<p>Hi, I'm new to CC and I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I thought maybe I'd pose a question about law school prospects here.</p>
<p>I'm currently a senior at UCLA majoring in philosophy and also a copy editor for the campus newspaper. As much as I would like to go to law school, my gpa is sub-par to the say the least (read: barely above a 2.0). I had a lot of bad things happen to me at once in the middle of the college career.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I've been consistently employed throughout these last four years and I've shown a clear and drastic improvement in my academic performance over the last year and a half.</p>
<p>I understand that the importance of attending a competitive, top tier law school is primarily in the name recognition -- not only for job prospects, but also for the purposes of being able to carry the degree across the country. Ideally, I'd like to work and live in the Pacific Northwest, and I believe law schools in that area are generally more regional.</p>
<p>Taking all this into consideration and granting that I get a high enough LSAT score, do I have a reasonable chance of getting in somewhere in the NW? I also plan to at least take a year off and pursue a job in copy editing. I'm also open to any suggestions. Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>By definition, if you get a "high enough" LSAT score you can get in somewhere. That's what the word "enough" means.</p>
<p>A 2.0 GPA does not by itself mean that you will automatically be rejected from every single law school you apply to, if that's what you're asking. They will still pay attention to your LSAT score.</p>
<p>the longer you take off, the less your gpa will matter.
similarly, the higher your lsat score, the less your gpa will matter.</p>
<p>but your gpa will always matter. anna ivey's book has some good advice, though, about how to write an addendum explaining your grades and why you think you'll succeed in law school in spite of them.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike, I apologize for not being more clear. I should've specified that although I'm not holding onto hopes of getting into a tier 1 school by any means, I still would like to get into a reputable school. I was thinking in terms of UW, UO, and Lewis and Clark, all of which I understand have excellent reputations in the Northwest. I was simply wondering if even a high LSAT would be enough to offset the low GPA for admission into schools like these. Thanks for your input :)</p>
<p>stacy, thanks for the recommendations. While I certainly don't mind dabbling in my other interests, I would like to get to law school as soon as I can. Do you know how many years someone in my position normally has to take off to distance himself enough from his gpa?</p>
<p>The point is that I think you need at least some preliminary projection of an LSAT score before your question is really answerable. You're currently working with a 60 point range since you have no projections yet. A 180, for example, would pretty much guarantee you admission to what the LSAC refers to as "Oregon", which I presume to be the University of Oregon.</p>
<p>A 150, and your odds are not good. A 120 and you're done.</p>
<p>There do exist LSAT scores for which you can gain admittance. Whether those are realistic expectations or not remains to be determined.</p>
<p>You might consider looking for a free LSAT prep test to take and gauge your potential score range. Assuming that your GPA is not indicative of your ability, then you may be able to do well.</p>
<p>A 165+ would put you in a pretty strong position for a number of decent/good law schools.</p>
<p>Anyway, it's hard to say much without knowing about you as a person. I know people who had 3.5+ GPAs and decent LSAT scores who didn't get into a number of tier 1 schools. I know a former Marine who didn't have a stellar GPA, but a good LSAT score and his work experience got him into a number of tier 1 law schools.</p>
<p>Obviously, not everyone is going to be a former Marine. Similarly, not everyone is going to be subject to a fluke situation where a well-rounded application is just going to be passed by at a number of "match" schools.</p>
<p>What kinds of hooks can you offer to get schools to look past the numbers? The issue that you'll face, barring an absolutely spectacular LSAT score, is getting admissions people to not throw up the red flag right away when they see the GPA.</p>