Advise a recent (desperate) Ivy graduate (LAWYERS ESPECIALLY)

[Anonymous]

Hi all. I'm in a somewhat specific position so I'm going to intentionally be as vague as possible while still providing the broad strokes of my current predicament.

I'm 25 years old. I graduated from a higher ranked ivy (HYPC) one year ago in 2015. I had a rocky time in school and, due to a number of factors (depression, family matters, finances, youthful laziness and irresponsibility), graduated with a 2.7 GPA majoring in social science (but not econ or poli sci). I currently work as a staffer on a presidential campaign in an early primary state after applying on a whim—they don't seem to care as much about prestige as they do about getting things done—but feel that I'm stuck in a rut. Prior to my current job, I worked as a contractor at an unknown consulting firm in DC.

I'm de facto unable to apply to any graduate programs with a sub-3.0 GPA but at the same time, see no other way to advance in my career/life or, at the very least, to quicken the rate at which I do. I don't mean to excuse my GPA, but at the same time, I think that I am in a very different place now than I was in college and hope that in 1-2 years I'll be deemed competent enough by an admissions committee to get into some sort of law school or MPA/MPP program.

More about my background: I was born in DC to immigrant parents (URM) and grew up in NOVA. I went to a non-target public HS and went to college on 80% financial aid. Neither of my parents went to college (although several aunts and uncles did) so I feel that, for the most part, I lack guidance and am trying to figure out what direction to move towards. My general background is in think tank-like research, politics and data analytics but I am eager to gravitate towards international development work and/or something more creative. (Yes, as you see , I lack direction).

I've recently started taking LSAT practice tests and have been consistently been scoring 175-178. Obviously, practice tests are not the same as taking an officially administered test but I'm confident that in time, I'll be in a place where I'm consistently scoring well and ready to sit down and take the official test.

What would you do in my situation? Move to California to reinvent myself? Keep my head down and churn on? Look into more creative job tracks where graduate school doesn't matter as much? At this juncture, there's no way to go back and change my GPA. I've looked into taking classes for no credit at UMD or UVA but on other online forums and among people I've spoken to, the general consensus is that this would be a waste of time. Do you have any thoughts? I currently have 30k in undergraduate debt and, given the nature of campaigns, no guarantee of a job after my state's primary (which, as of a recent poll, we are on track to lose).

In spite of all this, I remain—obstinately, even hopelessly—confident that I'll be able to move forward in some capacity despite my academic record. I would appreciate your thoughts. Tough love and insights from people who have been and or know of people who have been in similar situations is especially welcome.

[Anonymous]

OP: I'm able to answer more questions and provide relevant clarification as needed.

[Anonymous]

What's URM?

[Anonymous]

Under-represented minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's URM?

underrepresented racial minority

[Anonymous]

Breathe. You're 25 years old. The campaign thing may keep you busy for yet another year - do well and you may go through for a while longer. Come back to Virginia and volunteer for whichever candidate your party ultimately chooses - as a swing state both sides will be pestering the bejeezus out of us for another year. Look for opportunities, and don't over-educate and put yourself further into debt because you can't think of something else to do.

And for heavens sake don't even think about law school unless you really, really want to be a lawyer. And MPAs are also pretty worthless.

[Anonymous]

I dunno man. It sounds like you've got a hell of a lot of excuses for why you had such a low GPA, and yet are trying to convince us it's not you. Or you're better than what you did.

Everyone's got hard shit going on OP. I worked 30 hours a week while going to college, and had a 3.9 GPA. This was a situation you needed to tackle before you graduated. You should have withdrawn from classes you were doing very poorly in and re-taken them to get a higher mark.

You're going to have a hard time getting in to a law school with such a shit GPA, even with great LSATs. You don't need to move to California to re-invent yourself, and quite frankly, that would be an idiot move of epic proportions since CA is a very hard place to afford. Reinvent yourself right where you are.

What exactly is international development work? You want to develop other countries? You need to narrow your focus. Being creative can take so many different forms.

[Anonymous]

I barely graduated school with a 2.5 cumulative - good school - got a hard major and drank too much. I went to work and did well - got into a good grad school. You just can't go to grad school right away. Work hard, find something that motivates you and build that resume. Then do well on the admittance tests.

[Anonymous]

Don't go to law school unless you can get into a T14 school. In your case, you could maybe get into T10-14 with a 177+ LSAT and compelling personal statement. What kind of URM?

Have you thought of business school?

[Anonymous]

I would only recommend going to law school if you have a particular interest. I was interested in asylum law, worked in that area a few years and then went to law school and now do policy work in a similar area. You need some kind of hook. I don't think people who struggle with depression should plan on a big law career. I would only do law school if you want to do policy work in a particular area

[Anonymous]

You need to find yourself a decent job where you can get some more work experience. If you get a lot degree now and then don't get a job right away or decide you don't like law you are going to be screwed because you have no work experience and a weak college transcript.

I have a similar transcript - graduated from an ivyin the bottom 15% of my class. Ended up at a top business school after several years of working with great recommendations and steady promotions. Employers and schools need to see proof of a turnaround.

[Anonymous]

PP, OP here. From your experience, are you saying 5< years or 2-4 in terms of work experience? What is your industry? Did you pay sticker price for B-school?

[Anonymous]

What do you WANT to do? What speaks to you? Do you want to go to California and do something creative? Do you want to go to law school? Do you want to keep working on campaigns? I can't tell you how to get somewhere if you don't know where you want to go.

There's a really great book by Po Bronson called "What Should I Do With My Life?" It doesn't have answers, but it does have interviews with lots of people who are struggling with these issues. Reading it might help you answer your own questions.

[Anonymous]

Most grad school is a debt ridden scam. Try working hard exactly where you are. Sounds like you are lazy - which will be problematic in any situation. Work on small steps to improve your work ethic.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, but you write really well, so I'd keep working in jobs that allow you to showcase your writing and communications skills and perhaps your recommendations may then count for more than your college GPA years ago.