<p>OK this is a hypothetical question, but please humor me. I will be attending a Top 15 B-School starting this fall. The school in question also has a top 15 law school. I did my undergrad at the same school in the engineering school (a top 5-10 engineering school). You can probably guess the school by now, but I'm going to try to preserve at least some anonymity. </p>
<p>I majored in biological & environmental engineering, and did the pre-med track. Even though I had no plans of becoming a doctor, I liked the challenge. I wasn't a bad student, but I took a very difficult course load (18+ credits every semester) and ended up with a 2.97 GPA (actually still barely above the mean for my major).</p>
<p>Since school I've had a successful career at a well know biotech. I scored high 750+ on the GMAT and got myself into b-school despite my low GPA. Now I have become somewhat interested in attempting a dual JD/MBA. I recently scored 177 on the LSAT. </p>
<p>I would be applying next year with one year of b-school grades under my belt. I know UG GPA and LSAT are basically all that are considered in law school admissions (unlike the "hollistic" b-school admissions process). Assuming I can pull decent marks in my first year of b-school (A's), would I have a chance at admission to the law school with a 2.97 GPA and 177 LSAT, or should I be happy with the MBA?</p>
<p>I don't know anything about engineering. Top 15 in both JD and MBA:
Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, Penn, Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Northwestern, UCLA.</p>
<p>Honestly, it depends on which of those schools you're talking about. You're never getting into Harvard; you have an okay shot at Northwestern, with everything in between. Maybe somebody who knows a little more about engineering can help, since they'll have a narrower list of schools to answer from.</p>
<p>Law school adcoms are more than robots. They will certainly consider your Business School grades or any other advanced studies. I am not sure precisely what you are asking, but if you are asking whether law school adcoms will ignore your undergraduate grades and focus on your MBA grades, the answer is no. They will weigh the undergraduate and graduate work as they deem appropriate. Are you sure you really want to get a JD/MBA (from a career standpoint) or are you just seeking another challenge?</p>
<p>The school in question is at the lower end of the top 15 for both MBA and JD. Post B-School I am looking to go into corporate finance, specifically M&A. I have a pretty generous fellowship to b-school, so that frees up the all the money I saved for tuition. I could put it toward a house, but I really like a challenge and think that the JD/MBA combo might give me a better shot at bulge bracket IB placement (whereas now I will probably have to go middle market or "boutique") or even placement with a decent PE fund. I do not intend to practice law. I would be devoting an additional two years to my education, but I feel that the potential benefits of the JD/MBA combo would be worth the opportunity cost. I am just wondering if a 2.97 UG GPA makes this idea a non-starter.</p>
<p>I don't know much about engineering, but I'm sure we can eliminate Chicago--which doesn't offer it as a major. I assume we can also eliminate Harvard and Yale. (Oops--I was typing when you posted your last message.) </p>
<p>Nobody can tell for sure...so go ahead and apply if you want to. I think the fact that you were a UG there may help IF you can come up with some great LORs from UNDERGRAD courses. Any you did particularly well in? </p>
<p>BDM is right when he says that it depends on the school. Northwestern weighs work experience more than most LSs, for example. </p>
<p>Overall though, I wouldn't be optimistic. Frankly, I don't think As in your first year B-classes will help much...unless you figure out a way to take a law school class for B school credit and impress some LS faculty member with your brilliance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the honesty. I don't think I will be able to secure very much in the way of LORs from undergrad professors as I've been out of UG for 7+ years now. I do believe that I will be able to take some LS classes, but despite being freakishly good at standardized testing I'm far from brilliant. Perhaps I should learn my lesson from UG and not overextend myself again.</p>
<p>I have to say, though, he managed to get into business school with the 2.97. There must be something right on his application. The multiple years of work experience help distance him from his undergraduate record and increase the importance of his b-school GPA. And I know business school cares more about work experience than GPA, but law school cares more about the LSAT than GPA, too.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how to advise the OP, here. 2.97 is awfully low, but he's got some other perks on the application too. Duke, UCLA, etc. have got to be salivating over a 177.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I majored in biological & environmental engineering
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</p>
<p>So you went to Cornell, where I highly doubt that the average GPA was below a 2.97. Your numbers should give you a shot at its law school, but your MBA grades won't help much, if at all. Everyone knows that B-schools give out A's like candy.</p>
<p>Doesn't your college have a rec "bank" or file? I graduated from college more than 30 years ago, but should I decide I want to go for a Ph.D. or something like that, my UG career services department could spew out 2 recs from profs from my UG file in about 5 minutes. My kid's alma mater does the same. </p>
<p>LOTS of people go back for degrees later on. That's why colleges have rec banks. Maybe yours does and you've just forgotten?</p>
<p>Well as someone correctly deduced, I went/am going to Cornell. When I said my GPA was above mean, I meant for my major, not my class (~3.2-3.3 is the average GPA school wide). My GPA as counted for my class rank may actually be higher than 2.97 which is the average for all my UG grades. I graduated with like 25 or so extra credits (not counting some AP credits from HS), and I'm sure if you picked best 130 or so out of my 150+ credits you could piece together like a 3.2 or 3.3 (even higher if you used some of those AP credits).</p>
<p>As far as getting into b-school, I had a few other things going for me other than my GPA: I am a registered professional chemical engineer (PE), I held a managerial position at a very well known and respected biotech firm, I had a GMAT score in the 99th percentile, and I've competed in a sport at the NCAA Division I and professional levels.</p>
<p>Thanks for the opinions everyone. I will likely apply see how the recruiting season goes this year. If I'm not landing the kinds of interviews I'm looking for perhaps I'll give the law school application process a shot.</p>
<p>You know, I have to say: I bet you'll get into the law school, should you choose to apply. I wouldn't be willing to give you good odds on it, but I think you'd get in. You did your undergrad there in a tough major; your LSDAS GPA might surprise you; you played in a sport to help explain the GPA; pro sports is... well, that's awfully cool; and you've got a 177.</p>
<p>You left out the most important fact the first time around--the varsity sport (plus the pro sports). THAT makes a huge difference. One of the FEW scenarios in which law schools cut someone slack on the gpa is when (s)he is in a tough major and plays a varsity sport.</p>
<p>And everyone loves the pro sports thing too. </p>