<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I plan on applying to law school for Fall 2015. My LSDAS GPA is 3.68. I took the LSAT last year and scored 152. I know that sucks, but I didn't study and don't know why I even took it without studying. It was a BAD choice. I am re-taking it in December and hope to bump up to at least 155. LSAT is clearly not my strong suit. I'm aware GPA+LSAT is all that really matters, but I'll also throw out there that I graduated in 2 and a half years, worked 3 jobs and held a leadership position in 2 clubs during college.</p>
<p>Unfortunately after I graduated, I had a major surgery and a very long recovery period. I graduated in December, surgery in February, and I am still recovering now. I will probably not be fully recovered (and by that I mean able to be independent, hold a job, leave the house on my own, etc.) until early next year. So it's basically going to be somewhere around 12-14 months of no job and no school. I obviously intend to explain this in a letter or perhaps my essay, but do you think this is going to look bad on my application? I hate having this huge gap, but my health had to come first. Even though I wasn't able to work or go to school, I did hold 3 online internships (all social media and marketing internships for non-profits) that I hope will prove that I'm not lazy and that I push myself even though I've had an awful year.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. </p>
<p>I’m not quite understanding what an “online internship” is (did you just work remotely?), but as long as you have something on your resume during this period, it shouldn’t matter. I would be more concerned about your LSAT score. Even with a 155, I would really think long and hard about whether or not law school is the best use of your time and tuition money. I would probably lean towards working or getting a different graduate degree.</p>
<p>Yes, sorry they were work from home internships. </p>
<p>Admissions won’t care about your leadership positions or jobs (except for Northwestern, which likes work experience). The only things they care about are GPA and LSAT. 3.68 isn’t bad, and with work there’s no reason you can’t get a 152 into at least the mid 160s. With a 165 you have a very reasonable shot at a T14.</p>
<p>normally, I concur with Demo, but not this time.</p>
<p>Without a big hook, a 3.68/165 ("mid 160’s) has a very little chance at at the T14 since both numbers are below median at all schools but Cornell. (Big Red has a 3.66 last year, if I recall, but who knows what it will be this year.)</p>
<p>Absent other awesome stuff on the resume, both numbers below median = very poor chance at a T14 (IMO). To me, a “reasonable” shot would be a 168+, and that is highly unlikely starting from a 152.</p>
<p>LSAT and GPA is all that generally counts and they don’t tend to care about the reasons why it isn’t as high as it could be otherwise. </p>
<p>@bluebayou: His odds aren’t [url=<a href=“http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Law-School-Predictor-Full-Time-Programs.htm]great[/url”>http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Law-School-Predictor-Full-Time-Programs.htm]great[/url</a>], but if he gets a 165 or better and applies early in the cycle, a T14 admission is not out of the question. UT/Vandy/UCLA are also decent options that place reasonably well. That’s especially true if the number of LSAT takers continues to decrease.</p>
<p>The best advice I have does not even answer the question, but here goes: once you heal from surgery, take some time off to work, get some experience under your belt, and then apply to law school. It is a marginal factor in law school admissions (although work experience will show what you’re capable of and will make your current downtime less important), but a large factor in your psyche. You raced through college, are now going to have surgery, then go through the fun of the law school application process, presumably spend three years working your butt off, take the bar exam (which makes the LSAT look like a joke), and then work until you retire in one of the most stressful professions in America. </p>
<p>In the interests of you not being a complete train wreck of a human, enjoy a year or two healthy, working, and without law school, the bar exam, or working to not starve hanging over your head.</p>