I am currently a returning student; junior at Portland State University. My undergrad is in English, minor in writing with the focus on technical writing as a fall back career.
I am considering graduate school, specifically law school but not yet sure of my chances of getting in because of my age, today: 38, and GPA (currently 3.0 because of a horrible adminisrative mistake I made early in my return to school - I can explain more if necessary). I hope to raise my GPA by the time I graduate next spring. My grades so far at PSU have been As and Bs so I don’t think I will have a problem as I continue to raise my GPA.
What are my chances for law school, especially if I continue to raise my GPA over the next year?
If law is not a good idea, I will need to do more grad school research. I’m not interested in education (I will need to eventually pay all of this off) and I don’t have the “STEM brain”, I am horrible at math.
Feel free to ask me follow up questions!
Update: I did look in the FAQ thread which answered some of my questions, especially about the GPA. I think my question should be both here and in the Law School thread…
My main concern is mainly age now.
I don’t think a law school admissions office would even necessarily know your age unless you wrote about it or disclosed it. Even so, I don’t see why they would discriminate against you because of your age.
With a 3.0 GPA, admission to a good law school (the type worth incurring debt for) is unlikely. What was the error?
@Juliette, The error was on my part. Back in 2011, I did not drop two classes I enrolled in on time (I though I did, but it didn’t go though). Because I never attended the classes I though I dropped, I earned two Fs. When I tried to get it off my record at the community college I attended, it was too late.
Since admission is unlikely with a 3.0 GPA, knowing that saves me the time and the money applying and testing…
How much higher? That normally doesn’t matter much for law school.
There is a law school forum that can give you more tailored advice.
I would try to appeal and see if you can get the F’s turned to W’s. I went to grad school in my 30’s, lots of people do that, I don’t think it should be a problem.
Law schools won’t care about your age. Some employers may if they have concerns you will not be able to take orders from people younger than you. I’m not sure what you can really do to dissuade them of this prejudice, but it’s something you should be prepared for.
You need to do your best to fix that administrative error. You also want to pull your overall GPA up to at least a 3.5. Law schools will not know or care what your major GPA is. You’ll also need to prep hard for the LSAT to counteract the lower GPA.
More important than either of those is making sure law is right for you. Do you have firsthand experience with law such that you know you are well suited to it?
@socalmom007 and @Demosthenes49 - I tried to get them removed completely, but I missed their deadline. I will try to see if I can get them turned into Ws instead - good idea. Regarding my experience with law, its mostly limited to my experience as a legal secretary back in 1998- 1999 (very short period before I moved on to other industries) and my experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate - going into my 6th year so my experience is mostly in juvenile court in my local county.
@juillet - could the thread be moved to the law forum?
Law schools won’t really care about age. Law firms will, so be prepared for a significantly longer job search. Also, do you really want to be a junior associate in your 40s? It’s a brutal existence and something that I could barely tolerate when I was in my 20s, with lots more energy than now. So think of career options outside of law firms.
@HappyAlumnus “So think of career options outside of law firms.” That is something that I’ve been considering since learning here yesterday that my GPA probably will hold me back.
What do you want to do with a law degree? I have a colleague who is doing this now- a strong Latina with adult children who told me that she had always wanted to be an attorney but life happened ( got married young, had children, divorced, raised them as a single mom and went to college) and she would regret not doing it. She knew that she always had it in her to go after it when the time was right. It was just a lot later than for most people. Time goes by and you will be older with or without the law degree/grad degree.
@goingnutsmom I have always wanted to either work in civil rights or family/juvenile law, but I’ve been told many students change their focus while in law school. I have those goals but I am also open as I learn more about the practice and industry.
With my GPA, I may need to rethink all of it though.
I disagree. Plenty of them love non-traditional students. In that sense, age can be a plus factor, but only when the applicant has the big two numbers: GPA+LSAT.
Well, here’s the thing. If you could get your GPA up a little higher - maybe around a 3.3 or so - you could maybe get into a mid-tier law school. While those won’t get you a BigLaw job or a top-flight civil rights job (like ACLU or something), they may get you a job in family/juvenile law or at a smaller civil rights or nonprofit outfit. HOWEVER, the problem with mid-tier law schools is that they cost almost the same amount as the top law schools and don’t have the salary to match. You’d likely have to borrow somewhere in the ballpark of $120-180K for law school (at least - at many schools that’s only enough to cover tuition and fees, not living expenses), but your salary will likely be in the $50-80K range. If you do work public service you could use income-based repayment and public service loan forgiveness, but I wouldn’t rely on that - [eligibility has been dicey](Education Department Casts Doubts On Public Service Loan Forgiveness : NPR) and revoked for some people who thought they were doing qualifying work (including a lawyer working at a small civil rights outfit), and there’s no guarantee the program will continue under the current administration.
There are other ways you could work in civil rights or family/juvenile law. My sister-in-law got her MA in criminal justice and works as a correctional officer, for example, with an eventual goal of becoming a probation officer for juveniles. You could get an MSW and do social work with incarcerated or troubled youths or with families dealing with civil rights issues. You could get an MPP or MPA and work in policy or administration, either in government or nonprofits.
@juillet I am so glad I asked here because the more I learn, the more I am realizing law school is simply not realistic for me, especially due to where I started and the cost. After working as a CASA for six years, I know that getting a MSW is something I do not want to do. Our local DHS is less than stellar and I work with many social workers that are overworked and underpaid, I know off many who have left after a few years on the job. I didn’t mention this but I live with two chronic illnesses so I don’t know if being a probation officer or any type of officer is realistic for me.
MPP/MPA sounds more realistic, something I will do some research in. Thanks for all of your help and knowledge.
It sounds like you were able to sort all this out. Glad that there is more clarity in career goals! Good luck!!