next steps

[hehehe14]

Hey! 

 

My 3rd time applying to law school and feeling defeated. I have a 2.98 CGPA and a 159 LSAT flex (second write). The GPA comes from a brain injury some mental health issues that resulted to transferring from a school in Europe to Toronto I am two years out of undergrad. I have been working since graduating. I really want to go to law school. Should I try retaking the lsat ? applying to a lower tier American School?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

Id love to stay in Canada and think Windsors holistic approach may be my best bet. If I volunteer and get my LSAT up do I have a shot?

[Rashabon]

Volunteering won't be what makes or breaks your application. You should retake the LSAT and apply in the access category with supporting documentation to explain your GPA. You won't get in through the regular category with your current stats.

[brokenegg]

Hi! 

A lot of Canadian schools are very holistic and have categories available to support applicants with extenuating circumstances (i.e., Access, Discretionary, etc.). Have you applied through any of these categories before? I think you might have an okay shot if you apply through these categories and write a killer PS and provide supporting documentation. 

Good luck!!! and remember, third time's a charm 😉 

[CheeseToast]

31 minutes ago, brokenegg said:

Hi! 

A lot of Canadian schools are very holistic and have categories available to support applicants with extenuating circumstances (i.e., Access, Discretionary, etc.). Have you applied through any of these categories before? I think you might have an okay shot if you apply through these categories and write a killer PS and provide supporting documentation. 

Good luck!!! and remember, third time's a charm 😉 

The Access category averages are barely below the general category and OP’s stats are nowhere near competitive for Canadian schools (assuming their L2 is similar to their cGPA).

OP, you should be aiming to get above a 165 in order to have a shot anywhere. Don’t go to Europe/Aus/USA unless you’re rich.

[GGrievous]

In my opinion, it’s going to be very important to your application to demonstrate that you’ve been able to overcome these challenges. Volunteering will not show that. I think that’s why some schools take your last 2 years. It might not be a bad idea to try to do another degree. Obviously that’s a big expense and time commitment to put in for a shot, but unfortunately it’s going to be very difficult to make up for a sub 3 gpa with a high LSAT score (though I’ve seen it happen in rare occasions in accepted threads). It might also be a good way for you gauge whether you’ll be able to handle the academic demands now. I’m one month in and it’s no joke what these monsters have you do. 

It’s also no easy task to get a high LSAT score, that’s why so few do it each test cycle. And the people I did see with low gpa that got in typically had pretty close to a 170 or higher. That kind of score shows admissions that you’re obviously smart enough, but something went awry in your schooling. 
 

this will all come down to how bad you want it but I wouldn’t depend on access categories. Those have a lot of competition as well. 

Edited October 1, 2021 by Barry

[ZineZ]

2 hours ago, CheeseToast said:

Assuming their L2 is similar to their cGPA.

OP, you should be aiming to get above a 165 in order to have a shot anywhere. Don’t go to Europe/Aus/USA unless you’re rich.

Not disagreeing with you, but I'd like to quickly build on this just in case anyone else looks at this post while considering their application - 

It's worth noting that AdComms will often discount (or ignore) years related to injuries/other issues. IE - if OP's GPA saw a significant increase after they moved back to Toronto, they would have a better shot than a 2.98 GPA would generally show.

 

 

 

[Darth Vader]

Go back to school for another degree and demonstrate academic excellence in two full years. Do you have connections and/or are you upper middle-class to high-income where attending an unknown school abroad won't negatively impact you upon return to Canada? Your priority should not just be to get into any law school that will accept you, but to also come out of law school with decent job prospects and minimal debt. I'm all in support of pursuing your dreams but you need to be a little realistic as well.