Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t correcting you or anything - just throwing the story out there. I was motivated to the point of unhealthy obsession. My classmates called me “grade junkie.”
Going in with a developed work ethic is easier than trying to develop one, but then again some of our habitual ass-busters got pretty discouraged early on when they weren’t automatically getting straight A’s and pats on the head like they’d been receiving all their lives up to that point. You’ve got to be self-sustaining and able to weather a moderate amount of neglect and/or abuse.
See, the thing is, I’ve done both (poli sci/german undergrad and then premed postbac), and found the latter drastically more difficult. Now granted, the undergrad was at a state school and the postbac at a prestigious science oriented private research institution; furthermore, I’m much more humanities inclined than scientifically inclined, which may have made the undergrad easier. However, the sheer difficulty of engineering and some science classes can be hard to accurately convey . . . in the humanities, rarely is there a problem with grasping a basic concept, usually the challenge is in finding a new angle on an issue and presenting it coherently and convincingly.
However, in the sciences, 1) there is one right answer, which can be both gratifying and frustrating, and 2) simply understanding the concepts can be the main challenge. I think in general the GPAs are lower in the sciences for a reason . . . again, YMMV, and this is turning into a hijack, so I’ll stop.
Seriously? Does that apply to degrees before bachelors, do you know? I’m getting ready to apply to law school. I already have an AA and will have a BA this coming June.
SoulSearching, I know this isn’t what you’re asking but bear with me here. I’m going to guess that what is attracting you to law school is prestige and the opportunity to interact with motivated and successful people. Do consider giving your business degree another chance. First, a successful business career can offer you both of these things. And regarding prestige, one thing I’ve noticed after being out of school a few years is that (professionally and socially) people start to become less impressed with degrees and more impressed with actual job accomplishments. Second, consider the fact that you already have an online business – maybe it’s not the most exciting thing you’ve ever done, but obviously that puppy held your interest long enough to get it off the ground. And if it’s already turning a profit then most likely you have a talent for this sort of thing. Also, if you really want a second chance at school (which I what I picked up from your OP), you could get an MBA after a few years experience.
Anyhow, I know I’m not going to change your mind with one post but I’ll throw in my 0.02 anyhow. FTR IANAL … but I did almost apply to law school
IMO, for most reasonably intelligent people, obtaining grades in the liberal arts and social sciences share a certain skillset which I consider - basically - being able to bullshit. Identify a position and defend it in an organized, convincing manner. Heck, all the way up to the bar exam, where you could nearly assure yourself a passing grade on the IL state essay portion on organization alone. Identifying the relevant issue/area of law pretty much put you over the top without any need to know the “correct” answer.
I personally consider this far easier than subjects such as physics or calculus - or perhaps a foreign language, where you have to know the material, or you have absolutely no chance of receiving even a partial grade.
Of course, for someone deficient in the BS gene, the ability to write a 20 page paper or deliver a 10 minute speech on just about any topic might be far more daunting than mastering a set of formulae…
First, I would emphasize the advice given above regarding getting actual experience working with lawyers, in whatever capacity you are interested in, whether it’s in big-firm law practice, government, public interest, academia, whatever. Your focus should be on what’s going to happen after law school.
Second, the difficulty of getting good grades in law school cannot be overemphasised. You will be in a class full of people who are at least as smart as you are; however, someone will get a D, someone will get a C-minus. The grading curve, which in high school and college, generally worked as a boon, will kill you in law school. Grading in law school is meant to make winners and losers out of people who from a wider perspective are performing in a very narrow band of deviation.
Here’s where I differ from others somewhat … The LSAT. It’s not really very hard. If the OP really puts a lot of work into it, I think it’s more than likely he’ll hit his mark. What is it? Reading comprehension, vocabulary, logic, analysis, composition. You don’t actually have to know any particular fact in order to get it right on the LSAT. Of course, given that the LSAT isn’t very hard, you’re competing on an easy exam with a lot of smart people. Your percentile will also be important.
Given all that …
Getting into a Top 10 law school with those undergraduate grades? Uhh … Okay, some of my classmates in a top-20 law school didn’t have such great undergraduate grades. One of them was an Olympic medalist. Another one had 20-odd years of what the law school admissions department decided was very interesting … musician and private detective.
With low grades, you’re going to have to spend a few years living life and putting together an interesting life story. Even then … top 10?
I was in a similar position when I graduated school. I had a worse GPA than you (in engineering though). Mostly because I was undisciplined and somewhat lazy, not that it makes a difference. Smart doesn’t matter if you can’t or won’t apply it. I also didn’t care for being an engineer but I was undecided as what to do.
I had the same problems finding a job since most investment banks, consulting firms and management programs for Fortune 500 companies weren’t so cool about my grades, if they interviewed me at all.
I toyed with the idea of going to law school but decided on business school since it seemed more versatile. But basically, I worked for about three years, changing jobs each year for one at a company with a better reputation. I had taken an accounting course after graduation and recieved an A (I think). I wasn’t going to get into Harvard but I applied to all the part time programs in the area. After a few semesters I transferred to a second tier (as just below top 25 US) MBA program and ultimately graduated to work at a Big-4 management consulting firm (until I lost my job mostly thanks to a perfect storm combination of 9/11, the Dot-com bubble bursting, and the Arthur Andersen/Enron fiasco).
Anyhow the point is that 10 years later, I’m not some jerkoff who got a 2.x in undergrad. I’m a director in a consulting firm who used to work at a Big-4 and has two impressive degrees from well respected schools.
Also, with your business degree, you might want to try litigation consulting (what I do). It’s basically a branch of management consulting that combines elements of litigation and trial support, forensic accounting, technology and financial and economic analysis. The backgrounds of people at my firm range from former paralegals, accountants, forensic technology experts, CPAs, MBAs to Nobel Prize winning economists. The actual work consists of anything from putting together presentations for trials, acting as expert witnesses, investigating corporate fraud, regulatory compliance, and so on.
I accepted my current job because I was still considering law school and I thought it would be a good way to gain exposure to the legal industry. Turns out, I would probably be miserable as a corporate attorney. It’s actually pretty tedious work.
I was motivated to the point of unhealthy obsession. My classmates called me “grade junkie.”