') and wait one year before applying to law school (also acquiring some professional work experience as a CS or BBA major)?</p>
<p>yes, you have seen some of us conjecture that it may be better to apply one year after graduating than during your senior year. The thought is that the law school will see 2 full year's gpa from a 4 year institution and may use that as a "more accurate" reflection of your overall gpa. If you applied as a college senior, the law school would see 2 years gpa from the community college and only 2 semesters from the 4 year school. So it may be better to have the full 2 years from the university calculated into your LSAC GPA.
Some people will also conjecture that a year or 2 work experience may make you a bit of a stronger candidate. Others here think WE doesn't help too much.<br>
Personally, I think solid Work experience can't hurt and may give your application a bit of a boost.
BUT- I think most of us will agree that your LSAT score is going to be the most important factor in terms of admission. If you can score 172 or higher, forget what I just said and apply in your senior year of college, if that is what you want to do. The higher your LSAT score, the more options you'll have.
Good luck.</p>
<p>I suppose it's best that I apply for law school at least a year after graduating from school. That will give the admissions team 4 regular semesters of academics to examine, including any academic work that I perform during summer school.</p>
<p>In addition, applying one year afterward will give me a 'break' (from the demands of a CS major) where I'll only be occupied with the professional duties of my daytime job. I will also have time to dedicate more towards preparation for the LSAT (to be taken during following winter after graduation), since the first time is the only score considered.</p>
<p>So, I'll have a minimum of work experience, finalized GPA, complete record of university academic performance, and more prep time for the LSAT.</p>