<p>Will I have a chance to get accepted into a top 14 law school? I have finished my freshman year at a no-name state school with a 2.7 GPA. The reason my GPA is so poor is because of lack of motivation and direction. When I was in high school I wanted to become a lawyer, then I wasn't sure if that is what I truly wanted as a career. I wanted to do something I am passionate about and I was worried that law would not be something I would look forward to doing everyday.</p>
<p>What changed my mind was that there is no other career I could think of that would suit my abilities yet pay well at the same time. I think I would make a great lawyer because I am very well spoken, I love to read and write, I'm organized and can relate to others on a professional level. </p>
<p>Should I work on improving my GPA and study for the LSAT or should I just not waste my time and look for something else? I'm sure I could get near perfect test scores if I'm motivated and driven to do so. I'm also planning on trying to find an internship or job at a law firm to see if this is what I really want to do.</p>
<p>Are ECs really important? If so, which ones in particular? </p>
<p>If I hypothetically get amazing scores, do I still have a chance at at top 14 school?</p>
<p>You are still ok provided that your GPA will get better. Work very hard and you can get a much better GPA. Try to get some 4.0's or near 4.0 to improve it. I finished my freshman year. However, mine went wonderful. I have a 3.9 cumulative right now. You need to try to crack a 170 for T-14's and you need to try to get like a 3.75 cumulative.</p>
<p>If you did amazingly well for your next 3 years (it's probably wise to apply after you've graduated so your application can reflect all of college and your freshman grades won't matter as much) and got a great LSAT score, it's certainly possible. As you realize, it's too early to be able to tell how things are going to turn out for you. The good news: plenty of people who don't go to T14 schools end up with legal careers. The path to certain types of careers is harder, but not impossible.</p>
<p>ECs and recommendations are not nearly as important as your GPA and LSAT score. They mostly serve to distinguish you from other people with similar grades and test scores. There are no particular ECs that are especially good. The best ones are the ones in which you show passion, innovation (can you create a new program or way of doing something?), and leadership.</p>
<p>^ If I apply after I've graduated, wouldn't that hinder my chances because I would need to explain what I did the year or semester between graduation and law school? I guess I would try to find something that will fill up that time, but I'm still wondering about this.</p>
<p>Also, I'm URM and female. How much does this affect my chances? I'm still going to put in as much effort into my scores as possible, but I'm just curious about this.</p>
<p>Applying after you graduated will do nothing but help your chances (assuming your senior year grades are higher than your freshman ones). Most people take time off between college and law school and they do all sorts of things during that time.</p>
<p>URM will help (if it's truly underrepresented in law school: essentially this means black, hispanic, or native american; not asian or middle eastern). female will matter little if at all. the top law schools tend to have about 45% women; men are the underrepresented ones at some (mostly lower-ranked) schools.</p>
<p>Sorry to be harsh, but if the best you could do at a no-name state university was a 2.7 without an explanation better than "lack of motivation and direction," I seriously doubt your chances of attaining the high grades and LSAT score needed for a top 14 law school. Law schools will interpret your excuse the same way I do: laziness.</p>
<p>I got a 2.8 first semester and almost have a 3.7 now, at the end of my junior year, so it can be done. Sometimes you need to screw up in a major way before getting motivated to get your **** back together. The fact that you did poorly for two semesters, and not just first semester, suggests that you're all talk and aren't actually that motivated. To be perfectly honest, I don't think you're going to get a stellar LSAT score if your cumulative freshman GPA at a no-name state school is a 2.7.</p>
<p>3.4 (second semester freshman year), 3.94, 3.76, 4.0, 3.75..and I took more credits than I did first semester in my sophomore and junior years. All As/A-s/A+s and one B+ after freshman year. All masters classes this semester, don't know if that counts for anything. I was also enrolled in all science classes first semester because I picked a major I didn't like, so the median grades were pretty low, to weed out prospective premeds. </p>
<p>While my GPA is decent, I'm aware that it's relatively low for the schools I'd like to attend, which is why I'm investing a ton of time into preparing for the LSAT. </p>
<p>Do you guys know if I can elect to send law schools my first semester grades for senior year? Would this count in my cumulative GPA?</p>
<p>At least I was being honest. I actually do have a good sob story, but I'm sure no one here is interested. To summarize it all; years of peers and authority alike telling you that you're retarded, insane or won't get anywhere because of your disorder tends to take a toll on you, and if you're told something long enough you tend to believe it after awhile.
I just didn't say anything because I don't believe in excuses. Why would I want to admit that my classmates ruined my chance of extraordinary success? I could write about it in a personal statement, but it just seems so manipulative, LOL.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3.4 (second semester freshman year), 3.94, 3.76, 4.0, 3.75..and I took more credits than I did first semester in my sophomore and junior years. All As/A-s/A+s and one B+ after freshman year. All masters classes this semester, don't know if that counts for anything. I was also enrolled in all science classes first semester because I picked a major I didn't like, so the median grades were pretty low, to weed out prospective premeds. </p>
<p>While my GPA is decent, I'm aware that it's relatively low for the schools I'd like to attend, which is why I'm investing a ton of time into preparing for the LSAT.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's really impressive! From a 2.8 to a 3.6.
I'm a rising sophomore at Penn, and although my freshman year GPA wasn't particularly awful or great, I hope I can really pull it up like you did! A 3-year GPA of 3.6 would be awesome!</p>
<p>You say that your GPA is a little low for the law schools you're looking at? If you can dominate the LSAT (170+) and have decent ECs/recommendations, I'd say you'd have a good shot at any school outside the top 5 or so. Granted, I don't have much experience regarding law school admissions, and of course a 170 on LSAT is no easy feat... But yeah!</p>
<p>I don't think you should be worried... With a lot of practice, you can probably hit upper-160s/low 170s, and that could possibly get you into Penn, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown... A bunch of great schools. :)</p>