My Time is Running Out

[Daithi]

If they are over 20 years old, you could still give it a shot. That's a really good LSAT score, so who knows how they would react. You also might look at something less than the T14, but from what I understand, if you don't go to a T14 school then you probably want to research into the cheapest options you can find to getting your law degree, and becoming a lawyer should also be something you absolutely NEED to do to make your life complete and not just a job.

[ironheadjack]

Because I am a big fan of Straighterline I have to throw it out there as an option. Many different courses, can be completed as fast as you can work, cheaper then CBE, and they have a very generous transfer policy with TESC.

[cookderosa]

Looks like I should:
1) Get the degree as directed here.
2) Take the LSAT again and this time completely knock the ball out of the park.
3) Go for the long shot: contact schools from 20 years in the past and see if there's some sort of statute of limitations on those Fs. If they might be willing to consider calling a 1989 F a 2013 I/W, I might not have to have a 1.0 GPA.

Thanks. And, yeah, it would feel good to have the degree, I just hope that financially it's worth it. I could finance a bare-bones trip around the world for the same price, have the memories of a lifetime, and feel good about that.

I'm going to go back to studying for that Biology CLEP now. Although I just realized I think I got a D in biology back in 89. Would that count as credit?

Wow there are a lot of replies and I'm not through them all, but Expedited's #3 suggestion is ABSOLUTELY worth a try. Do that Monday. Okay, back to reading....

[cookderosa]

okay, I'm caught up. Okay, your grades are not terrible- and they certainly are transfer-worthy. Let me add, that I've also taken HES classes, so unless you have millions stashed away, SEND THEM over and get them on your TESC transcript. Let's just review- TESC does not bring in GRADES, only credit. So, there is NO BENEFIT to sending over A's vs sending over C's. None. That is one issue. Issue number 2 is your application GPA, but let's keep things in neat piles.
You asked for the fastest and most cost effective road, and that road includes using the credit you’ve already earned. (by my calculations, you are bringing in 23 credits. You NEED THESE, they are gen eds! There is not one single argument against sending them over- not one.)

GPA. I calculated about 2.6 for graded credits. Since I’m not up on how the ad coms categorize credits that were dropped/withdrawn and F, that’s the best I could do. But that said, let’s talk about how to raise your GPA. First, what doesn’t work- credit only. CLEP exams are neutral for GPA. Furthermore, they dilute the strength of your OVERALL (not TESC) GPA, so from where I’m standing, if it were ME, I’d only take as many CLEP as what is remaining on my 100/200 gen eds and use my major to take classes. (actually, that IS what I did lol) Free electives are cost-effective you need to save money, but on a scale, I’m going to say that putting more graded credit onto your transcript would help more than free elective credit.

Let’s separate reality and fantasy first, so we can create a realistic plan. Using your transfer credit (which does NOT contribute to your GPA) and your handful of FEMA and CLEP, I’m going to guess-timate that you have roughly 75-80 credits, and let’s pretend that they fit perfectly inside your credit distribution, leaving only about 40 credits remaining. Since NO ONE is going to take 40 credits of coursework in 1 term, best case is 3 quarters (36 weeks) and earning perfect solid grades A will give you an ending TESC GPA of 4.0 but an overall application GPA of only 3.53 Not a fantastic plan.

Let’s call that 3.50. Now, let’s consider you don’t want to attend 3 quarters, so for just one at 12 credits (the rest CLEP/test) you’re now looking at 3.15 (realistic imo)

So, as you create your plan, consider the AMOUNT OF WORK that separates 3 quarters and 40 credits of graded homework and the other option of 1 semester of work. I can’t answer that for you, but let’s keep everything in perspective. You’re not going to apply with a 4.0 or even above a 3.5, it’s just not reality mathematically. So, moving forward, if you can bring in over a 3.0 (you can) you should put your energy at creating the best combo of LSAT score/GPA at 3.0 and whatever else they look at. I think that 1 quarter of 12 credits earning an A grade, is probably the winning combo all things considered. (that and your fantastic upward trajectory essay ;P)

[defscarlett]

There's quite a few people on this forum that have much more knowledge about this kind of stuff than I do, but I'm going to throw out a suggestion of American Public University to get your degree through. They have almost as liberal transfer policy as the big 3, and have split semester classes (2, 8 week sessions instead of 1, 16 week session) so you can take more courses per semester (4 classes for the first half, 4 for the second half). This will allow you to get more graded credits per semester than what you would be able to attain at any of the Big 3. They accept CLEP, DSST, ECE, ALEKS, ACE, FEMA etc.

What's Accepted-Undergraduate-Credit by Exam

http://www.apu.apus.edu/

[ExpeditedInfo]

Ok, my brain hurts.

Jennifer: thank you. Thank you. So much help from everyone.
Defscarlett: Good suggestion, but I can't afford them. I like their schedule, but they simply cost too much for me.

I've gone here https://officialguide.lsac.org/release/u...alsat.aspx a few times, (plugging in 3.15/172, 3.5/172, 3.15/180, and 3.5/180) and it doesn't look like it makes too much of a difference as to where I get accepted, whether with a 3.15 or a 3.5 and my 172 score. But it would make a huge difference, perhaps, in financial aid. And the 180 would certainly help, silly though it seems to even think about.

Given that I've now been convinced to use my old credits and to take a bunch of courses, rather than just going Clep-Crazy, I have no idea what I need to study right now. Until I get that figured out, I'll work on fast amassing FEMAs.

At this moment I'm feeling uncertain. Perhaps time has run out on 4 year old LSAT score. I may simply need to take it again and to bank on getting at least that score a second time, while working at a more leisurely pace to attain more college course credits and trying to convince former schools to look gently upon former indiscretions. This would give me time to amass the money necessary to pay for the courses. Which, by the way, dammit! The affordability of credit-by-exam was one of the biggest draws in all this.

Daithi: Good advice. I know lawyers who hate their jobs; they tell me not to do this. I mean, I have a job that I don't hate. I enjoy it, I may even be good at it, I get to help people.
But it's ultimately unfulfilling. As much as I hated the ethical aspect of playing poker for a living, I find being an LSAT tutor only ethically neutral. I'd like to make a difference, more of a difference than I make as a Big Brother or as a tutor. Lawyers can do that. Ultimately for me it's not so much, 'do it only if you're completely enthralled by the idea'- advice I've given many others- but 'do it if it presents a more meaningful career, a more challenging career, and one that you've wanted to do for a while' even though it's not something you need to do.

[sanantone]

There's quite a few people on this forum that have much more knowledge about this kind of stuff than I do, but I'm going to throw out a suggestion of American Public University to get your degree through. They have almost as liberal transfer policy as the big 3, and have split semester classes (2, 8 week sessions instead of 1, 16 week session) so you can take more courses per semester (4 classes for the first half, 4 for the second half). This will allow you to get more graded credits per semester than what you would be able to attain at any of the Big 3. They accept CLEP, DSST, ECE, ALEKS, ACE, FEMA etc.

What's Accepted-Undergraduate-Credit by Exam

American Public University Official Site | 877-755-2787 | Regionally Accredited & Online Degrees

How hard is it to keep your grades high there when you're taking 12 credits per 8 weeks? That's the equivalent of taking 24 credits per semester. Most colleges have a cutoff of 18 credits because of the difficulty.

[defscarlett]

How hard is it to keep your grades high there when you're taking 12 credits per 8 weeks? That's the equivalent of taking 24 credits per semester. Most colleges have a cutoff of 18 credits because of the difficulty.

Class load is all dependent on the individual person. You're only taking 4 classes at a time which is what you typically take in a normal semester. The normal syllabus for the classes there was 1 discussion board post per week with 2 responses and 1 final test/paper/or project. I took 2 at once and had no problem with the work load and maintained A's in my classes no problem. I also work 2 jobs at 60+ hrs/wk and have a kid and family.

I love APU, the only reason I switched to TESC was because I had to take fewer classes

[Prloko]

Well, if you are going the slower route, and everybody feel free to chime in, but how about a different school than the big 3?

Off the top of my head, Penn State World Campus has the Bachelor's of Letters Arts and Science. The school accepts 60 Clep/DSST credits (although the don't except all of them including the English comp exams). You can transfer in your B&M credits plus the 60 CLEP/DSST credits and be maybe 1.5 years from completion if you are aggressive. The degree in LAS is awarded from the college of liberal arts in University Park. You should be able to increase your GPA to a respectable level and have the degree in a ranked school (please no arguments about world campus being ranked or not). A law school friendly degree from a decent school and an out of the park LSAT with your interesting background might be enough.

Also, if you live in California and are just looking to start your own practice, then I believe Concordia University allows you to sit for the California Bar, and since you test well, you should be able to pass the bar.

In addition, the U of Wisconsin has competency based degrees which you will probably complete quickly.

[sanantone]

Class load is all dependent on the individual person. You're only taking 4 classes at a time which is what you typically take in a normal semester. The normal syllabus for the classes there was 1 discussion board post per week with 2 responses and 1 final test/paper/or project. I took 2 at once and had no problem with the work load and maintained A's in my classes no problem. I also work 2 jobs at 60+ hrs/wk and have a kid and family.

I love APU, the only reason I switched to TESC was because I had to take fewer classes

A normal semester is 15-16 weeks. I wouldn't advise anyone to take 4 courses per 8 weeks, especially if they were trying to maintain a high GPA. Two classes per 8 weeks is no big deal since it's the equivalent of taking 4 classes per 16 weeks.