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chance me!: 2.77 cgpa, taking LSAT next summer, lots of experience and great references


bellsandwhistles

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bellsandwhistles
  • Applicant

I just started 4th year (taking a 5th to boost my grades) and am planning to apply for law school in the 2024 cycle. I did really bad in first year due to several things [dad was diagnosed with cancer, covid, mental health issues, and general burnout due to school and family]. But after that I've gotten much better (mainly a B-B+ student but occassionally gets A's). I was able to get my cgpa up from 2.3 to 2.77 as a result, but I aim to get at least a 3.0 (currently taking summer courses to further boost). I also have experience from various fields, ranging from research to advocacy to student government, and have been working two jobs, one of which is at UofT Law. I already know who I plan to ask to be my references [two of my professors for classes that I did really well in, and I'm currently trying to pick between the dean at my college or my team lead at UofT law]. 

I would love some takes and advice + an LSAT score to aim for. I have been studying casually over the last year and intend to really get into it later this summer or early next year. 

edit: I am not picky when it comes to law schools, but I would prefer to stay in ON but I'm willing to move if I need to!

Edited by bellsandwhistles
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cola
  • Law Student

Pick the reference who knows you best/can best speak to your abilities. And aim for 180.

Edit: To be clear, don't expect 180, or put off the test until you're PTing 180. But most people score lower on test day, and why aim just for what might be good enough?

Edited by cola
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bellsandwhistles
  • Applicant
4 minutes ago, cola said:

Pick the reference who knows you best/can best speak to your abilities. And aim for 180.

Edit: To be clear, don't expect 180, or put off the test until you're PTing 180. But most people score lower on test day, and why aim just for what might be good enough?

Sounds great, I think I know which to ask now! I'll defintely try and aim for 180! I don't think I'll get a 180 but I appreciate you saying that most score lower, I'll try my best to go in with an open mind!

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Yogurt Baron

I say this sympathetically: it's going to be a tough road with your grades, though not impossible. Law schools tend to only consider some collection of your best grades, in a way meant to accommodate if you've had a bad year or two---so someone with a year of Ds and three years of A+s is further ahead, in some ways, than someone whose abilities top out at a B average. You're going to be up against a lot of students who've done really well. Without knowing where you're applying, what their drops policies are, and what your exact grade distribution is, I can't tell you what your chances are, but if 3.0 is your best work, it's going to be tough.

For that practical reason, I wouldn't half-ass the LSAT. I'm allergic to "what score should I aim for?"---everyone should be aiming for the best score they can get, but especially someone with your grades will need an extremely strong LSAT. You never know if you'll have an off-day the day of the test. So I agree with cola.

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Step 1 would be to murder this next year GPA wise. Hard to say right now because you're not done. Keep in mind many law schools dont factor in 1-2 years of your studies (B2 and L2). I would say ask again after you complete your 4th year and do the LSAT.

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bellsandwhistles
  • Applicant
18 hours ago, Yogurt Baron said:

I say this sympathetically: it's going to be a tough road with your grades, though not impossible. Law schools tend to only consider some collection of your best grades, in a way meant to accommodate if you've had a bad year or two---so someone with a year of Ds and three years of A+s is further ahead, in some ways, than someone whose abilities top out at a B average. You're going to be up against a lot of students who've done really well. Without knowing where you're applying, what their drops policies are, and what your exact grade distribution is, I can't tell you what your chances are, but if 3.0 is your best work, it's going to be tough.

For that practical reason, I wouldn't half-ass the LSAT. I'm allergic to "what score should I aim for?"---everyone should be aiming for the best score they can get, but especially someone with your grades will need an extremely strong LSAT. You never know if you'll have an off-day the day of the test. So I agree with cola.

meant to respond to this sooner sorry! I understand what you mean though! I don't intend to half-ass the LSAT whatsoever + I intend to get at least a 3.0 by the end of my undergrad, and am pushing for a 3.2. I am also currently looking at different drop policies and applying based off of that, but I appreciate your overall advice!!

17 hours ago, The Law said:

Step 1 would be to murder this next year GPA wise. Hard to say right now because you're not done. Keep in mind many law schools dont factor in 1-2 years of your studies (B2 and L2). I would say ask again after you complete your 4th year and do the LSAT.

Sounds good, thank you for your advice!

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sarcasticlemon
  • Law Student
19 hours ago, bellsandwhistles said:

(taking a 5th to boost my grades)

Hey! So I took a 5th year to try to increase my GPA (and because I switched majors and needed some other courses) since I thought that LSAC would only count the grades that my school counted towards my GPA. I just wanted to warn you that LSAC kept all my grades in when calculating my GPA. So the C+ I was trying to keep out of my GPA was included in my LSAC GPA, although I think that its effect would've been diluted. 

Edited by sarcasticlemon
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bellsandwhistles
  • Applicant
On 6/4/2023 at 2:56 PM, sarcasticlemon said:

Hey! So I took a 5th year to try to increase my GPA (and because I switched majors and needed some other courses) since I thought that LSAC would only count the grades that my school counted towards my GPA. I just wanted to warn you that LSAC kept all my grades in when calculating my GPA. So the C+ I was trying to keep out of my GPA was included in my LSAC GPA, although I think that its effect would've been diluted. 

I just saw this i'm so sorry, but thank yu so much for your advice!!

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penguin
  • Law Student

You should consider applying through the access/ discretionary category for law schools. They will take your extenuating circumstances into account. With these stats it will be difficult to get into a law school in Ontario so definitely apply out of province. Some of the schools outside of Ontario will calculate your GPA based on your best two years (I think TRU or Saskatchewan but I'm not sure). 

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bellsandwhistles
  • Applicant
On 6/12/2023 at 2:56 PM, penguin said:

You should consider applying through the access/ discretionary category for law schools. They will take your extenuating circumstances into account. With these stats it will be difficult to get into a law school in Ontario so definitely apply out of province. Some of the schools outside of Ontario will calculate your GPA based on your best two years (I think TRU or Saskatchewan but I'm not sure). 

definitely going this route for schools that offer it + i'm also going for out-of province too so thank you for reaffirming that! I do have several circumstances going for me that I think can help [i don't like using it to my advantage but if it helps it helps: i'm maining applying to black student admissions categories + access categories due to being in a low-income family + working two jobs to support my family where I can + the other stuff listed here]

TRU and saskatchewan are schools i'm heavily considering at the moment so I'll defintely look. inot it mroe. thanks for your advice!!

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