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Minority and Non-Traditional Law Students / Advice on applying to Tier 4 Law Schools or doing an additional year of college
« on: October 25, 2014, 12:45:25 PM »
Hi all,
I am new to this site but as you can see from the title above I have questions regarding attending a 4 tier law school next fall or doing an additional year of college to raise my GPA. I am an older (early 30s) student who is a military spouse and mother. I have taken the LSAT once and scored 165 however my GPA is currently in the lower 2's. I know everyone is going to say "Well you are not fit with those grades" however I'd like to explain. To make a long story short my husband and I gained full custody of his children from his first marriage. When I say I was not ready for that responsibility I mean that. I really didn't comprehend how emotionally fragile the kids were and how much time and energy that was required to get them to a place of normal functioning .This was especially true having a husband who was literally sent on deployment less than a month after we got custody. For a year and a half I went through depression and an emotional breakdown. I shouldn't have taken classes at that time but I was so caught up on trying to finish school before I turned the BIG 30 that I grew impatient and piled too many things on my plate.
My first question is now that I am back on track and my GPA is slowly rising, should I take my last 8 classes, graduate next summer and then apply to a low ranked law school. Or, should I add a minor to raise my GPA, retake my LSAT and apply to a mid ranked school?
My second question is does attending any tier of law school matter if the ultimate goal is to work for self and obtain an LLM in Taxation ?
Side note - I have a background in the field so this is not a pipe dream for me.
Thanks for all responses. I really appreciate it.
I am new to this site but as you can see from the title above I have questions regarding attending a 4 tier law school next fall or doing an additional year of college to raise my GPA. I am an older (early 30s) student who is a military spouse and mother. I have taken the LSAT once and scored 165 however my GPA is currently in the lower 2's. I know everyone is going to say "Well you are not fit with those grades" however I'd like to explain. To make a long story short my husband and I gained full custody of his children from his first marriage. When I say I was not ready for that responsibility I mean that. I really didn't comprehend how emotionally fragile the kids were and how much time and energy that was required to get them to a place of normal functioning .This was especially true having a husband who was literally sent on deployment less than a month after we got custody. For a year and a half I went through depression and an emotional breakdown. I shouldn't have taken classes at that time but I was so caught up on trying to finish school before I turned the BIG 30 that I grew impatient and piled too many things on my plate.
My first question is now that I am back on track and my GPA is slowly rising, should I take my last 8 classes, graduate next summer and then apply to a low ranked law school. Or, should I add a minor to raise my GPA, retake my LSAT and apply to a mid ranked school?
My second question is does attending any tier of law school matter if the ultimate goal is to work for self and obtain an LLM in Taxation ?
Side note - I have a background in the field so this is not a pipe dream for me.
Thanks for all responses. I really appreciate it.