Chances? Feeling super discouraged and probably won't get in anywhere with my stats

[lawschoolreject]

Starting this off by saying I know law school is a long shot for me this application cycle. 

cGPA is a 2.40, L2 3.5

LSAT 152 January 2022 (highest), 151 October 2021

I was practice testing in the high 150s so these scores were disappointing to me, but I know I could've studied more. 

I have medical documentation for my low GPA and some legal documentation from my family issues that led to me working pretty much full time during the entirety of my undergraduate degree. I also volunteered for political parties, did a research project with one of my professors and now have landed and entry-level job at a Toronto law firm in admin. (Law job not on application as I got it this January). My question is, do I have a better chance applying for the 2023 cycle or should I wait and apply as a mature student? I'm very passionate about law, but am I being unrealistic for law school?

I've applied to Queens (access), Western (access), Osgoode, Windsor (access) and Ryerson (rejected).

Thanks in advance!

[Ice]

I definitely wouldn't wait until you're a mature student, that doesn't make the process any less competitive. If you manage to increase your LSAT to the range you're getting in your practice tests, you'd have a coin flip chance at some schools that favour L20 (TRU), but even then it's an uphill battle. 

As things currently stand, I would say that you're being unrealistic but there's room to improve, how realistic that is, and how much you're willing to put in to make that happen is entirely on you. The last thing I'll say is if you're struggling this much with the LSAT and academics in general, law school will only be that much worse. Are you confident you can go to law school and get decent grades? Don't set yourself up for failure 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Ice

[lawschoolreject]

7 minutes ago, Ice said:

I definitely wouldn't wait until you're a mature student, that doesn't make the process any less competitive. If you manage to increase your LSAT to the range you're getting in your practice tests, you'd have a coin flip chance at some schools that favour L20 (TRU), but even then it's an uphill battle. 

As things currently stand, I would say that you're being unrealistic but there's room to improve, how realistic that is, and how much you're willing to put in to make that happen is entirely on you. The last thing I'll say is if you're struggling this much with the LSAT and academics in general, law school will only be that much worse. Are you confident you can go to law school and get decent grades? Don't set yourself up for failure 

I definitely can go to law school, my last two years were in the 3.5 range. Like I said, my GPA can be explained by the circumstances. Honestly, I know I can be a lawyer. I am working in a firm right now and assisting the lawyers, it's just my past mistakes from a 17 year-old that are staining my GPA and not allowing me to pursue my career.

Edited March 14, 2022 by legallybronde

[mjslava]

I’d say it’s more your LSAT that is holding you back. 

[Ice]

1 minute ago, legallybronde said:

I definitely can go to law school, my last two years were in the 3.5 range. Like I said, my GPA can be explained by the circumstances. Honestly, I know I can be a lawyer. I am working in a firm right now and assisting the lawyers, it's just my past mistakes from a 17 year-old that are staining my GPA and not allowing me to pursue my career.

You're saying two conflicting things. Is your poor GPA a result of circumstances outside of your control, or past mistakes from 17 year old you, meaning you just didn't take uni seriously? That already sounds a little sus, but I haven't read your application so there's no way to know what your situation really is. I'm also sure you can be a lawyer, just as anyone else can be a lawyer if they have the necessary funds (overseas to Bond). It's also your LSAT that's holding you back, and an increase from a 151--> 152 in 3 months plus whatever study time you had before your Oct test leaves room for doubt. Like I said, just be real with yourself, the work you're doing now "assisting lawyers" will probably be nothing like what you'll do as a lawyer if you ever make it. Good luck though 

[BirdsArentReal]

There are a few questions you can ask yourself here:

The first would be to ask yourself if law school is for you? If the answer is yes, ask yourself why that is? what makes you passionate about the law? - Make sure your personal statement and ECs are strongly aligned with this. Continue to develop yourself in a way that will reinforce this passion and strengthen your application. 

Second, if you are applying access with documentation, try to seek accommodations the official way for the LSAT. I am not familiar with the process, but the worst thing they can say is no! There might be people here or on reddit willing you help you with this.

Third, if you are 100% you want to become a lawyer, there so many paths to becoming one. While some ways are harder and more financially burdening, if you believe your passion is strong enough to get you through it, then they are worth a shot. You can go back to school and boost your GPA (confirm with ur schools if it would count). Might also be worth applying to the out of province schools, the Dual JD, out of country schools. Just remember that these options carry a stigma, and may not yield the financial upside a domestic JD would. However, they will allow you to become a lawyer if you work hard enough.

The last thing I would say is, apply broadly if you have the financial ability to do so. You don't need every school to say yes to you, you just need one to become a lawyer. 

Good luck and feel free to reach out.

[lawschoolreject]

6 minutes ago, Ice said:

You're saying two conflicting things. Is your poor GPA a result of circumstances outside of your control, or past mistakes from 17 year old you, meaning you just didn't take uni seriously? That already sounds a little sus, but I haven't read your application so there's no way to know what your situation really is. I'm also sure you can be a lawyer, just as anyone else can be a lawyer if they have the necessary funds (overseas to Bond). It's also your LSAT that's holding you back, and an increase from a 151--> 152 in 3 months plus whatever study time you had before your Oct test leaves room for doubt. Like I said, just be real with yourself, the work you're doing now "assisting lawyers" will probably be nothing like what you'll do as a lawyer if you ever make it. Good luck though 

I wrote in my initial post that my L2 is 3.5, when I was 17 I caught mono for a month and lost over 20 pounds and was frail and could barely move. I was seeing a nutritionist weekly to gain back my body weight and was losing all my hair. I have documentation for all of this. Then the following year, my family got into a legal matter and one of my parents lost their job, forcing me to work full-time in order to keep my family's financial situation afloat. Sorry if I didn't want to air out all my dirty laundry on a law school forum but my situation isn't "sus". 

Also, I'm literally assisting lawyers on cases and being trained in the process to be a legal assistant in the meantime so I do think this experience is valuable. I wouldn't judge everyone's situation based off of a vague forum post. I wish you the best of luck in law school, hopefully it will teach you to not be so judgemental and jump to conclusions.

 

Best.

8 minutes ago, BirdsArentReal said:

There are a few questions you can ask yourself here:

The first would be to ask yourself if law school is for you? If the answer is yes, ask yourself why that is? what makes you passionate about the law? - Make sure your personal statement and ECs are strongly aligned with this. Continue to develop yourself in a way that will reinforce this passion and strengthen your application. 

Second, if you are applying access with documentation, try to seek accommodations the official way for the LSAT. I am not familiar with the process, but the worst thing they can say is no! There might be people here or on reddit willing you help you with this.

Third, if you are 100% you want to become a lawyer, there so many paths to becoming one. While some ways are harder and more financially burdening, if you believe your passion is strong enough to get you through it, then they are worth a shot. You can go back to school and boost your GPA (confirm with ur schools if it would count). Might also be worth applying to the out of province schools, the Dual JD, out of country schools. Just remember that these options carry a stigma, and may not yield the financial upside a domestic JD would. However, they will allow you to become a lawyer if you work hard enough.

The last thing I would say is, apply broadly if you have the financial ability to do so. You don't need every school to say yes to you, you just need one to become a lawyer. 

Good luck and feel free to reach out.

Thank you. I hope to have some luck domestically next application cycle with my workplace experience, but this was way more helpful than some other comments. Appreciate it!

[Renerik]

I've hidden some comments that have strayed into idek what.

OP, fix that LSAT. Your odds aren't good for this cycle. Get that into the 160s and apply broadly (including outside of Ontario) and your chances shoot up drastically.

[Pastrey]

2 hours ago, legallybronde said:

Also, I'm literally assisting lawyers on cases and being trained in the process to be a legal assistant in the meantime so I do think this experience is valuable.

Workplace experience helps, but will not necessarily overcome a bad LSAT or GPA.
 

If you do not get in this cycle, be cognizant of how you portray the experiences you are gaining. Your above description comes off cocky. There is a big difference between what a legal assistant does and a lawyer does. You will want to try to tie in how your work experience can help you succeed in your academic endeavours. I am an applicant myself, but from what I have seen and read so far law schools are not looking at applications to see if someone will be able to make it as a lawyer, but rather if the applicant has potential to be a good law student. 

I applied as a mature student last year with over 20 years work experience as a paralegal and a 154 LSAT and was rejected.  My work experience didn’t overcome my lack of a GPA or low LSAT. 

[legaljustice]

right now the lsat and gpa are not competitive at all. My best advice is to score in the 170s to offset your GPA. It’s good soft skill that you’re developing working in the legal office and it’s good as it will show you what being a lawyer actually looks like day to day. 
 

if law doesn’t work out for you, you can still continue your education and become a professional like a teacher. In Alberta teachers are making over 70k a year to high 6 figures. 
 

 

[CleanHands]

10 minutes ago, legaljustice said:

My best advice is to score in the 170s to offset your GPA.

Yeah, just increase your LSAT score by 20 points (or about 50 percentile points). No biggie. /s

11 minutes ago, legaljustice said:

if law doesn’t work out for you, you can still continue your education and become a professional like a teacher. In Alberta teachers are making over 70k a year to high 6 figures. 

Had I known teachers made almost a million dollars a year I would have considered it. /s

Really bizarre post all around, especially in response to a thread that hasn't been active in a month.

[mjslava]

5 minutes ago, CleanHands said:

Yeah, just increase your LSAT score by 20 points (or about 50 percentile points). No biggie. /s.

With Kaplan LSAT prep, anything is possible!

[Patient0L]

34 minutes ago, mjslava said:

With Kaplan LSAT prep, anything is possible!

💀