What about my grades?

I did a little follow-up on my brother's assertion that my LSAT score and background would make me a solid candidate for admission to the top 10 law school just up the interstate. I looked at the LSAT ranges for a few of the more highly regarded (and, as such, more competitive) programs as determined by US News and World Report. It turns out that my score would keep me on the admissions radar pretty much everywhere except for the top 5 or so schools. Then they would get to my undergraduate grades. I was an awesome high school student, and I returned to form when I got to grad school, but for some reason I just didn't have it all together when I was in college. I did alright, but I'm well below the grades that these top schools usually require from their applicants. So I would be sunk at most places with my grades, even with the solid LSAT score, but what about this big gun that I have swinging from my hip?

Why not go right to the source to get the answer. I wrote a quick note to the admissions office of law school that I thought my numbers would at least give me a serious look but not a place that I would be a solid admit. As I mentioned in my last post, I was aiming for an LSAT score that would give an admission committee a good reason to downplay my undergraduate grades and focus more on my recent accomplishments. I decided the best way to see if I had accomplished this was to float my score along with a mention of my PhD in front of the folks at this school and see what they could tell me about my profile.

The response was interesting. They can never tell you too much without seeing the whole package, but the individual who replied to my message had this to say about my combination of factors:

"There are numerous ways to evaluate your GPA; we recognize the strength of [your] undergraduate school and also that sometimes more science/technical majors (chemistry, engineering, etc.) result in lower GPAs. Also, a stronger LSAT score can absolutely help mitigate a lower GPA, especially with stronger graduate work. I would say that your LSAT score (which is above our 75th percentile) coupled with your great (I find this word choice very telling) work experience and graduate work, would help mitigate your lower GPA."

I take this as a good sign. I would have more work to do in my application, but I wouldn't get dropped as soon as they saw my GPA. I would need to give them reasons to admit me. A solid personal statement, a good optional essay, nice recommendations (I would have to get one from work. That would mean they would know about this plan. That would put pressure on me to follow through if I was admitted. That's a big step to take.). I don't know how much being a state resident (it's a state school) would help, but it would be another check in my column. I'm going to have to start thinking about this... (I actually have been thinking about it, alot. It's too late for me to go into that right now though.)

The LSAT score

I hadn't thought about law school until my wife mentioned it while we were giving our kids a bath way back in February. The company I work for is getting bought by a bigger company. I was in negotiations with a much smaller firm when the sale was announced. I figured I would take that other job and be free of the worry and stress that comes with working for a company during a big merger. After a few weeks of waiting, the other job didn't really pan out. Too little money for a big commute, along with a few other annoying facts that made making the jump from Big Pharma to little pharma too big for me to stomach right now. What could I do with a research degree while living in an area that has limited options for a person with my skill set? Why, become an attorney!

There just happens to be a decent law school up the road (with two more even better ones an hour or so away). My undergraduate grades were mediocre, but 1) I graduated 10 years ago and 2) I have a PhD so how important would they be anyway? A big LSAT score would made the grades even less of a problem. I took a look at some free LSAT's online. After doing a few questions I realized that I could potentially do really well on this test. I like a good mental challenge and it would keep me busy and focused on something else other than the implications of the merger (no job, a job moved somewhere else, big changes to the company culture). After talking to my wife about whether or not she was serious about the law school thing (she was), I started studying in earnest.

I basically had 2 goals when I started studying. I wanted to beat my brother's score (he's currently in law school) and I wanted a score that would lock me into my local school. I set my sights a little higher after I started to get scores on practice tests that were well above what I needed for the local school. The better the law school, the better the job opportunities. Why limit myself? I raised my sites to a score that would make me competitive at these other schools. I was tantalizingly close to the magical 170 barrier in the weeks leading up to the exam. I beat it on one practice test and was a point or two away on a couple more. We're talking one or two questions here.

I was optimistic when I was waiting to take the test, but I didn't feel so great when it was over. I made a silly blunder on one question (I misread my own hand-writing) that cost me some time and a significant amount of mental energy. I was really upset at myself about it. Here I had put all of this effort into preparing for this test, and I go in there and blow it. I pretty much forgot about law as a new career path. (Law is one of the few areas that I could think of where I could use my science background while not being engaged in scientific work. That's a big attraction for me.) Well, I got my score today. I did about as well as I had been doing in my preparation. I scored a 168. According to my brother, with that score and my PhD, I'm pretty much a lock for the most prestigous school in the area. This is a Top 10 program. Would it be worth the money and aggravation to pursue this avenue?