<p>I graduated from bridgewater state universtiy. I majored in English and minored in criminal justice. I had a gpa of 3.1 and scored 155 on the LSAT. However, I have been volunteering at a Law Firm for the past couple years and could get a couple well known lawyers to write me letters of recommendation. I have also volunteered many hours at a hospice and i traveled to haiti to help with relief after the earthquake.</p>
<p>Notre Dame
University of Illinois
Wake Forest
George Mason
American University
Northeastern
University of South Carolina
University of Buffalo</p>
<p>I hate to be blunt with you, but your chances are zero–well you might have a 25% chance at Buffalo and Northeastern. </p>
<p>I’m going to make a couple suggestions:
Study hard for the LSAT and get it to 165+
Don’t go to LS (I’m not even trying to be cynical here). Unless you got a full scholarship, you’re going to be in an immense amount of debt. Employment prospects from the schools you just listed (let’s take out ND/UI/WF to avoid debate with those who think law is booming with jobs) are terrible. We’re talking flat out unemployed. If you go through the employment stats of these lower ranked schools, you’ll find that few actually end up in law (isn’t that the point of a JD?!). And those that are in law-related jobs take up 35k jobs with solos. I can’t think of a worse decision than going to such a low-ranked LS in this economy. If people from T14 schools are unemployed, just imagine what its like at ND. Now imagine what its like at a school like Buffalo. I’ve never bothered to look at Buffalo’s/Northeastern’s employment reports but I can guarantee you they’re terrible.
Okay, now that I’ve killed your dreams of becoming a lawyer–let’s look at a realistic career option. Judging from your background I think you’re well suited for (if you’re still interested in a legal career) a paralegal career. Depending on your state they are somewhat in demand. They pay fairly well (assume 40k your first yr in). The hardest part is getting your first job. Once you build up experience you will be highly employable. Start off with a solo. Build up 2-4 years of experience. Transfer to one of two places. Either an in-house corporate department or a big firm. Further build up experience. Pickup a couple paralegal qualifications along the way, and shoot for a paralegal management position. These pay 100k+. Mind you it will take a while to get there, but to be honest with you…it will have the exact same salary progression as a JD from Northeastern/Buffalo.</p>
<p>the thing is though, is that i currently work at a firm that is becoming more and more well known and although i havent been guaranteed a job, i know i have a very good chance at becoming an attorney at this firm. my dream is to work in the DA’s office and a lot of people know me because i have been interning for quite some time now. I have no fair of not being able to get a job…</p>
<p>“In 1997, when U.S. News first published a statistic called “graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation,” law schools reported an average employment rate of 84 percent. In the most recent U.S. News rankings, 93 percent of grads were working — nearly a 10-point jump.”</p>
<p>If theres a 93% chance of me getting a job… ill take it. Any field you study no a days doesnt guarentee a job and thats just the way the cookie crumbles. Life is a gamble, Im going all in…</p>
Omg, you can’t be serious. You understand student loan debt is the next bubble to burst? Hedge funds have executed derivatives and shorted education stocks bc of SL debt. SL debt has surpassed credit card debt.</p>
<p>
This is a terrible outlook. Education (especially a vocational program like law), is no more than an investment. You need to make back on that 150k of debt (plus what ever interest you rack up), just to break even. And for what? A lowly solo job, where you could’ve made the same as a paralegal?</p>
<p>
These are very competitive spots. </p>
<p>
Wait. What? I’m speechless. You have to be a ■■■■■. The premise of the article is that the “93%” isn’t genuine. And the Opera article says to stay clear of SL debt.</p>
<p>Hey PGhaley, I am going to give you the honest opinion everyone here will agree with. Well, everyone who knows a thing or two about law school.</p>
<p>GPA and LSAT are first and foremost, while your extracurriculars come in near last on the list coming after Letter of Recs, Personal Statements, etc. Some really awesome extracurriculars may help marginally, but what you have are cookie cutter extracurriculars.</p>
<p>You volunteered at a law firm. Repeat that to yourself until you get this.</p>
<p>Think about how low a 3.1 is: you’ve received mostly C’s and B’s and perhaps a couple of A’s here and there (I’m just assuming there is no +/- system there) AND you’re coming from a stateU - where A’s are as easy as attendance. How do I know? I transferred from a stateU.</p>
<p>155 is pretty poor considering the amount of support the rest of your application will provide.</p>
<p>You won’t get into those schools, even if you are a minority. Notice how after all these hundreds of hours volunteering at a law firm, you still cannot read an article: how certain are you about going to law school and studying law where you’ll be reading “articles” 10x more complex all day long?</p>
<p>You don’t seem qualified, and you don’t have qualifications.</p>
<p>I think it is in your best interest to stop all this volunteering and get a career going! In all honesty, we are just trying to help you pick the best route. Thanks!</p>
<p>As you dig deeper into the employment stats, you’ll learn that they include graduates who are working at Best Buy, in the admissions office of the law school, or as document reviewers. They do not mean that 93% of the grads are working as lawyers. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that in three years many of the people who you know today in the D.A.'s office will have moved on. Even if they’re still working there, they won’t remember you as well. They will have three more years of people coming in and out the door. Many D.A.s offices have had hiring freezes, or jobs go to those who are politically connected. It’s a tough world out there. </p>
<p>If the lawyers who will write letters for you have any pull at their own schools, you might try that. Just because they’re well-known in MASS though, they may not be that well known elsewhere. </p>
<p>If you’re determined to go into debt, Suffolk and Western New England should be on your list. You can look at the lawschoolnumbers site, which shows your current list is out of reach (unless you’re a URM, in which you might have a chance of getting waitlisted at 3rd tier schools). You might also look at Maine and Roger Williams. It pains me, however, to encourage anyone to go to law school these days due to the horrendous job market for lawyers – even for the T14 grads, who discover that their job markets have dried up too. </p>
<p>Stacy gave you good advice about working and going to school at night, if you feel certain that you have a job waiting.</p>
<p>I think the only people with pull these days are those who donate millions or have family that donate millions. Even they don’t get much pull anymore.</p>
<p>Cross out Northeastern. It’s decent but way overpriced. Also, cross off any law schools not in the top one or two tiers. The legal profession is a flooded market. Do some market research now, before going into debt. Those who are graduating from law schools cannot find jobs, at least not in the legal profession. The NY Times did a nice piece on this. Google it. Tons of unemployed lawyers out there. And there’s a real problem with law schools massaging the numbers of their alumni who go on to get legal jobs. They inflate their numbers so you’ll go to their school. Rethink law school. Do market research before you commit to further education.</p>
<p>The kind of mentality that OP possesses is the very reason 3rd tier law schools exist at all in this country. I think there are way too many undergrad, MBA, and law school programs that are straight garbages in the U.S. Time to close down some schools.</p>
<p>“I graduated from bridgewater state universtiy. I majored in English and minored in criminal justice. I had a gpa of 2.9 and scored 162 on the LSAT.”</p>