Hello, I come from a fairly large and poor public school. I am now a freshmen at Stanford University. and have been struggling incredibly. I am projecting to get an A, B, and a C in my courses this quarter, worst case scenario. The C could possibly be in my multivariable calculus class, although I currently have a B-. I am striving towards an A and 2 B’s. I have been focusing too much on math, which is in part why I have the second B. Due to my lackluster grades and low GPA, do you think I can still get into a top tier law school? I feel as though these horrible grades and their drag on my GPA will haunt me down the road, harming my application. This has honestly been so disheartening, but I know that I CAN do better next quarter. I just feel as though I have ruined my future already and its barely my first quarter.
I don’t think your career is over, but what can you do about it anyway? Those are your grades. You can just try to do better.
a couple of C’s will probably kill your chances at Yale and Stanford, but every other law school is wide open. Since you are at undergrad on The Farm, you must be a good test taker. Thus, with some prep, you should be able to clear 17x on the LSAT. With a high LSAT, you can still get some merit money for LS.
Since that test is ~50% of LS admissions, you still have plenty of time. Relax and do the best you can. Go to office hours. Go to TA study sessions. Focus on finals.
Nothing is ruined. Good luck.
This will be one quarter, the first, of 12. The class in which you are struggling may not be relevant to law school. Don’t sweat it.
I find your post sad. You worked so hard to get to Stanford and now it’s all about what comes next? Learn what you can, including about yourself, during your undergraduate years. I applaud you for taking a challenging math class and working hard at it. And it sounds like you have learned a great lesson about allocating time to classes. You are clearly a hard worker so enjoy the ride. (And spend Friday night cheering for your team!)
From what advise I’ve seen seasoned posters here give, don’t be focusing too much on going to law school. You may end up somewhere else. The point of undergrad is to experience a multitude of different opportunities and be open to options. Do your best and try to enjoy your time there.
I had lackluster grades, not just my first quarter, but my whole freshman year of college (including in calculus). I brought my grades up after that, worked for a few years after college, got a good LSAT score, and got into a top-3 law school.
There’s no point in getting stressed this early. Do your best to get good grades, explore some career options, and if you ultimately decide to go to law school, give it your all on the LSAT. Try to enjoy being an undergrad at Stanford – life goes fast.