I have about a year and a half left of my undergrad and I'm thinking about law school (probably Fall 2015). Normally I would have just browsed other admissions topics but my situation is different from most and I need some personalized input.
Due to some health issues I had around my Junior year (2011), I suffered from a previously undiagnosed bipolar disorder manic episode. This caused me to stop attending my classes resulting in all F's for that semester. I took a year off and re-enrolled in the spring of 2012. Long story short, the exact same thing happened and I received another semester of all F's. I stabilized myself once more, received proper medication, worked as a waiter, and now a year and a half later I am returning to school once more. Currently I have a 2.0 GPA as a Philosophy major with 47 credits remaining.
Now time for the hypotheticals
I am determined to raise my GPA up to a 2.5 or a 2.7 and graduate next spring/summer. This will require me to have anywhere from a 3.3 to a 3.8 GPA for my remaining credits. Hopefully this upward trend will look good. I have taken a cold LSAT practice test and scored a 165. With at least 7 months to study I am hoping I can raise my score up to a 175-177.
So I'm thinking my law school admissions profile will look like this
UG GPA 2.5-2.7
LSAT 175-177
No extracurriculars
Two semesters of 0.0 GPA
3.3-3.8 GPA Upward trend for Senior year +
Mitigating Health Circumstances
Will I have any chance at a Law School that would be highly ranked enough to be worth attending? Also, should I disclose the fact that I have bipolar disorder? Unfortunately, there is a bad stigma for this disease in society. It is a disorder that promotes mental instability which I'm thinking might lead some colleges to think I am not worth the investment. On the flip side I read a topic where the OP had similar statistics to mine, although his health issue was a fight with cancer. Many posters said that would be a helpful circumstance. Will my bipolar disorder be a negative or a positive on my application?
I deeply appreciate any advice I can get on this topic.
Due to some health issues I had around my Junior year (2011), I suffered from a previously undiagnosed bipolar disorder manic episode. This caused me to stop attending my classes resulting in all F's for that semester. I took a year off and re-enrolled in the spring of 2012. Long story short, the exact same thing happened and I received another semester of all F's. I stabilized myself once more, received proper medication, worked as a waiter, and now a year and a half later I am returning to school once more. Currently I have a 2.0 GPA as a Philosophy major with 47 credits remaining.
Now time for the hypotheticals
I am determined to raise my GPA up to a 2.5 or a 2.7 and graduate next spring/summer. This will require me to have anywhere from a 3.3 to a 3.8 GPA for my remaining credits. Hopefully this upward trend will look good. I have taken a cold LSAT practice test and scored a 165. With at least 7 months to study I am hoping I can raise my score up to a 175-177.
So I'm thinking my law school admissions profile will look like this
UG GPA 2.5-2.7
LSAT 175-177
No extracurriculars
Two semesters of 0.0 GPA
3.3-3.8 GPA Upward trend for Senior year +
Mitigating Health Circumstances
Will I have any chance at a Law School that would be highly ranked enough to be worth attending? Also, should I disclose the fact that I have bipolar disorder? Unfortunately, there is a bad stigma for this disease in society. It is a disorder that promotes mental instability which I'm thinking might lead some colleges to think I am not worth the investment. On the flip side I read a topic where the OP had similar statistics to mine, although his health issue was a fight with cancer. Many posters said that would be a helpful circumstance. Will my bipolar disorder be a negative or a positive on my application?
I deeply appreciate any advice I can get on this topic.