Devry Grads

[onthecusp]

Before responding to this post, please understand that I fully understand the merits (or lack there of) that go along with attending Devry University.  I was young, made some poor decisions as a younger adult, married early, was forced to act quickly, and rather than transferring to a more reputable school, I decided to choose the quicker route and graduate from Devry. 

I have regretted this decision every day since the day I graduated back in 2005.  I currently work for a law firm as a paralegal and have made the decision to take on Law School.  I have been rigorously preparing for my LSAT and have scored progressively well on my diagnostics.  I scored a 155 this past Saturday, and am shooting for a 160 on test day which will be on 9/26.  I'm 28 years old, I'll be turning 29 on 9/3; it's now or never for me.  From everything I've read, despite being a "for profit" school; Devry is regionally accredited and meet the criterion for post graduate admission. 

This taken from Devry's website:

DeVry University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (NCA), www.ncahlc.org. The university's Keller Graduate School of Management and DeVry College of New York are included in this accreditation. NCA is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting association and is one of the six regional agencies that accredit U.S. colleges and universities at the institutional level. Accreditation provides assurance to the public and to prospective students that standards of quality have been met.

I fully understand that I have virtually zero chance of getting into a top...."anything" school really, and that is not my intent.  I am looking for a tier 3 or 4 school where I will have the opportunity to work hard and finish at the top of my class.  The Schools to which I am applying include:

Western State University   
Whittier Law School   
Chapman University   
Southwestern Law School    
University of La Verne   

Do I have a shot at getting into any of these schools with an LSAT score in the 155-160 range and a 3.05 GPA (Please don't make me explain the low GPA....I was an idiot as a kid)?  There is no other recourse for me, if I have to I'll transfer what I can from Devry into a more reputable school, get a degree in Sociology and re-apply.  This is what I want to do, there is no stopping it. 

[Ninja1]

I don't know about Devry, but I know of Phoenix people that have got in at semi-respectable schools with similar numbers.

[Matthies]

I don't know about Devry, but I know of Phoenix people that have got in at semi-respectable schools with similar numbers.

I had like 30 credits from Universoty of Phoenix on my transcript from when I was working and taking online classes, I don't think it effected me at all. I think you shoul;d apply to more schools as I don't think it will be the death nell you think it is.

[botbot]

In my limited experience assisting for-profit graduates (Grand Canyon and Phoenix), they seem to perform slightly below what you would expect from their numbers.

Don't dwell on it, you can still go to law school.

[onthecusp]

I appreciate all of your input.  I spoke directly to the admission offices about this and got all the answers I was looking for.  I have a feeling I'm going to crush the LSAT...I'm progressing very well in my studies (Testmasters is awesome).  Who knows, maybe I'll throw my name out to a few of the top schools and see what happens.  At this point I'm making up for lost time; I feel like I cheated myself out of the college experience when I was younger by conceding and settling with Devry (due to my own youthful petulance in wanting to graduate faster), and I don't want to miss out on it altogether.  All I want is the opportunity...and I'm going for it.  Wish me luck!

[Farfan1]

I don't know about Devry, but I know of Phoenix people that have got in at semi-respectable schools with similar numbers.

I had like 30 credits from Universoty of Phoenix on my transcript from when I was working and taking online classes, I don't think it effected me at all. I think you shoul;d apply to more schools as I don't think it will be the death nell you think it is.

This statement made my day.  I received my UG from American Military University, which is an online school but regionally accredited.  No one has ever said, that they have online credits on their transcripts.  I talked to the adcomms at Loyola Law in LA and they gave a very generic, we take people from all schools.  Didnt think it was true till now.

[Matthies]

I don't know about Devry, but I know of Phoenix people that have got in at semi-respectable schools with similar numbers.

I had like 30 credits from Universoty of Phoenix on my transcript from when I was working and taking online classes, I don't think it effected me at all. I think you shoul;d apply to more schools as I don't think it will be the death nell you think it is.

This statement made my day.  I received my UG from American Military University, which is an online school but regionally accredited.  No one has ever said, that they have online credits on their transcripts.  I talked to the adcomms at Loyola Law in LA and they gave a very generic, we take people from all schools.  Didnt think it was true till now.

I actually had more than 30 credits of online classes, becuase I took a bunch of online classes at ASU when I started there. I much prefer the online learning envrioment. I also took two online class in law school.

[Farfan1]

Online class at law school??  What school? 

[bncounter6]

Don't let the school you attended discourage you from applying to any law school.  Law schools are mainly concerned with your overall GPA and LSAT.  Reach for the stars!!!

[Matthies]

Online class at law school??  What school? 

Denver, we had EU Law online and EU envriomental law online, the profressor was in eroupe. TONS of reading, but it beat having to go to a classroom over the summer, no exmas just papers.