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Old 03-26-2011, 10:44 AM
 
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I am currently working full time job with part time hours making 40k+ a year however my GPA has dropped from 3.4 to 2.6 during this year I have been doing this.

What would be more important in regards to a future in corporate law? The ability to say I have had a job with high responsibility or my gpa is high?

As a young person, I am only 21, making this yearly pay is a big deal for my current finances but at the same time I am worried I have made a mistake in sacrificing school for a bit of pay.

Would you say at this point it is better for me to continue working and building up my work experience, (I have a lot of responsibility in regards to contracts and deadlines) or focus more on school in order to reach my original gpa?

Basically in 2 years I will be faced with the LSAT and hopefully go into law school in order to begin a career in corporate law. I am just hoping my low gpa in undergrad will not adversely affect my chances.
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Old 03-26-2011, 10:57 AM
 
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For corporate law, your GPA will matter for getting into a good law school. Your overall GPA of undergraduate and law school will matter when getting a job.
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Old 03-26-2011, 11:03 AM
 
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Here's a short article that explains the importance of GPA for a career in law and how to maximize your GPA: Maximize Your Law School GPA
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Old 03-26-2011, 11:29 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Here's a short article that explains the importance of GPA for a career in law and how to maximize your GPA: Maximize Your Law School GPA
Thanks. I was hoping a high LSAT score would be more important then having a 4.0 GPA.
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Old 03-26-2011, 05:09 PM
 
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They look at a lot of things, I got solid recommendations and I have a GPA a bit lower than yours by the time I graduated. My law school of choice has a guy whose GPA was worse than mine & I received a higher LSAT than he had.
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Old 03-26-2011, 06:02 PM
 
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,018,776 times
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Normally, I'd say the work experience is much more important but since you are trying to get into law school ... I'd focus on raising that GPA if I were you ...

Is your work experience related to law by any chance?
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Old 03-26-2011, 06:07 PM
 
Location: Toronto
3,295 posts, read 7,016,005 times
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In general, I'd say GPA is more important in when professional school or other schooling is needed, or might be needed for your career development while work experience is more important if you are sure you are done with school after getting your diploma, and aside from the credential, there is no need for "book learning".
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Old 03-26-2011, 11:17 PM
 
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It all depends upon your chosen field of work and study. Your GPA scores need to be high to get into law school. Then there are media positions such as newspaper and news writing and reporters and they look at a person's GPA right in the middle because they want someone who has just as much street smarts as book knowledge. A high GPA can also be a curse and render you 'over qualified for some jobs." Each field of study and employment has their own individual standards.
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Old 03-27-2011, 12:28 AM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
15,088 posts, read 13,449,172 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cee4 View Post
I am currently working full time job with part time hours making 40k+ a year however my GPA has dropped from 3.4 to 2.6 during this year I have been doing this.

What would be more important in regards to a future in corporate law? The ability to say I have had a job with high responsibility or my gpa is high?

As a young person, I am only 21, making this yearly pay is a big deal for my current finances but at the same time I am worried I have made a mistake in sacrificing school for a bit of pay.

Would you say at this point it is better for me to continue working and building up my work experience, (I have a lot of responsibility in regards to contracts and deadlines) or focus more on school in order to reach my original gpa?

Basically in 2 years I will be faced with the LSAT and hopefully go into law school in order to begin a career in corporate law. I am just hoping my low gpa in undergrad will not adversely affect my chances.
Look at the typical profile of an accepted student at some of the schools you hope to get into, and that should tell you the answer. If you're aiming for a highly-reputed school (and you should - look at the challenging employment stats for law school grads these days), you will quickly realize that your peers will be people with excellent GPAs and LSATs. Your 2.6 GPA will stick out like a sore thumb and invite a lot of questions. You may be able to dispell them, particularly if you come in with a very high LSAT score, but it's going to be a mark against your application that you'll have to actively address.
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Old 03-27-2011, 11:20 AM
 
5,938 posts, read 4,698,667 times
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I think you'd need a stellar LSAT score to offset a poor GPA. Most people going to into law school probably went down the path of college (full-time) -> law school. Many schools are probably assuming that you did the same. You are an easier sell if you have the LSAT/GPA scores rather than being the exception to the rule and needing work experience to offset lower scores.
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