<p>Currently I'm an incoming second year at UCSD but I didn't have a good first year. During my first year, I didn't know what I wanted, had a tough time adjusting both socially and academically, and went through periods of mild depression. Trust me, I wasn't out partying and drinking everyday.</p>
<p>But this past summer a lot has happened for the first time in my life I know what I want and I'll do basically anything to get it. But does my 3.02 GPA during my first year kill my chances of getting into a top grad school such as Harvard or Stanford? I looked up the average 75th/25th percentile GPA for top law schools and it's around 3.95/3.65 which is a far cry from my 3.02 Although it's likely, I would hate to see my future be ruined by one terrible year.</p>
<p>Yes. You should put the idea of Harvard or Stanford Law to rest, given the credentials.</p>
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<p>You don’t need to go to Harvard Law School to become a good attorney. However, you should aim to go for top 10 law schools in order to position yourself for a good legal job. Keep in mind that your LSAT score will be weighed more heavily than GPA at most top law schools.</p>
<p>I don’t know about that. One sub-par year is not going to kill your chances for a top 3 law school, PROVIDED the rest of your GPA and LSAT is stellar. And I mean stellar. My good friend did terrible in his first year (was a chemistry major), to the tune of getting a below 3.0 average. He promptly switched to a liberal arts major and proceeded to get straight As. Ended with a 3.75 gpa. Scored a 174 on the LSAT and got into Harvard and Stanford. It can be done, but you need to seriously kick butt the rest of the way.</p>
Aim high, that’s what I always say.</p>