LSAT and Law School Admissions Forum

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General questions relating to law school or law school admissions.
 Chrissey
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: Nov 22, 2020
|
#81402
To start, a bit of background may help. I got pregnant at 16 and my college grades suffered significantly. I managed to still graduate from high school with honors and both a technical and college prep diploma, but my college courses were very poor as I was a new mom, living in an abandoned home and working 50 hours a week. It was nuts. That was 2011. I got married at 18, moved clear across the country and took a break from school while dealing with being (temporarily) in a wheelchair and having to attend physical therapy multiple times a week while my husband was deployed to Afghanistan. In 2014 I tried to go back, but I again struggled greatly as a young mother in a (then) abusive marriage. In 2015, we separated and I was still in school and working as much as possible (oftentimes 2-3 jobs) while raising my daughter alone. My grades were bad, including many 0's due to not having enough time, but I had to remain full-time due to financial aid needs. I graduated with my AA in 2016 and went on to a University. I was kicked out of my University in 2017 due to low scholarships (again due to 0's due to time constraints while working 50+ a week and raising my daughter alone). I spent two years getting my life together and returned to my University in 2019. For the entirety of the 4 quarters I had left I made the Dean's list and for those quarters I averaged a 3.88 while still working and raising my daughter alone. It took time to get to a place where I was confident and capable of doing it all. Unfortunately, those 0's are going into my CAS GPA and all the law schools will see is something around a 2.5 GPA. This is accumulated over the past 9 years. I'm a non-traditional student (first-generation high school graduate, divorced, single sole-custodial mother and I've been working for the past several years as a career USPS lettercarrier).

I am awaiting my LSAC results from November 2020, but I am very confident with it and am expecting a good score. I believe this would make me a splitter.

My reach school is NYU Law, but my GPA is so far below anything they consider, I'm worried they will automatically deny me. How do I get them to actually check out my application with such a low GPA?



-Another question: What if one of my schools won't send my transcript. I've requested it three times online, but they aren't sending it. I've emailed and gotten no response. I've called and talked to multiple different people who all tell me that they will look into it. I am in Washington and the school is in West Virginia so I can't just go in and ask them to figure it out. I'm freaking out that this one awful school (one of those military spouse MyCAA-stealing scheme schools) will prevent me from applying to law school as ALL transcripts are required. I actually did good in their classes so I think the transcript will actually help my GPA with CAS.
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 KelseyWoods
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 1079
  • Joined: Jun 26, 2013
|
#81410
Hi Chrissey!

The good news is it seems like you have a compelling story to tell for your personal statement and for a GPA addenda. We already have some resources on writing an effective addendum and Dave had a conversation with another splitter on the forum that should be helpful for you:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats- ... h-addenda/
https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewt ... f=9&t=7591

The important thing to remember in explaining your low GPA is to put the emphasis more on being a young mother, first generation high school graduate, and other aspects that make your situation unique, rather than the fact that you were having to work full-time. Obviously mention that you were working full-time (and had to so that you could take care of your daughter!) but working full time while in school is a fairly common scenario and standard explanation for a lower GPA. So emphasize your other more unique obstacles instead.

And here's some more info about splitters and splitter-friendly law schools that you may find useful:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/what-a ... splitters/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/which- ... -friendly/

As for what to do about the school that won't send your transcript, that's a tough one! I would keep calling and putting the pressure on them. Keep a record of your interactions with them. But as for what to do if they still won't send your transcript, I would contact LSAC and ask them. They have a provision on their website for what to do if you can't get a transcript sent because of a financial obligation. But they don't mention what to do if the school is just incompetent!

Hope this helps! Good luck with your applications!

Best,
Kelsey
 Chrissey
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: Nov 22, 2020
|
#81415
Thank you so much for the reply!

I’m very excited to have made it this far and am going to look at any resources I can to help further my chances for success. I greatly appreciate the linked forums and information.

-Chrissey
KelseyWoods wrote:Hi Chrissey!

The good news is it seems like you have a compelling story to tell for your personal statement and for a GPA addenda. We already have some resources on writing an effective addendum and Dave had a conversation with another splitter on the forum that should be helpful for you:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats- ... h-addenda/
https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewt ... f=9&t=7591

The important thing to remember in explaining your low GPA is to put the emphasis more on being a young mother, first generation high school graduate, and other aspects that make your situation unique, rather than the fact that you were having to work full-time. Obviously mention that you were working full-time (and had to so that you could take care of your daughter!) but working full time while in school is a fairly common scenario and standard explanation for a lower GPA. So emphasize your other more unique obstacles instead.

And here's some more info about splitters and splitter-friendly law schools that you may find useful:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/what-a ... splitters/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/which- ... -friendly/

As for what to do about the school that won't send your transcript, that's a tough one! I would keep calling and putting the pressure on them. Keep a record of your interactions with them. But as for what to do if they still won't send your transcript, I would contact LSAC and ask them. They have a provision on their website for what to do if you can't get a transcript sent because of a financial obligation. But they don't mention what to do if the school is just incompetent!

Hope this helps! Good luck with your applications!

Best,
Kelsey

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