I would like some advice

Hello,
I'm an undergraduate student who turns 28 in December. I had a gpa of 3.3 before having severe personal issues which I failed 3 classes it dropped me to a 2.1. I need to get my gpa back to at least 3.0 for law school. I'm very determined to better but I only have 48 credits remaining. Any bright ideas on how do to this ? I'm also considering transferring to get a "fresh gpa" is this a good idea ? My school does take retakes but it only averages the F and not sure if the new grade replaces it.

I attend SNHU online.

 

I would just advise you to finish those 48 credits as strong as possible. If Law schools are like other grad schools, they are going to want transcripts from all institutions you have attended, so a plan for a "fresh GPA" doesn't sound like it's feasible. Have you taken the LSAT yet?

 

not yet 160's on pt though

 

I would do my best to get top grades for the remaining credits. Most schools will look favorably on a rising trend in grades. You can explain the circumstances surrounding your poor early performance (and why these problem no longer affect you) in your personal statement. From the research I did back when I applied (and this was more than 10 yrs ago, so things might have changed a bit), by far the single most important factor in law school admissions is your LSAT score. I found lots of schools, many in the "top tier," that admitted nearly 100% of applicants above a certain LSAT score (160 or so). So please take the time to practice and get your score up as much as possible. Keep in mind that most law schools will average your scores if you re-take the test, so you've really got one shot to nail it. For example, a "poor" 1st score of, say, 145 and a "very good" second score of 160 would average to a 152.5, which is right about at the median score.

I hope this helps. You didn't ask about whether going to law school is a wise choice, so I'll keep that opinion to myself.

 

Did you end up going?

 

Yes, I finished in 2005 and I'm a licensed attorney. Make sure you do your homework on this, because law school applications are way down, and the legal job market is not what it once was. I think prospective applicants are deciding that it's not worth the time, effort, and money to go. If I were applying now, I would find a school that would give me a full or almost full scholarship, or I would pass. Now, if you've got rich parents or some other funding source, that's different. But I wouldn't take the risk right now. It's three very expensive and very miserable years, with little certainty of outcome.

 

LSAC will combine all your grades from all institutions ever attended to produce a cumulative GPA, which is what law schools will look at when assessing your application. Therefore, changing schools is not a solution to your problem. Just get A's from here on out, and kill the LSAT. An average GPA and killer LSAT (or vice versa) is referred to as a "splitter" application, and there are many schools that are known to look favorably on splitter situations - I think Georgetown Law is one of them. Also, like FJD said, don't pay sticker price for law school. I'd say unless you can get into a t-14 school (top 14), don't go to law school at full sticker under any circumstances. The market is saturated and shrinking, from what I understand. Good luck.

Also, take everything I said with a grain of salt - I have no law school experience. Last year I was seriously considering LS though, so I registered with LSAC and heavily researched the entire application process. I'd defer to folks like FJD on this one.

 

Some schools allow you to have more than 120 semester units on your transcipt. I had many more on my Excelsior (USNY) transcript and all were included in my overall grade. Check with your school to see if this is an option.

 

Tucker Max: Why You Should Not Go to Law School

 

By my math it would take 60 graded credits at only "A" work to get up at 3.00
That's 20 classes, I think a person "could" do it, but I wouldn't decide until I'd managed to pull perfect "A" grades for the 48. At that point, you can decide if the cost and time of 1 additional semester is worth the work. Because, if just one isn't an "A" then you've not gained anything.

 

I guess it's been said already but I don't know that there's any such thing as a "fresh gpa." If the credits transfer then the grades transfer too. You might have the option to not transfer specific "bad" courses but then you don't get the credits either.

 

If you're willing to start over, check to see if your state has academic fresh start. Otherwise, you would have to retake the failed courses at the original school in order to replace those grades. You should really talk to someone at SNHU to have them clarify the retake policy.