<p>I'm wondering if I can get some no-s**t analysis from you about my possible chances of getting into a reasonably decent law school (or any at all for that matter). The only variable remaining is my LSAT score (for which I'm starting a Kaplan prep course starting in a few days with hopes of taking the LSAT in October). I understand that this score alone is a major factor, but I am curious nonetheless. Here's some quick information about me, LSAT score nonwithstanding:</p>
<p>-3.5 GPA (BS in Finance)
-31 years old
-Current military pilot in Guard (AH-64D Longbow, AH-64A Apache & UH-60A/L Blackhawk)
-Good Letters of Recommendation
-Very dynamic person
-Wanting to get accepted into a Dual MBA/JD program</p>
<p>Any thoughts you guys/gals have on this topic would be well taken and greatly appreciated. Thank you and I hope to hear from you!</p>
<p>The LSAT is about 60% of the application for most schools. Which means the only variable in your application is by far the most important factor in determining where you can get into. With your GPA and W/E you could get into all but 3 schools in the country with an appropriate LSAT score. So honestly, everything comes down to your LSAT. Get a 175+ and you will likely be in at Columbia or Chicago. And as your LSAT score goes down the rankings of school you’ll be able to get into go down.</p>
<p>Law schools do not care about work experience. It only matters to business schools. Law school is A LOT of work and I personally would not recommend doing a dual JD/ MBA.</p>
<p>With the information given, you are competitive for both law school and business school. As said before, your LSAT and GMAT scores are the determining factor in the quality of school you can go to. Your military experience should be very appealing to business schools.</p>
<p>Make sure that you can justify spending the time and money to complete both degrees. If your goals only require one, that may be a better option for you.</p>
<p>Here’s Homer again, spewing his factually incorrect garbage. Law schools do care about work experience, some significantly more than others. Northwestern practically requires it unless you have high numbers.</p>
<p>Homer has a tendency to exaggerate the truth rather severely. Work experience matters at all schools and, as LSU mentions, is practically required at Northwestern. It makes a moderate to large difference at Yale, Stanford, and Berkeley. And even at all other law schools, it can be a big deal as a tiebreaker.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Homer is sort of in the right direction. Work experience is far less important than LSAT and GPA.</p>
<p>If I were to get a reasonably good LSAT score, with the other information above (including work experience), do you think I would have a good shot at getting into Northwestern?</p>
<p>I thought that a dual program would make me a little bit more competitive–especially in the corporate environment.</p>
<p>I mean, at this point you just need to start sitting down and getting a real sense of precisely how well you’re doing on the LSAT. You might be eligible for Columbia Law, or you might not be able to get into law school at all. At this point there’s really no way to say.</p>
<p>There are some situations in which a JD/MBA can come in handy. And it is just one extra year. On the other hand it complicates your admissions process considerably. If you just want it to be “a little bit more competitive,” it’s probably not worth it.</p>
<p>Hey Polo08816 - Thank you. I’m a WO (currently a CW2). I could have gone to OCS to get commissioned right off the bat, but I wanted to be able to get–and keep, the flying time. What state are you from? Good to hear from you as well.</p>
<p>Quick question for you, if you get a moment:</p>
<p>If I were to get a law degree, and went OCS soonafter, would the Guard have some sort of spot for me as a dual-rated aviator/jag officer (kind of like some of the other branches)?</p>
<p>If you were to get a law degree, I believe they would give you a Direct Commission as a JAG Officer but in most cases you would have to resign your Warrant Commission. You would not need to attend OCS. However, many JAG Officers were former traditional branch officers. It’s a strange process and system with more hoops/hurdles than anyone could have imagined. Line and Paragraph numbers aren’t that flexible in the Guard.</p>
<p>You really need to get with both your OSM, State Aviation Office, as well as the State JAG. The real question is do you want to be JAG in the Guard because it’s certainly not like Active Duty. Many states can’t hold Courts Martials so most JAG Officers are doing strictly admin/paperwork related to discharges. </p>
<p>You should however consider if there may be any Inspector General vacancies in your state since they work closely with the TAG and your JD could become of value, but again most IG that I know are MAJ and above. We all know that once you hit CPT, your seat time drops significantly.</p>
<p>The best scenario I can think of is that you hold an AGR position as an IG but drill with the Aviation unit. You’ll be an O and that requires you to have completed OCS, but you can’t really hold an O line/paragraph (JAG) and be a WO/CW at the same time. I’ve never seen it done.</p>