Slightly Discouraged Science Major

[GC_Chem_BU]

Hello,

I'm majoring in chemistry and minoring in professional writing at Belmont University, a liberal arts school in Nashville, TN. I transferred from Purdue University in the fall, mostly because I wasn't a fan of the environment, and I also wanted to pursue music (I have one demo out, a concept album I wrote, with more on the way).

I currently have a 3.0 GPA - it won't get any lower than that, probably a max of 3.3 - and I realize that isn't nearly good enough for most good law schools as defined by U.S. News and the like. I have overcome great adversity, culminating with just recently being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I am expected to graduate Fall 2012, and will be preparing for the LSAT most likely starting light in the fall, then continuing through to the summer before graduation.

I was wondering if there's any real chance of me getting into a good school for IP law (and more specifically, patent/grant writing) with credentials like a 3.0 GPA. Will a great personal letter or addendum make up for that GPA, considering what I went through my first 2 1/2 years? I'm confident with the LSAT material, and I definitely want to prove that my GPA is not reflective of my ability.

Thanks for your help in advance!

[Hamilton]

You are a chemistry major who loves music.  I have to ask/suggest you ask yourself - why in the heck are you thinkinig about law school?  Love of law or truly wanting to be a lawyer - great.  Seems like the thing to do, or considering on a lark - bad mojo.

[bigs5068]

Well don't worry about U.S. News thinks, but if you really do care since their methodolgy is so bad you can trick them. It is unfortunate that someone like yourself studying a difficult subject is not rewarded while someone taking religious studies and getting a 4.0 is. To get around this take some easy elective classes. Frisbee Golf, weightlifting, basket weaving, and rack up some free A's. Schools just look at the UGPA and not the substance of the grades.

One other thing to consider is that if you want to do patent law you may not have to go to law school at all. There is a patent bar open to graduates with certain degrees and you don't need to go to law school to be a member of this, but you are able to go to court for patent law issues and for all intensive purposes be a patent lawyer.

[GC_Chem_BU]

Well graduate school is very important to me, and along with chemistry always being an interest of mine and music being my main hobby, I have always enjoyed writing. That's why patent writing, intellectual property law, and grant proposal writing have seemed like ideal careers to me. I can go from project to project, translate what non-English speaking researchers or people that aren't very good at writing are explaining to me scientifically, and create an easy-to-read grant proposal for the government or the courts upon which they will decide how much money to give. That's ideal for me, since staying in one place kind of bores me, and I love to write about things that I actually enjoy (as opposed to most writing class prompts). So to answer post #2's question, I'm sure I want to do something with law.

As for post 3, I have a little more room for classes which I am using for a writing minor, and some of them are going to be fun/easy classes. My last semester will consist of mostly seminars and my senior research thesis to finish my chemistry major, so I am expecting a jump in GPA there. That patent bar seems very intriguing; that means I could pursue another graduate degree that could possibly be more relevant to my interests, AND be able to write patents?

[FalconJimmy]

grant proposal writing

I might be missing something here, but what does this have to do with being an attorney?

[bigs5068]

Yea you could probably obtain another graduate degree. I know nothing about Patent Law and want nothing to do with it, but I live in the Bay Area where quite a few engineers live and I know a few people that have been licensed as patent law lawyers and that is what they wanted to do. They saved themselves 3 years and 100K plus dollars so if you are convinced patent law is what you want to do it might be the right way to go.

http://www.patentbarstudy.com/exam/qualifications.html

[GC_Chem_BU]

grant proposal writing

I might be missing something here, but what does this have to do with being an attorney?

Most likely nothing, but I figured I would answer the previous posts' questions by fully explaining my career options / likes and dislikes. I also don't know what degree I would need in order to do just that.

[Hamilton]

YES!  Suggest that you do more homework.  If patent law is your area of interest, law school may not be necessary - can save a lot of money and brain damage.  Look at what you want to do and what you can do by passing the patent bar.

Yea you could probably obtain another graduate degree. I know nothing about Patent Law and want nothing to do with it, but I live in the Bay Area where quite a few engineers live and I know a few people that have been licensed as patent law lawyers and that is what they wanted to do. They saved themselves 3 years and 100K plus dollars so if you are convinced patent law is what you want to do it might be the right way to go.

http://www.patentbarstudy.com/exam/qualifications.html

[FalconJimmy]

I didn't know this, but according to this web-site, a science major isn't necessarily required if certain classes are taken.  Sounds like a junior college might be a person's best friend, here.

http://www.patentbarstudy.com/exam/qualifications.html

[Hamilton]

Or you can simply take prep classes and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (which is a b*tch BTW - I've taken it).  Passing the FE is a lot easier, less time-consuming, and cheaper than 3 years of law school

I didn't know this, but according to this web-site, a science major isn't necessarily required if certain classes are taken.  Sounds like a junior college might be a person's best friend, here.

http://www.patentbarstudy.com/exam/qualifications.html