<p>I entered UCLA as a biochem major (bad decision) because of my high school's intense science and math focused curriculum and peer pressure. After about 2 years, I decided biochem wasn't for me and switched to political science. I would like to attend law school but because I took extensive and intensive science and math courses my overall GPA is about a 3.1. (My political science department GPA is 3.8). Since I recently decided to change paths from pre-med to pre-law, I don't have substantial extra curriculars to back my "law path" other than a summer internship at a private law office. I haven't taken the LSATS but what would be my chances of getting into a top tier law school with a strong LSAT score? Would they take into account the courses I took? The average GPA for biochem here at UCLA is a 2.8, believe it or not. What would be the best plan of attack for me at this point?</p>
<p>additional info:
I'm going to graduate early (by 2 quarters) because I only have 2 classes left for my political science major.
Up until last quarter, I have been taking poli sci and hard science courses concurrently (2 hard science, 2 poli sci courses/quarter)
I'm a third year at UCLA.</p>
<p>It doesn’t make sense to assume a 175 because it is easier said than done. If money is not an issue, instead of graduating early, I would suggest taking additional courses to help raise your gpa. Law schools are going to look at your overall gpa, so if you can improve on the 3.1, then you should.</p>
<p>“Since I recently decided to change paths from pre-med to pre-law, I don’t have substantial extra curriculars to back my “law path” other than a summer internship at a private law office.”</p>
<p>From what I’ve read, law schools don’t care much about EC’s. It’s all about the GPA and LSAT. Unlike undergraduate admissions, law schools aren’t looking for well-rounded applicants. They just want the smartest, most academically capable applicants.</p>
<p>Pattiecake: What would you tell a high school student who came to you with a 3.1 GPA looking for college admissions advice? Imagine that such a student told you to “assume” that he would score a 2350 on the SAT.</p>
<p>Given that a 175 is above the 99th percentile, perhaps it’s safer to “assume” that pattiecake will get around a 155 (I think that’s the mean).</p>
<p>also can’t shake the feeling that pattie realized he couldn’t get into an MD program with that GPA, so is looking to go to law school instead. if that’s the case, i highly recommend thinking over that decision.</p>
<p>i just want to know what the chances are for a high lsat score and a overall low gpa? Its a hypothetical question considering the absolute best case scenario at this point. </p>
<p>No, i’m not doing law just because i can’t get into med school. If i still wanted to do med I would consider a post-bach program but I honestly just don’t like the hard sciences and found a new passion for writing and well…political science. </p>
<p>Also, my case is a little different than the other threads because I am getting out of science so late in my college career.</p>
<p>It would be such a large split that your results would be unpredictable. You’d be below the 25th percentile GPA and above the 75th percentile LSAT just about everywhere (and both numbers wouldn’t be in the 25-75 range anywhere). You could get some surprising acceptances or rejections depending how badly particular schools need high LSATs in the year you’re applying. And it is pointless to speculate until you have an actual score, since a few points can make a big difference.</p>
<p>1) EC’s won’t matter.
2) You can have a 4.1 GPA and not even “assume” a 168 LSAT (much less a 175).
3) If you’re going to graduate early, my biggest advice would be to stay an extra year and get back to back 4.0 semesters with LOTS of credits and try and bring your GPA up (if your 4th year amounts to only 1/4th of your total amount of credits-- which would be average-- then you could raise your GPA to a 3.325, if you take more than that you can move it up even more).
4) Along with taking an extra year of classes, take even more easy credits during summer at a CC. Forget about EC’s/pointless internships shadowing lawyers at law firms: your main and primary goal right now is to salvage whatever GPA you can get.
5) Law Schools won’t care that you had a “hard major”. Engineers might get a .1 leeway if you graduated with a degree in engineering (maybe), the fact that you didnt even finish the degree in engineering won’t help. I know what you’re going to say: you did it for two years, etc etc. I’m not trying to console you, I’m trying to tell you the truth. Chances are, they wont’ care.
6) They won’t care about major GPA. </p>
<p>With a summer + year of classes, you might be able to bring your GPA up to a 3.4, which, when coupled with a 171+, might help find you a spot in the T14, or at least T20 which will at least place you decently regionally (ie. UCLA, USC).</p>
<p>I am clearly wrong in using the word “assume.” My apologies. I just wanted to see what my chances are, if any. </p>
<p>To be more frank (and honest…haha), perhaps you guys can help me more in my decision:
I wasn’t pre-med. Currently, I am pre-optometry and I have a competitive GPA for optometry school and a competitive OAT (the optometry admissions test) score. In other words, I have a good shot at optometry school. There is just a slight problem - I really like political science - the subject interests me more than the hard sciences and law school is so appealing to me. Too late to switch? Not worth it?</p>
<p>i’ve a friend who switched from pre-med to econ, maintained her 3.9+ gpa at CUNY, got a 175 and will be starting harvard in fall 2010. moral of the story: high gpa, high lsat</p>