<p>My son wants to join the ROTC program at college, which means after graduating from college, he will serve minimum 4 years. His current goal is to go to a law school after the military service. Since this has been his consistent plan during last few years, I am taking it seriously. Though he may change his mind, this is still the best data point we have.</p>
<p>His upcoming college application process then has to reflect this plan: a college with good ROTC program that will also prepare him well for the law school admission down the road.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that law school admission is all about GPA and LSAT score, more so than which undergrad college the applicant went. So much so that 3.8 GPA from a good college may be better than 3.2 from a top, top ranking college.</p>
<p>(1) Is this true over all?
(2) Is GPA still of paramount importance for law school applications with a few years of experience out of undergrad years?</p>
<p>If GPA is very important even for candidates with working experience, I would like to recommend that my son go to a college with perhaps less prestige but easier for him to manage. Given that he is expected to spend up to 20 hours a week for ROTC related activities, he needs a little break from a cut through academic competitiveness.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any feedback/insight from current law students/working lawyers who went to a law school a few years after graduation.</p>
<p>I’m a fairly recent law school grad, and in my opinion law school admissions is far more numbers driven than college. I’m not sure that law school adcoms give much weight to whether your gpa is from a higher or lower ranked school, but they do consider that certain schools are harder than others – they are well aware that getting A’s at the CalTechs/MITs is harder than at your local non-flagship state u. Keep in mind that law schools focus on numbers but not to the exclusion of your major; being a science, engineering, or business (math based like econ or finance) even with a slightly lower gpa can set you apart from a sea of political science and english majors.</p>
<p>As to your second question, I think it’s true that gpa remains paramount for top law schools no matter how long ago you graduated (and he’d only be 4-5 yrs out of college, not 15 yrs out). Law school is not like b-school, where often good experience can compensate for a lower gpa.</p>
<p>I am in the process of applying to law school. To answer your questions: </p>
<p>1) Yes. Quality of school means very little. A 3.8 from a no-name school will beat a 3.7 from most name brand schools. </p>
<p>2) LSAT is by far the most important factor. GPA becomes somewhat less important for applicants more than 1-2 years out of school, but it is still significant.</p>
<p>The major does not matter much. GPA and LSAT scores rule in law school admissions. With the exception of VERY top schools (YSH), soft factors matter very little.</p>
<p>However,
military service will help him;
Don’t just assume that it is easier to get a higher GPA at a lower ranked school</p>
<p>S1 just finished the law school application rounds and has his acceptances. He was a 2003 college grad, has been in military and has been working. When he applied his very high LSATs were much more important than grades, although some schools still gave weight to the grades. His college (top 50 university) grades were recalculated to eliminate some of the non-core classes and so his law school application GPA was lower than his “with honors” graduation GPA. He still got into very good law schools, including at least one top 20. He did not try for the very top of the rankings. He was looking for something different. He knew what he wanted in a program and what he wanted to do with it. </p>
<p>Agree with anxiousmom. When those around you are acheiving and you are on that level, it makes it easier to do likewise. Think about being in an environment that is not as supportive if he selects a lesser challenge just to get a good GPA.</p>