Confused Sophomore...please help

<p>hey everyone. this is my first time posting on this forum and well i have a few questions maybe someone can answer.</p>

<p>first off: i know it's early for me to be thinking about these things (being a sophomore and all) but my concerns are not "out there" i mean everyone thinks of the future at one point.</p>

<p>ok so: </p>

<p>college: brown
gpa: n/a (we don't have them) but technically they get establsihed through some law data base with lsdas. if you had to make a ROUGH calculation it is right now at a 3.5</p>

<p>extra curr: honor board with brown (student court kinda)
2 other programs that i take part in as well.
THINKING about pledging a lit society at brown. either adphi or st.anthony's and joining/applying (first) for 2 mentoring programs (for freshmen)</p>

<p>recs: have really good relationships with 2 professors (both of whom have already written recs for other programs i'm applying to)</p>

<p>so i know it comes down to the lsat and "gpa" (only used "" for my circumstance) am i on the right track? i would like to go to law school somewhere in california. maybe a catholic one. i saw a web site for u. san diego. looked cool. </p>

<p>any other thoughts?</p>

<p>ohh i also read a lot of the entering class takes some time off before heading off into law school. i was thinking about this when i read this and asked myself what i could do for 2 years? so 2 things came up...</p>

<p>teach for america</p>

<p>alliance for catholic education.</p>

<p>both 2 year program. with the ACE program u get a free m.ed. out of it. with teach for america you get at least a teaching certif. maybe a masters depending where u go. </p>

<p>being a hispanic male i know it's going to be tough. any suggestions?</p>

<p>First suggestion: consider why you want to go to law school. As you can read from other threads on this board, it's not necessarily a picnic. It's also expensive.<br>
I don't recommend anyone going to law school unless they would like to be a lawyer or in a profession in which detailed knowledge of legal principles or the legal way of thinking is necessary. So why are you, specifically, thinking of going to law school?</p>

<p>i want to go to law school b.c growing up i had to make hard choices. i've been on my own since 14 (now 20) and raised a little brother since. choosing between eating for myself and for him were some of the things going through my mind. paying for school clothes. by joining teams like the swim team we were able to stay out of trouble (and we did well to boot). i wana become a lawyer so other kids (as i have an interest in child's rights) don't have to make the same choices i once had to make.</p>

<p>Brownbarbour: so you have a good reason for wanting to become a lawyer. Excellent.</p>

<p>I'm going to assume (but correct me if I'm wrong) that you want to go to law school in California either because you're from Caifornia or because you want to move there to practice law (or perhaps you're tired of the Eastern winters). If you're looking for a Catholic law school, there are a number in California besides San Diego: Santa Clara, University of San Francisco, Loyola (Los Angeles), Pepperdine. All of them are good schools. To determine the likelihood of your being accepted you need to check data on GPA and LSAT scores for entering freshmen at these schools - and then recheck as time goes by because it can change from one year to the next.</p>

<p>From what I read on these boards, GPA and LSAT are far and above the most important factors in law school admissions - far and above (and GPA includes factoring in what school you attended). The essays apparently are next. Choice of major is much less important and ECs are probably irrelevant unless they relate to your essay. So concentrate on getting the best grades that you can and the best LSAT score that you can when the time comes.</p>

<p>Remember also that financial aid for law schools is not nearly as available as it is for college - and from what you say you don't or won't have the resources to fully fund your own legal education. So you will need to look into whether scholarships are available at the law schools you're interested in, as well as whether law school costs will be at least partly forgiven if you go into practice in a nonprofit or legal aid situation.</p>

<p>Delaying going to law school from college is done for several different reasons including uncertainty about going to law school, need to save some money first, etc.</p>

<p>Lots of things to think about, but plenty of time to think. Best of luck to you</p>