Hello all. I am a pre-dental bio major, chem minor who wants to go to law school. I am currently a senior and have a 3.0. I am taking a really difficult biology class and long story short I might receive a D in the course(I will get B’s for all my other classes this semester and I still have a semester left after this). I have never received a D before and it is a really scary thing for me. I worry about it constantly and I have no idea how it will affect my chances to get into a law school. I haven’t taken the LSAT yet and I am in Texas and will honestly take any law school that would accept me in the state. Could anyone be kind enough to give me any insight or advice on how to deal with this and thank you all in advance.
@bio_chem, just to let you know that I’m not an attorney nor have I been to law school. I have been doing some research and I know that there is an addendum where you can specifically address any flaws on your academic record should you want to give some information regarding your grades. It would be important for you though not to make excuses for your grade and take accountability for it. So that’s one way of dealing with it. I’d research this and get more insight on how to write an effective addendum.
I would encourage you to think more about why you want to now be a lawyer since you were pre med your entire college career. You may need some time to really think about your future and as I have heard here before, Law School isn’t going anywhere.
You worrying so much isn’t really helpful to you. If you have a 3.0 or lower this will impact your admissions but it’s important to focus on your next semester and do your upmost best to raise your GPA. Your GPA is what it is.
You don’t want any law school that will accept you in Texas. You need to find a good fit for you if you decide to apply. You need to give yourself some time to research this. It’s not a good sign to sound desperate.
Regarding the LSAT- I would not necessarily focus on it now because you need to focus on your GPA first. Once you can raise it to the best of your ability then study for the LSAT and don’t take the test until you are ready.
I’m in Texas too! If you’d like any of the info I’ve collected about Texas law schools just pm me.
Law school admissions is 95-99% two numbers and two numbers only: GPA+LSAT. Generally, the LSAT is weighed a little heavier of the two. For example, UT-Austin, top school in the state, has the following two medians: 167, 3.7. To have a decent shot, you’ll need to clear 167.
Just bcos you can get into South Texas College of Law (3.1/151) doesn’t mean that you should attend. And you certainly should not attend unless it was free, and that is bcos South TX has an employment score of 59%. In other words, 40% of its grads do not have a job requiring the JD for which they just spent three years of their lives. A&M has similar results.
Unless there are extenuating circumstances – parent died this semester — one D is not worth writing an addendum. It is a waste of the app reader’s time.
don;t worry about LSAT until after graduation. If you cannot clear 16x on the LSAT, you should not attend law school (IMO).
Alternatively, change your major to Chem, even if you have to extend undergrad, which would improve your chances at finding a legal job in IP. (Physical sciences top bio sciences easily.)
Law school grads who practice in Texas: