@bjkmom Luckily for me, many top schools offer generous financial aid.
I know the profiles of the schools I am applying to, I think most people that ask “what are my chances” do as well, I was posting for advice/confidence boost or something. It’s hard to think about these topics by myself and that’s why I wanted to share with College Confidential.
Your focus should be raising GPA at a school - probably one you are at now - without taking on debt. Law school is expensive.
One problem I see with transferring multiple times is that you are starting over with new set of professors, etc. If recs from professors count, you should get to know some of your favorites. Some professors won’t write recs if you haven’t taken multiple classes from them. So along with grades, I would spend time at office hours developing those relationships. You can do that at any school. My D had great personal relationships with professors even at large state University.
But if school one was so academically beneath you, why don’t you have straight As? It sounds like you regret school one, but having left there, you should not have transferred to a school that you were not happy to attend. Regardless of your reasoning, three schools in three years is not a good look.
I think your goal is not realistic. I think you will have a hard time getting into the schools on your list. I wouldn’t spend time studying for the ACTs. Your current GPA will be the most important thing.
"-which means straight A’s from now on- "
Exactly the right thing to focus on!
Up to now we are reacting to a GPA of 3.5 and a desire to get into Harvard or another top school. If you get A’s from now on, that opens up a whole new range of options including very top universities for law school.
@AroundHere When I stated my HS GPA, I didn’t mention discipline and time management skills. I lived with a single mother that often did not have time to watch me, and so that resulted in poor discipline. I believe my capacity/potential was beyond my previous school, but I still need to work on those fundamental skills I mentioned earlier (like anybody, but particularly for me).
I do agree that OP should just stay at CU and not transfer again. My nephew recently graduated from a school that has about the same ranking as CU Boulder. He had just over a 3.0 in an easy major and a pretty high LSAT score. He was accepted at several Top 20 law schools and is starting next month.
@eh1234 is right. A 3.5 can raise to a 3.7 with a some heavy effort. At that point it would be up to your LSAT score. Yes being URM will help but not as much as you think, don’t rely on it so heavily.
Transferring is risky as transitioning to a more rigorous school might be detrimental to ones GPA.
You’re blaming your single mother for your lack of discipline in high school? Oy!
Wait … you’re now at CU Boulder? That’s a great school! Focus on getting involved in the honors program right where you are. Much better option than another transfer.
@scmom12 That’s very true. But if all goes well I can get a biglaw job out of law school, which pays a healthy amount. I know there aren’t a plethora of biglaw jobs in the market, but I’m taking an investment risk. I’m betting that I’ll get into one of the T14 law schools (where biglaws recruit).
As for the professor relationships, that’s totally true. And that’s another risk I’m taking. Most likely, I won’t get to transfer again into the schools I want to attend. That won’t be the end of my life lol, then I can develop relationships w/ professors.
@itsgettingreal17 I know how it sounds, but my parent’s divorce really wrecked my life… Not trying to get into details, but you’d have to understand the context of my situation.
@eh1234 Yeah!! Good for him, and thanks for sharing.
@itsgettingreal17 you wouldnt have said something so snarky if you have experienced what OP and many others have. Parents are the driving force of a childs future. So yes blame can be placed there. Excelling at 13-18 is hard to do without great support.
@harvardlaw2023
Again I think you focusing to much on prestige. The vast majority of graduates of top 35 law schools make well over $100,000 that’s more than enough to pay back loans efficiently.
@VANDEMORY1342 Prestige isn’t everything, but I think it’s an important factor. From what I know, name-brand degrees “help open doors.” I know it’s not healthy or wise to focus on it, but I just can’t help to consider it.
What do you think?
Harvard law accepted students from 188 different undergraduate institutions last year, so it doesn’t require a top name undergrad to get in.
http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/hls-profile-and-facts/
@itsgettingreal17 lol u got owned
@AroundHere haha, I am all too familiar with that web page! What worries me is the large fraction of students that take gap years in between UG and LS.
@VANDEMORY1342 I wouldn’t be so optimistic about law school. Where are those stats coming from? Please provide the links. There are a LOT of starving lawyers out there and the market for new hires is very bad right now. Plus law school is very expensive with little aid
@ceilingroofgoat
Doesn’t perfectly coincide with what I wrote earlier, however if placement into Big law is this good (in this economy) than I could bet non Big-Law had good pay for these graduates. As you can see there’s some funky names on this list that are clearly not top 30 schools.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=275408