<p>The score he gets on the LSAT will be the key to which law school he’s accepted to since at this point he won’t be able to drastically improve his GPA. Other factors in LS admissions - whether he’s ever had a job, ECs, etc. That’s something he can do something about if he’s so inclined. As a PoliSci major he likely has a lot of free time so he should definitely pursue a p/t on-campus (or off) job plus ECs to help himself and this could have the side effect of helping him keep focused as well and maybe even doing better in college.</p>
<p>A 3.48 GPA isn’t exactly horrendous.</p>
<p>If you go to top-law-schools . com you can see a lot of stats of the top 75 (or 20 or 100 or any) law school to give a better idea of the GPA/LSAT scores of the admits at them.</p>
<p>What does “has zero extracurriculars” mean? In HS, some people believe it’s important to maintain a list of extracurricular activities and achievements to impress admissions committees. </p>
<p>When I was in college, I had exactly one “extracurricular”, if by that you mean something that wasn’t a job but had a title and an organizational affiliation. But I was certainly busy. I babysat a ton, went to see a bunch of foreign films. learned to rollerblade badly, worked a couple jobs, swam laps in the pool on campus, volunteered, went to a bunch of lectures outside of my academic classes, and liked to hang out with my friends. If he’s doing stuff, whether it’s affiliated with an organization or not, that’s fine. In fact, it’s probably better than find since it’s a pretty adult way to live your life.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if he’s hiding in his room and not coming out, not talking to people, not doing his laundry, then you need to worry. </p>
<p>In general, it sounds like he’s doing quite well!</p>
<p>Honestly the grades don’t seem that bad to me. Does he work instead of ECs?</p>
<p>I would classify “ruining his life” as something like “not attending college, smoking crack, laying around all day long in his underwear.” Even then maybe not? Honestly Life is a pretty long timeline.</p>
<p>-that is including my wife and we live in a high cost of living area</p>
<p>-he can take care of himself but despite his diversity he generally focuses on one issue and that is why his grades suffer for example he gets an A+ in half his courses and a B+ in the other half with complete disregard for the difficulty level.</p>
<p>-The LSAT is the deciding factor but as you explained he doesn’t really have anything he can write down. He goes to lectures about the economy and philosophy.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your help, I guess i’m searching for the reason why he can’t focus on his GPA and instead obsesses over two or three courses.</p>
<p>Getting B+ grades is NOT having your grades suffer. What do you want…all As? His grades are fine…it sounds like they don’t measure up to YOUR standards.</p>
<p>"I guess i’m searching for the reason why he can’t focus on his GPA and instead obsesses over two or three courses. "</p>
<p>dad, HE’s the one in college trying to discover what HE wants to do. And the way to do that is often to take classes in lots of different areas, not stick to a rigid prescribed set of classes. He is NOT ruining his life!!! Its time for you to stop micromanaging him from a distance and obsessing over tiny difference in his grades [ he is doing fine!!] and back away.</p>
<p>That’s a decent GPA. It may hold him back from law school acceptance (especially at a top one, which is more likely to result in a job/salary justifying the expense). But that may be ok - he may not have the drive to survive law school / law job market. </p>
<p>From what I’ve read (mostly on CC) about the lawyer glut, getting rejected may be a blessing in disguise.</p>
<p>An “underachiever” is someone who is achieving below potential. Do you have any reason to believe that he has significantly greater potential? The present level of achievement seems to be consistent with his record. </p>
<p>FWIW, this kid is doing better than most. Yes, as you note, many Americans go to college (attend some college) but far fewer finish the Bachelor’s in 8 semesters at reputable schools.</p>
<p>His grades are good enough to keep him in the running for many law schools, and formal ECs might not make much difference (although he would benefit from involvement in things that would confirm or substantiate an interest in law, justice, or public policy). As to whether he gets into law school, the LSATs will mean a lot. As to whether he enjoys life as a lawyer, that may largely depend upon his getting through the program without much debt, and his appetite for very long work hours. That last piece is not jumping out of what you describe, but who knows. He’s still young.</p>
<p>He’s not ruining his life. You are not scraping by with 90k. The only thing I see wrong here is an overbearing parent with unrealistic expectations.</p>
<p>Stop worrying. He is who he is. Sounds like his HS and college gpa’s are consistent with his SAT- good/great but not tops. If HE wants to go to law school he can likely find one, get his degree and be like most lawyers who work at jobs using their skills. Most lawyers did not go to the top 10 or 20 law schools- some become governors or judges in their home state after attending their public flagship law school. There is a life outside the elite schools. </p>
<p>I noticed my gifted son was consistent in his not putting forth the extra effort to get perfect grades both in HS and college. He likes being intellectually stimulated but isn’t into “doing whatever it takes” to be in the most prestigious school/job. Your son likely has found his comfort zone and is doing fine to have his gpa. He may not want the cutthroat lifestyle needed to succeed with law school. That does not make him an underachiever. Be happy he is doing so well and let him figure out his path. Do not pressure him, it won’t change his outlook on life and will only antagonize him, making the parent-child relationship less pleasant. The only ruin in his life can be your relationship with him.</p>
By ‘obsesses’ do you mean he’s highly interested in and passionate about those courses? If so be happy for that because there are a number of students attending college who aren’t highly interested in any of their courses.</p>
<p>btw - The way you respond to the posts makes it hard to track what you’re answering since people aren’t going to remember in order every post. You might want to expand a bit to be clear what you’re responding to.</p>
<p>I graduated from college with a 3.42, and the only EC I did with any consistency was research with professors. I’m in a top 10 PhD program in my field now. So…yeah, he can do fine. A 3.48 is a good solid GPA in college. Although I agree that the law market sucks.</p>
<p>If he truly wants to go to law school right after college and if you or he can afford it without loans, there are 198 accredited law schools in the U.S.; I think that the odds are good that he will be able to get into law school.</p>
<p>He sounds to me as if he is doing very well.</p>
<p>Getting a 4.0 in biology, as the OP did, can be relatively easy - the requirement and knowledge base for each course is quite concrete and the assessment is objective.</p>
<p>In political science, a B+ or an A is often just a subjective assessment of an essay by a professor. It may harder for a good student to get straight A’s in humanities than in sciences.</p>
<p>I can’t help but think of that Asian parent stereotype. In anycase, unless your kid’s also addicted to heroin, it doesn’t sound like he’s ruining his life. It does sound like you’re being a bit overbearing though. Instead of posting on cc, how about you tell him how damn proud you are of him.</p>
<p>Just echoing others. This kid is doing fine and is very far from “ruining his life.” Be proud of him. You obviously have no idea what others are dealing with.</p>
<p>I don’t know how a parent even knows GPA. Colleges don’t tell us. I don’t ask either. I figure if they are old enough to be in college, they are old enough to handle their grades on their own.</p>