Should I drop out?

[gratif]

-My undergraduate major was "Political Science-Legal Studies" from a relatively unknown public school.
-My GPA there was a 2.74 (LSAT 167).
-I defualted to law school.

-I went to a T3 on a full scholarship. 
-I needed a 2.0 to keep it and got a 1.98. 
-I've got about 20K in debt.

-I don't have a backup plan.
-I don't have a plan even if I graduate from law school.
-I'd be damn near last in my class.

[confusedatquinnipiac]

I guess it depends how much you like the law. That is always my ultimate answer to questions like these. A lot of people here are going to tell you to just give up because you are already screwed because you come from a T3.... Ignore them. They just like to crap all over everyone else no matter what,most of the time just to make up for their own inadequacies.

Again, the issue is how much you value law school and a legal education. Do you value it more than the debt etc. you will incur? i.e. do the benefits outweigh the costs? I don't know what you can do given your poor undergrad GPA but your high LSAT shows you have at least the right aptitude for law school. I am surprised that you have the option to continue with a 1.98 though; my T-3 school fails you out if you get below a 2.0. Regardless, your GPA I imagine puts you at a huge disadvantage for masters etc in poli sci or some related field. I personally had the exact opposite problem: a really high GPA but mediocre LSATs (for a variety of reasons).

The school wouldn't have given you the scholarship though based only on a test score. They must have thought you could do it. Perhaps just your studying method was inefficient, cumbersome, or otherwise deficient. Ultimately though, whether to continue must rely on your OWN cost-benefit analysis, not what anyone here might say. If you think you can bring up your GPA etc then consider that as a factor but if you don't think you can, also consider that.

[huskerb]

I agree with the post above. There are a lot of incredibly arrogant people on here who will probably tell you that you're doomed to failure or that you're so much worse than they are because you go to a lower tiered school than they do and your grades aren't as good as theirs. I'm in a similar situation (LS GPA wise) to what you're in and am planning to change my study techniques this next year and I've been instructed to read "Getting to Maybe" to help improve performance on exams.

Honestly I feel worse for people who find their entire self worth in going to the "best" school and getting the "best" grades and proclaiming themselves to be the "best" and troll message boards touting their greatness than I do for people who haven't done as well in school. Having confidence that you know what went wrong and what to do to improve can and will make a difference.

hb

[JeNeSaisLaw]

Have that told you it's pulled yet? They might be willing to work with you so that you can keep it.

[TimMitchell]

Have that told you it's pulled yet? They might be willing to work with you so that you can keep it.

Yeah, .02 off? That would suck if they pulled it

[gershonw]

lets see below average undergrad gpa lsat way way way above average.that probably means your smart and don't work.


this suggests to me the reason your not doing well in law school as well.  a 167 at a t3 is unheard of.  your probably smarter than everyone there.  work harder.

if you drop out and find out your working fcor 35-30k a year with 30k+ in loans to pay off-your going to find out what hard work means.

[jeffislouie]

-My undergraduate major was "Political Science-Legal Studies" from a relatively unknown public school.
-My GPA there was a 2.74 (LSAT 167).
-I defualted to law school.

-I went to a T3 on a full scholarship. 
-I needed a 2.0 to keep it and got a 1.98. 
-I've got about 20K in debt.

-I don't have a backup plan.
-I don't have a plan even if I graduate from law school.
-I'd be damn near last in my class.

Money isn't the issue, so take it easy for minute and instead focus on whether you want to be a lawyer or not.  That's the only real question in play here.  Money can be found through federal and private loans.  20k in debt is nothing to worry about and if you bring the gpa up, you can get the scholarship back.  If you aren't interested in law, stop going because you are likely wasting your effort.  That said, a JD is looked at like an MBA, so unless you are interested in something other than b school, you might be wasting time dropping out of law school to start at a new school.
We need more information to help, but if you are worried because you've fallen below your scholarship gpa and that is the primary issue, you should let it go and keep on fighting.
If, however, you don't like law school, that's a different story altogether.
A low GPA doesn't necessarily doom you to never making money.  It's just more of a challenge and if you thought at all about law school, you're likely the type who enjoys a good challenge.
Don't panic.  Talk to your academic advisor.  Speak with close trusted friends.  Good luck.

[RobWreck]

Sounds like gershonw is probably right on the money... that low of a GPA, even at a T3, sounds like someone that expected to be able to slide by on natural ability (demonstrated by the high LSAT score). It doesn't work that way in law school... so the best advice for the OP would be to take a semester/year off and decide if law school and a JD are really what he wants. No sense in throwing more money away after a law degree when law school was just a 'default' choice and no real thought has been given to what he would do with a JD or why he's even there in the first place.
Not to be rude, but has the OP considered looking into becoming a paralegal? It's a way of still being involved in the legal field without the stress or headaches (or debt) of attaining a JD.
Best of luck with whatever you decide...
Rob

[vap]

Don't drop out, as some have said, if you don't like law school.  Drop out if you don't enjoy working in the law.  What are you doing this summer?  If you're working, make your decision at the end of the summer.  Law school has very little to do with law work.  How did you like your legal writing course?  IMO, that's the class that's most like real life.

Where you say you don't have a plan even if you graduate, that's what worries me.  If you went to law school without knowing what you wanted to do, at least to some degree, then I think you might not have any direction and should figure out what you want in life before taking on (I'm guessing here b/c you didn't post the info) $80K-$100K more debt.

[Nimmy]

lets see below average undergrad gpa lsat way way way above average.that probably means your smart and don't work.


this suggests to me the reason your not doing well in law school as well.  a 167 at a t3 is unheard of.  your probably smarter than everyone there.  work harder.

if you drop out and find out your working fcor 35-30k a year with 30k+ in loans to pay off-your going to find out what hard work means.

Working hard isn't easy when you hate law school.  Sucks gratif, I remember talking to you as pre-laws last year.  At least you didn't spend any money to get to this point.