<p>My sister is considering returning to college and going to law school. It has been about 15 years since she finished hee bachelor's degree and has been in the workforce since graduating. How would she go about beginning to prepare? Her gpa wasn't the best since she was juggling work and 2 small children when she was working on her undergrad degree and is concerned that will hurt her chances so she wants to score high on the lsat. Should she take an lsat prep course?</p>
<p>LS is REALLY expensive, so it is probably not worth it. With a not-the-best GPA, she will need an outstanding LSAT to have a chance a a decent law school. Or, to receive money from one that is lower ranked. She should NOT attend if she has to pay sticker.</p>
<p>if your sis already has an undergrad degree, more schooling will be of no interest to law schools. Its all about GPA+LSAT. That being said, everyone likes non-traditional students, since they have something different to offer the class.</p>
<p>Even with a prep course, she’ll have to do most of work herself. Normally, a LOT of self-study is recommended, but if she had the funds, a prep course might get her back into thinking about standardized tests.</p>
<p>Good luck to her.</p>
<p>If she has her bachelor’s degree, why is your sister returning to college if she already has an undergraduate degree? And why does want to go to law school? It’s an expensive, and iffy, proposition. And how low is her GPA? The numbers will make a big difference, even is she does well on her LSAT(and yes, she should take a review course).
Not sure why you’re posting and not your sister, but would strongly recommend reviewing the information contained at Law School Transparency and similar sites to get a sense of how much law school costs and what job prospects are.</p>
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<p>First, she should figure out why she wants to be a lawyer. If something like “she likes to argue” comes up, she shouldn’t be a lawyer. Second, she should be here instead of you. It is immediately concerning that other people are doing the research she should be doing herself.</p>
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<p>How bad is bad? Unfortunately your sister is on the wrong end of the grade inflation timeline. Bad by 15 year old standards is really bad by today’s standards. If by “bad” we mean sub 3.0, then outside some very specific factors she should not go to law school.</p>
<p>I would definitely, definitely take an LSAT prep class.</p>
<p>I do know one guy who went to a top-30 school at age 40. When I was in law school, there were a few 30-somethings, and so going after a while is not unheard of.</p>
<p>Unless the OP’s sister considers college and law school as one and the same (after all, some law schools are called colleges of law by the universities operating them), in which case I could understand why one could confuse college and law school after being so long out of undergrad.</p>
<p>Sorry that I have not responded as I don’t come on this forum that often. I usually am here researching for my own children. To respond to some of the questions/comments: My sister received her Bachelors in Business about 15 years ago. She has been working in the insurance industry in their legal department and is interested in obtaining her law degree to eventually work in the same field she is currently in or for the opposite side. She did have a low GPA but was also a part time student as she had 2 children while working on her Bachelors degree. Her current salary is in the mid 60s so she is aware that she may not initially make more than her current salary. But she has always wanted to become an attorney… She is curious as to her chances of applying for law school and competing with younger candidates that may have done better in Undergrad since she had the additional life circumstances. She is in her mid 40s. I think her GPA is in the 2.8 range… </p>
<p>With a 2.8 GPA, she won’t get in anywhere that is worth going to. It doesn’t matter what the excuse is. Sorry to disappoint, but she should consider it a blessing, as if she goes to law school, she’ll have to spend a lot on tuition and will work more hours for less pay per hour, at least initially.</p>
<p>I grew up in Maryland, in a community with many large, Catholic families. One of the moms that we knew had 11 children, then went back to law school, and ultimately became a judge. I don’t know what her undergrad GPA was, or what law school she went to, but she’s an inspiration to many people. It can be done.</p>
<p>@CityEntrepreneur</p>
<p>With a decent LSAT she could get into some state schools. Whether it’s worth going to depends on how much she will have to actually pay.</p>
<p>Ie. I could have a 2.8 GPA in CS or EE and working a job that pays over 100k/year with no more than 40 hours per week. As a member of the NJ National Guard, I could attend Rutgers Law part time for free with the NJ State Tuition Waiver.</p>
<p>The only cost to me in that case would be my time. Sure, Rutgers is far from the T14 law schools but what is “worth” it to someone depends on their goals and what it is going to cost them.</p>