can you get into law school without a college degree? does gpa affect your chances to get into law school?

Answer 1

No, You cannot get into law schooll without a college degree. There are absolutely no exceptions to this requirement. Many people mistakenly belive that you can because in the past you could apply for law school if you had so many college hours (I don't know how many) & then all you had to do was do well on the L.S.A.T. I am not sure the exact year that the American Bar Association made a college degree a requirement but I know that you could still go to law school in 1965 without a degree. There are a few other exceptions (most or all now gone) that people often confuse.

There was a time when you did not have to GO TO LAW SCHOOL to become an attorny. That is how the late great Huey P. Long, who was by far the most infamous/famous (depending on whether you are a Lover or Hater of the Long dynasty), he was also a United States Senator & it was widely speculated & believed throughout the nation that he would have become the next President; had he not been gunned down & killed in the Captol, Baton Rouge, La. In the days when Huey P. Long,"the fine Governor of the Great Stae of Louisiana" became an attorney, one could become a lawyer in one of two ways (1) The traditional way of either graduating from college of earning sufficient college level hours & taking the L.S.A.T (scoring high enough) or (2) Having a college degree or what was then the equvilant + working as an apprentice under the close supervision of a licensed attorney for a required number of years. Once you completed your appretencship, you could then take the Bar exam in the state you were to practie & if you passed, you would be admitted to the bar WITHOUT EVER HAVING ATTENDED LAW SCHOOL. This alternate way is now prohibited by the current rulse & requirements outlined by the American Bar Association.

In addition there was a time duing the Korean war when the bar exam requirement was suspended for vets. A graduate of an accredited law school became a licensed attorney without having to take the bar.

Modern day requirements are the same for every state in the US (with the exception of wisconsin, possibly. I am not familiar with Wisconsin law, but when I graduated from Law school in 1992, a law student in wisconsin had certain ways of becoming exempt from the bar exam-you would have to check the law in that state if you are interested.)

Requirements to become an attorney.
1. College degree- *YES G.P.A. IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. your college undergrad GPA & your LSAT score are the two most important factors considered by all law school admission committees, most have a formula, unknown to the public, whereby they mathematically configure your gpa x your lsat score , factoring in few other things and they arrive at a certain number. If and only if you are at or above this index figure will you even be considered for admission. That is when they begin looking at where you graduated college, how challenging your courses of stufy were, you extra curriculiar activities, your written essay, letters of recommendation etc. Then you may get accepted or invited to visit the school for a personal interview.

2. once you have a college degree you then apply to take the LSAT- I highly recommend that you also take a last prep couse or you will behind the others in the ball game.

3. send your score and make application to MANY law schools, because even with a 4.0 & a perfect LSAT score you have stiff competion and you don't always get you 1st 2nd or 3rd choice

4. If you do not have a great GPA & it is too late to bring it up substanially then I would suggest that you consider making application to schools that have lower admissions requirements, such as Thomas M. Cooley in Lansing MI, or southern university in Louisiana (predominantly black) howver even though these schools are easier to get into (designed for people who fooled around in college and did not do that well, NOT BECAUSE THE LACKED THE ABILITY, BUT PERHAPS BECAUSE THEY WERE YOUNG IMMATURE AND DID NOT REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTANING HIGH GPA ALL 4 YEARS., PARTIED TOO MUCH ETC. they give you a chance to get in but you have to work your butt off to earn the right to stay in. schools like this have the highest attricion rate, meaning after the first year more students have been dismissed for being unable to maintain the minimum GPA .

one more suggestion, if you HAVE ALOT OF MONEY, GIVE TULANE A TRY

ps. you are allowed to take the lsat as many times as you want, but they do not take your highest score , they average your scores, so it can help or hurt you

Answer 2

Yes every law school requires a degree to get in and about 90% of your admissions will be based on your GPA/LSAT and some scores you'll never see about how they compare to other law students with similar gpa's/lsats from your school and others.

More importantly, you do NOT have to go to law school, college, or even kindergarden to be a lawyer. Some states (such as GA) require you to have a law degree, but others (VA for sure) do not. VA simply requires you to pass the bar, and they MAY require you to have apprenticed with an attorney, but no law school required. I think they have 2 or 3 people every 5 years that do this in Virginia.

Practially speaking you need a degree, and GPA is important. However, if you're willing to go to a 5th tier school, it's easier to get in.

Answer 3

Law School Without Undergraduate Degree

Answer 4

Yes, you need a 4 year degree to get into law school, however, if you are close to completing the degree some law schools allow entry provided your school submits proof of your pending graduation. Very few schools will allow you in without a degree provided you pass other tests. Your GPA is very important, however the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is the most important score, its required for all law schools, and it determines what school will accept you, and controls for loans and scholarships, etc. If you are considering law school, study up for the LSAT entrance exam, take 3 or practice exams because you only get one shot at the entrance exam.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, your GPA will probably keep you out of the top tier schools, but assuming an upward trend in your grades and a decent LSAT score, you should be able to get in somewhere. Your school should have some kind of preprofessional counseling that can help you further in crafting your resume and personal statement.

Answer 6

Any law school will require a college degree. Your gpa and LSAT scores, your essay, as well as your extracurriculars all play a role in getting accepted to law school.

Answer 7

You need a college degree before getting in to law school. You will need excellent grades to be considered admission, so, yes, your GPA matters.

Answer 8

No, you cannot get into law school without a BA/BS. Yes, GPA will have some bearing on being chosen to attend a law school.

Answer 9

We live in the 21st century, and with it comes 21st century
needs and requirements, especially those necessary to
advance ourselves in any given career/occupation.
This being the case, pre-law school is almost a pre-requisite
a high grade point average (GPA) is also a must.
So, yes a high school diploma is a definite requirement,

To an ordinary observer, the law comes in many forms and shapes, depending on its own application to the framework
of our society.
To become a lawyer who has legally passed the bar exam,
requires many long hard hours of study, whether it be case law,
contract law, civil law, torts and misdemeanors in criminal
law, felonies outlined in the US Civil Code, Constitutional law,
there are statutes, regulations and ordinances.
Or when citing case authority, be damned sure of your references, as many people are depending upon you to be
factually accurate and correct.

If you wish to become a defense attorney, and work in criminal
law, you must get into every aspect of human behavior, and
become familiar with how to obtain the facts of any given situation
take depositions (witness testimony) on any give case you undertake to represent, learn how to really question a witness, and not just accept question/answer sessions (you learn this
sideline through experience.)
You have to know something about human psychology as well,
as you will have to represent every kind and type of defendant,
and know when you are being lied to or not(some defendants are excellent at fabricating believable lies.)
Another important tenet, you must have a thorough knowledge
of America's criminal justice system, from the mail room clerk
in city hall, to the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, and the eight associate judges.
This includes your law enforcement agencies, arrest/interrogation
procedures(observing Miranda Rights) how to look for clues at any crime scene, the right questions to ask police officers and
crime scene witnesses, filling out the many forms required,
and reading the official police report(murder book, if applicable)
results that are made up by the Medical Examiner/Coroner,
if deemed a homicide, to see what clues can be determined.

The above does not represent all the many details a defense attorney gets involved with, but some of the more salient points.

The above represents a small portion out of what one defense
attorney will have to go through, now as far as payment for services rendered are concerned? Some of the better defense attorneys get as much as $300-500 dollars per hour when serving in court. Other fees are pro-rated based on what the marketing trends are for lawyer's fees.
And some cases are taken on contingency, and only collect from their clients if judgment is awarded in their favor.(this happens mostly in civil court, and only infrequently in criminal court)

If you go into civil law practice, then you have to worry about
preponderance of the evidence for the plaintiff's side, and be able to prove intent and damages against the defendant, to receive
remedy. Punitive and compensatory damages are what the jury/judge awards, when determined that the plaintiff was not treated in a fair and reasonable manner, during the time of the incident.

And there is the academics, University of Michigan has an excellent law school, so does all of the Ivy Leagues, but be careful, many of their teaching professors are very liberal in
their political views, they practice multiculturalism, biodiversity,
and political correctness to the nth degree, I don't agree with
their political platforms, so I don't recommend following their
techniques.
There are some very fine state and private colleges that also offer
an excellent curriculum of studying law in general, Loyola and
Pepperdine are also great law schools, best is to read the book Choosing the Right College, is a good one, but you may want to refine your search to include law school references.

To summarize, you will need as much literature background as
you can get hold of, as attorneys are in the people business, and
you will need as broad a background in literature as you can get.
High school diplomas are a definite requirement, remember,
you are going to become a lawyer, not a brickmason.

Thats my message, good luck.


Donald H. Sites
[e-mail]

PS: These days, international law has taken more and more prominence, so that area of law may still hold some areas of
career success, it may well be worth checking into.

Answer 10

no, you do need a bachelors degree.

yes, gpa is a big big factor in getting accepted to law school