What can I do to improve

[hermeskt]

GPA 3.66/4 

L2- 3.3 ( took a lot of interesting but hard classes rip) B2- 4

Currently am signed up for 6 classes ( all gpa boosters) for spring summer & fall. Hoping to push myself into the 3.7s 

Have not taken the LSAT yet, but have a study group formed.

Softs: worked minimum wage jobs for 10 years ( since 14) Sometimes two jobs at once while in school. Have worked some semi(?) professional jobs as a baker and currently one year in as a 'office lady' just typing in numbers and calling clients/ emailing stuff like that. Have volunteered for some community activities, have taken foreign language classes outside of uni for 7 years ( French, Japanese) And am signed up to volunteer this summer at the library helping kids read. Also had a position at my University's club as 'community manager'. 

My top schools would be- UBC, UVIC, U OF C, TRU, U OF A and even USASK ( Family is in Calgary, and my fiancé can't really leave the West coast) 

What type of LSAT would I need to be competitive, or what softs can I possibly add to improve my chances. I don't really want to take any classes past December as it's taken a toll on my current job ( I've gone to my classes as a 'extra long 2 hour lunch break') And it's getting very expensive to pay for rent school and food etc on my 43k salary. 

** Planning on applying for 2025 cycle, and have ADHD if that matters haha

Edited March 28 by hermeskt

[Renerik]

21 minutes ago, hermeskt said:

what softs can I possibly add to improve my chances

Stop adding to your softs. I see this a bit more on the premed side, but some applicants overload on softs to the detriment of their cGPA and LSAT. You've got a full class load this summer, get all As, the children can read to themselves. 

You'll likely get into somewhere on your list of schools with a mid-16X, but a higher score would help especially if you want to stay on the coast. 

[Dinsdale]

The best thing you can possibly do is an excellent LSAT score.  

[canuckfanatic]

12 hours ago, Renerik said:

the children can read to themselves

💀

[SpaceTigerX]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:41 PM, hermeskt said:

GPA 3.66/4 

L2- 3.3 ( took a lot of interesting but hard classes rip) B2- 4

Currently am signed up for 6 classes ( all gpa boosters) for spring summer & fall. Hoping to push myself into the 3.7s 

Have not taken the LSAT yet, but have a study group formed.

Softs: worked minimum wage jobs for 10 years ( since 14) Sometimes two jobs at once while in school. Have worked some semi(?) professional jobs as a baker and currently one year in as a 'office lady' just typing in numbers and calling clients/ emailing stuff like that. Have volunteered for some community activities, have taken foreign language classes outside of uni for 7 years ( French, Japanese) And am signed up to volunteer this summer at the library helping kids read. Also had a position at my University's club as 'community manager'. 

My top schools would be- UBC, UVIC, U OF C, TRU, U OF A and even USASK ( Family is in Calgary, and my fiancé can't really leave the West coast) 

What type of LSAT would I need to be competitive, or what softs can I possibly add to improve my chances. I don't really want to take any classes past December as it's taken a toll on my current job ( I've gone to my classes as a 'extra long 2 hour lunch break') And it's getting very expensive to pay for rent school and food etc on my 43k salary. 

** Planning on applying for 2025 cycle, and have ADHD if that matters haha

Okay, the first thing you are going to do is... STOP, go to a duck pond feed some ducks and take a break. 

I'm assuming you're aware of the concept of diminishing return. With regards to your softs, you're there. Unless you are going to solve world hunger, cure a disease or make contact with aliens - I don't think you need anything else. I mean, the foreign language classes are fairly unique by itself, working two jobs while in school (maybe not the best idea) is also unique and can be used to strengthen you as an applicant - especially if you can explain why you did it besides I love money and wanted to buy a Ferrari.

Ask yourself, if I was a law school admission person what would I think of these softs or you as the applicant, what do I want these softs to tell about me to the admission folks. Are you just doing it to look good for law school, or does doing these actually represent a part of you as a person. 

With regards to the GPA boosters, are you taking these classes to finish your degree or have you met all of the requirements for the degree and just want to boost your GPA. Some schools, don't just look at your GPA, but they may also look at the type of courses you're taking so those GPA boosters may not carry as much weight as you might think. Also, you need to confirm if the courses you're taking in the spring/fall will count towards admission as some schools may have a specific cut off or do rolling admissions so there might not be much benefit to taking those extra GPA boosters. Again, I recommend checking into the details with schools you are interested in. 

As far as the LSAT, depending on the school and how the application is assessed a higher LSAT score could potentially help you offset a lower cGPA or L2 GPA and offer a better ROI than taking the additional GPA boosters or reading to children - do children even read these days if its not on TikTok, is TikTok still popular?. Look at admission stats on the schools websites for LSAT scores, look through the threads on this forum for students that were admitted or even the rejected thread - there is some surprises in that one. This info will give you an idea of what to aim for - also... I feel like I need to say this... but if you get like a 170+ on the LSAT... you probably don't need to retake it. No seriously, don't retake it. 

As for the ADHD (I have it... you might have noticed from my writing) - use if as a strength, if you have a formal diagnosis use and if there is an opportunity in the application process I would mention it, how you overcame the difficulties it presents to achieve what you've achieved. Also, if you do have a formal diagnosis in some schools you might be able to use to apply through multiple categories to school. 

And remember, I've said it before but contact the schools, talk to the admission folks or advisors. It doesn't hurt you to make a phone call or send an email or even law school student groups you might be able to reach out and make some interesting contacts. 

Edited April 2 by SpaceTigerX

[e4bu]

Hi! I might be able to add some perspective here. I applied to law school quite a few times and was accepted to UCalgary this year with L2 3.5, LSAT 164. Over my cycles of applying to UCalgary I improved my LSAT (149/151 scores on file my first cycle, 157 my second cycle, and 164 my third and fourth cycle). For my first, second, and third cycles my L2 was 3.3. In between my third and fourth cycle I took a fifth year of undergraduate courses online to improve my L2 from 3.3 to 3.5. For all of these cycles I didn't add any softs to my application.

 

While softs are definitely important to your application, they probably won't sway an admissions committee if your stats just aren't there. For me, improving my LSAT to a competitive score (UCalgary lists their average LSAT for admitted students as 164 - look for these stats for the school's you're hoping for and aim for that average and higher) and illustrating an upward trajectory with my GPA made the difference. I also spent a ton of time working on my personal statement.