GPA Addendum

[gse42387]

My case is extreme and probably not seen very often. I'm predicting my GPA from LSAC is going to be about 2.5. Although when in college previously I had a major substance abuse problem resulting in 11 failed classes, death of both my parents from substance abuse also, I am type 1 diabetic, experienced homelessness, and have been arrested numerous times. Since becoming clean and sober for almost 6 years I returned to school and received a high honors degree 3.7 GPA from a community college and a 3.6 finishing my bachelors degree while working full time, starting a family, and doing loads of volunteer work. Do you think circumstances like this will be enough for schools to over look the 2.5 LSAC GPA??

[James Finch]

Hi GSE,

While it certainly depends upon the individual admin committee, your past history won't necessarily hurt your admissions chances. In fact, it may even help them; law schools prize diversity, including diversity of life experiences, and redemption stories like your own are excellent content for recruiting materials. Having proven yourself able to recover from setbacks in life to succeed in college will show schools that you are serious about your education and studies, which should reflect well upon the school both while attending and after graduation. The old adage applies to law school as well: everyone loves a good redemption story.

While I was in law school, my Legal Methods professor invited Shon Hopwood to speak at our school, and it opened my eyes to how similar cases are looked upon. While Hopwood is definitely an outlier, both in terms of the gravity of his prior crimes and the success he had as a "jailhouse lawyer" while serving out his sentence, his case should still be very instructive.

It might seem that law schools only want the best and brightest, with spotless track records, but this isn't the case; practicing law is a grueling profession, and people who have dealt with and fought through adversity are, in my experience, accorded even more respect than those who have simply done really well in school up to this point. So don't feel discouraged by your past; instead, use it as evidence of how you're creating a better future, for yourself and others.

Hope this helps!

[Dave Killoran]

Let me add a GPA comment to James' insightful response.

The GPA is an issue, and there's a stark "before and after" scenario here that you will need to address squarely, either as part of your personal statement or as a direct GPA addendum. That said, that explanation will go quite a ways toward mitigating this issue. It's likely that schools out there will understand they are more or less dealing with two completely separate scenarios, and I'd bet there's a decent chance some school will overlook those grades. It depends on the school, of course, and this is a good case where rankings do a grave injustice by forcing schools to focus on a single undergrad GPA. It only takes one to buy into what you are saying, and have the room to allow for the lower GPA on their record. Your story will likely be enough to get you over that hurdle I'd bet, so I concur with James here about your chances being better than they might seem if it was just a straight 2.5.

Good luck!