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.)