Law School after this…what are the chances?

[allvia]

You may want to read 'Mysonx3's Law School Thread'   https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ool-Thread

[acethroughcollege]

You may want to read 'Mysonx3's Law School Thread'   https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ool-Thread

That was an excellent thread! Thanks so much for recommending that.

I couldn't tell how he/she planned their graded credits after realizing they needed 60 graded credits.
Since I will have only 30 with UMPI, and you need 60 before your degree is conferred, that means I have to get 30 more from somewhere else before I get my degree from UMPI.

Is that right?

Also, I wondering if UMPI or TESU makes for a more attractive application/

Thoughts?

---

It MIGHT be difficult to get into a high-level law school but, as long as you have a BS/BA, a decent LSAT score, and a way to pay your most of the way there. I went to an interview session at UA law and it isn't uncommon for students to have a nontraditional route to law.

The only disadvantage, I can see, is you'll have trouble getting GPA-based scholarships. Maybe someone at Harvard or Yale Law might look down on you. On the other hand, if you blow the LSAT out of the park it's probably a nonissue.

Make sure you are able to describe your trajectory and reason for going into law in your application.

Thanks so much, I think I wont have a problem getting a high GPA. I hear what you're saying about the LSAT.  I see you're in law school now. How did you get the graded credits you needed?

---

How do graduate degree programs look on this way of getting my degree? Will the degree itself indicate it was any different from those who do traditional,school? I am considering law school and I just want to make sure I can get in somewhere if that’s what I choose to do. Are there disadvantages to obtaining a degree this way?

You have a number of threads about getting an accounting degree with UMPI, so I am going to assume that you are still having that as your plan. 

LSAC, the body that handles law school applications/applicant file assembly for the great majority of law schools in the United States, takes all of an applicant’s transcripts and computes a GPA. If you do the minimum 30, and whether that’s at a UMPI or even a Big 3 school, it appears to me that they will not include a calculated GPA with your application. So, might be in your best interest to ensure that you have 60 grades credits. They note that

“ No cumulative GPA will be calculated if an applicant has….

• a total of less than 60 graded credits of U.S./Canadian undergraduate-level work on their file and may or may not have an institution identified as their undergraduate degree-granting school.”
  

https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school...marization  

This is under the “No Cumulative GPA Calculation” tab at the bottom. 

Not sure how, exactly, that would impact your chances, but I can’t imagine it would help, particularly at the highest ranked/most selective schools at least.

One other thing that I was told and that, based on that same page, I believe to be true: LSAC calculated your GPA based on courses taken prior to issuance of your 1st bachelor’s degree. So, OP, if you do 120 hours (with say 30 at UMPI and 90 ACE credits) for a UMPI BA and then do 30 “extra” credits or get a 30+ hour masters degree to be eligible to earn your CPA license, those credits ARE NOT included in your LSAC GPA.

Excellent info. How do you suggest getting the 60 credit before the bachelors then?

---

It depends on:
1) the law school you want to attend, and
2) the number of graded credits you have

If you go non-traditional, be prepared to be a bit limited in your choices.  OTOH, for someone coming to this forum to try to get a degree non-traditionally, and at the lowest cost, I kind of think that you're not looking to get the most expensive law degree you can.

I would start looking at the law schools you're considering and see what they require, and then work backwards from there.

After reading the thread by Mysonx3, it appears as if you can go to a Ivy league school with a ton of financial aid if you have the right grades/scores. Am I missing something?

---

In general, if your LSAT score is above the median for a certain law school, you have a decent chance of admission to that law school (even with a Big 3 degree and no LSAC GPA).

hmm, thats something to think about.  Having a super high LSAT and a no GPA LSAC. Do you know anyone who has done that and gotten into law school successfully?

---

One other thing to consider: if you do well, you can transfer after your 1L year of law school. My wife went to a T25 law school and approximately 10% of the people who graduated with her transferred in.  Many of them came from substantially lower ranked (many outside of the T100) law schools. I have read online that law schools don’t look at your undergrad GPA or your LSAT when evaluating transfers, but have no specific knowledge.

Thats a great point. Thanks for bringing that up.

[freeloader]

As far as getting your 60 grades hours go, I think LevelUP hit the nail on the head: try to get 60 hours at UMPI (assuming that’s where you end up getting your bachelor’s). It would certainly be easier than trying to cobble credits together from a bunch of places and would probably end up the same cost or cheaper AND, again as LevelUP noted, your grades (assuming you don’t fail) will all be A’s and B’s.

There is nothing that says that you can’t complete more than 30 hours at UMPI, it’s just that many people on this board are trying to max out their alt credits/reduce university costs as much as they can. I did more well above 30 hours at UMPI—it’s what I thought made the most sense in my situation. Every person’s situation is different—you do you.

If you haven’t already complete all of your alt credit, you could replace some of those courses with UMPI courses. If you have completed the alt credits (or really want to do that), add more majors/minors/concentrations (as appropriate) at UMPI.

[acethroughcollege]

As far as getting your 60 grades hours go, I think LevelUP hit the nail on the head: try to get 60 hours at UMPI (assuming that’s where you end up getting your bachelor’s). It would certainly be easier than trying to cobble credits together from a bunch of places and would probably end up the same cost or cheaper AND, again as LevelUP noted, your grades (assuming you don’t fail) will all be A’s and B’s.

There is nothing that says that you can’t complete more than 30 hours at UMPI, it’s just that many people on this board are trying to max out their alt credits/reduce university costs as much as they can. I did more well above 30 hours at UMPI—it’s what I thought made the most sense in my situation. Every person’s situation is different—you do you.

If you haven’t already complete all of your alt credit, you could replace some of those courses with UMPI courses. If you have completed the alt credits (or really want to do that), add more majors/minors/concentrations (as appropriate) at UMPI.

Good point, that would work well since I also want to sit for the CPA and need the extra 30 credits.

[rachel83az]

Agreed: add more classes to UMPI. Assuming an average of 15 credits per session, that works out to $94/credit. Considering that you don't need to buy books or other materials, that's exceptionally cheap for graded credits that are guaranteed to be As or Bs. You can get graded credits slightly cheaper from TEL, ONU, or UExcels (some), but these could be Cs or Ds and bring down your GPA.

[nosey561]

You may want to read 'Mysonx3's Law School Thread'   https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ool-Thread

That was an excellent thread! Thanks so much for recommending that.

I couldn't tell how he/she planned their graded credits after realizing they needed 60 graded credits.
Since I will have only 30 with UMPI, and you need 60 before your degree is conferred, that means I have to get 30 more from somewhere else before I get my degree from UMPI.

Is that right?

Also, I wondering if UMPI or TESU makes for a more attractive application/

Thoughts?

---

It MIGHT be difficult to get into a high-level law school but, as long as you have a BS/BA, a decent LSAT score, and a way to pay your most of the way there. I went to an interview session at UA law and it isn't uncommon for students to have a nontraditional route to law.

The only disadvantage, I can see, is you'll have trouble getting GPA-based scholarships. Maybe someone at Harvard or Yale Law might look down on you. On the other hand, if you blow the LSAT out of the park it's probably a nonissue.

Make sure you are able to describe your trajectory and reason for going into law in your application.

Thanks so much, I think I wont have a problem getting a high GPA. I hear what you're saying about the LSAT.  I see you're in law school now. How did you get the graded credits you needed?

---

How do graduate degree programs look on this way of getting my degree? Will the degree itself indicate it was any different from those who do traditional,school? I am considering law school and I just want to make sure I can get in somewhere if that’s what I choose to do. Are there disadvantages to obtaining a degree this way?

You have a number of threads about getting an accounting degree with UMPI, so I am going to assume that you are still having that as your plan. 

LSAC, the body that handles law school applications/applicant file assembly for the great majority of law schools in the United States, takes all of an applicant’s transcripts and computes a GPA. If you do the minimum 30, and whether that’s at a UMPI or even a Big 3 school, it appears to me that they will not include a calculated GPA with your application. So, might be in your best interest to ensure that you have 60 grades credits. They note that

“ No cumulative GPA will be calculated if an applicant has….

• a total of less than 60 graded credits of U.S./Canadian undergraduate-level work on their file and may or may not have an institution identified as their undergraduate degree-granting school.”
  

https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school...marization  

This is under the “No Cumulative GPA Calculation” tab at the bottom. 

Not sure how, exactly, that would impact your chances, but I can’t imagine it would help, particularly at the highest ranked/most selective schools at least.

One other thing that I was told and that, based on that same page, I believe to be true: LSAC calculated your GPA based on courses taken prior to issuance of your 1st bachelor’s degree. So, OP, if you do 120 hours (with say 30 at UMPI and 90 ACE credits) for a UMPI BA and then do 30 “extra” credits or get a 30+ hour masters degree to be eligible to earn your CPA license, those credits ARE NOT included in your LSAC GPA.

Excellent info. How do you suggest getting the 60 credit before the bachelors then?

---

It depends on:
1) the law school you want to attend, and
2) the number of graded credits you have

If you go non-traditional, be prepared to be a bit limited in your choices.  OTOH, for someone coming to this forum to try to get a degree non-traditionally, and at the lowest cost, I kind of think that you're not looking to get the most expensive law degree you can.

I would start looking at the law schools you're considering and see what they require, and then work backwards from there.

After reading the thread by Mysonx3, it appears as if you can go to a Ivy league school with a ton of financial aid if you have the right grades/scores. Am I missing something?

---

In general, if your LSAT score is above the median for a certain law school, you have a decent chance of admission to that law school (even with a Big 3 degree and no LSAC GPA).

hmm, thats something to think about.  Having a super high LSAT and a no GPA LSAC. Do you know anyone who has done that and gotten into law school successfully?

---

One other thing to consider: if you do well, you can transfer after your 1L year of law school. My wife went to a T25 law school and approximately 10% of the people who graduated with her transferred in.  Many of them came from substantially lower ranked (many outside of the T100) law schools. I have read online that law schools don’t look at your undergrad GPA or your LSAT when evaluating transfers, but have no specific knowledge.

Thats a great point. Thanks for bringing that up.

As previously mentioned "In general, if your LSAT score is above the median for a certain law school, you have a decent chance of admission to that law school (even with a Big 3 degree and no LSAC GPA)." I know someone who graduated from a big 3 school (with only 6 credits -cornerstone & capstone). They scored a couple points above the median LSAT score and are now in a T100 school with a 50% scholarship. They only applied to a few schools and got into all of them, including a T50 school.

[Alpha]

I would like to add one more thing.  While I have never applied to law school I believe that they sometimes require a written essay as a part of the admissions application packet.  Having the ability to write a strong, logical, coherent essay is an asset to any graduate.  If this is an actual part of a law school application process then I'd say that writing a killer essay could put you over the top at your chosen law school.  Best of luck.

[bluebooger]

if you can't get into a t14 law school then don't bother
you'll most likely end up being an ambulance chaser or making late night tv commercials "have you been injured by asbestos?"

[Alpha]

if you can't get into a t14 law school then don't bother              
you'll most likely end up being an ambulance chaser or making late night tv commercials "have you been injured by asbestos?"

To be honest, I don't know if you're right or not but 14 seems like a pretty arbitrary number.

[HogwartsSchool]

if you can't get into a t14 law school then don't bother              
you'll most likely end up being an ambulance chaser or making late night tv commercials "have you been injured by asbestos?"

To be honest, I don't know if you're right or not but 14 seems like a pretty arbitrary number.

Its a ranking of the best rated law schools in the country including potential salary after graduation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school...aw_schools

The salaries for recent T14 law school graduates are far higher than the next group for a variety of reasons. The lower the ranking of the law school the lower potential of initial salary.

btw: The ranking is not about if someone will be successful as a lawyer and make more salary in the future.