u/1800Davenport

I'm about to start my last semester of undergrad, and I want to go to law school in a couple years. As Ive learned more about the different types of law, I've gotten kind of curious about patent law. The thing is, I've majored in communications and minored in business. If I was to change my major to some type of engineering or science, it would delay my graduation by at least one, probably two years.

Would my communications degree plus taking several STEM classes at my local junior college before(or after) law school make me eligible for the patent bar? Or does it specifically require the junior and senior level STEM coursework that comes with being a STEM major?

Just to make sure I understand....in order to reap the benefits of the program, I have to work some type of public interest law job for a decade, correct? And all while making my monthly loan payment.

So if I become a Public Defender straight out of law school but 5 years later take a job offer from a private criminal defense firm, I don't get a penny of my student loan debt waived?

I know working in public interest law serves society well and think that it is great that theres a program that rewards those who do these important yet often lower-paying jobs by paying for some of their education.

With that being said, 10 years is a lot of time, and I'm not sure if the forgiveness program cancels out that decade of opportunity cost.

(Edit): Just to be clear, I totally understand why people would go this route from a personal fulfillment/wanting to positively contribute to society standpoint, I'm only questioning it from a financial standpoint.

Tomorrow morning will be my first time flying out of Huntsville airport. I typically fly out of Memphis. I usually arrive there two hours before takeoff. I was just curious if I should go by that rule of thumb in Huntsville. I'm assuming its a smaller airport so I could get away with cutting it a bit close, but I'm not sure because I've never been to Huntsville airport.

I'm finishing my undergrad degree this December. Due to a horrendous start to college when I was younger and less mature, I'm going to graduate with a GPA in the 2.7-2.8 range. I know this is means I need a great LSAT score to be a good law school candidate.

I'm not trying to start law school until 2028. This is to both give me plenty of time to study for/take the LSAT multiple times if needed as well as give me well over a year to work and save money for law school because I'm not trying to have a job during 1L.

While blowing the LSAT out of the water is my main focus, is there anything else I could do within the next 1.5 to 2 years that could set me apart from the pack? I know certain work experience can be a soft factor; what are some jobs that would be worth looking into in this regard? My university also offers a graduate certificate in NCAA compliance(sports law is a field I've thought about getting into), but it costs over $5k so I feel like it might not be worth it. I was considering joining the national guard because I know military service can be a good soft, but I realize thats probably a dumb reason to make such a commitment. I've also heard about Americorps and Peace corps.

Has anyone here ever heard of someone trying to get their med card and getting denied? I've heard from some people that the MDs and Nurse Practitioners that give cards out just want your money so if you just tell them you have PTSD, pain, insomnia, ect they wont dig into it to much and just approve you. I'm curious if this is the case.

I'm 25 years old and am graduating with my Bachelor's degree December. I had a horrible first attempt at community college as an 18-20 year old fresh out of high school; I literally failed/got D's in the same classes 2-3 times.

At 21 something changed in my brain. I gave community college another shot and graduated with my associates at age 22. A year later, I transferred to my university. In my first semesters here, I have a 3.7 institution GPA and plan to continue that trend for my last semester. However, the very best my overall GPA(the one LSAC considers) will be between 2.8 and 2.9. I plan on writing an addendum when I apply to law schools.

My question is how personal should I get in my addendum? I think I have some compelling reasons, however I don't want it to seem like I'm having a pity party or just making excuses for the shitty grades.

My failure at my first attempt at college was due to me being undisciplined, unmotivated, and immature – but this had something to do with dealing with a lot of grief and other family issues. From the ages 2016 to 2022, I lost 5 immediate family members - dad to suicide, 2 grandparents to cancer, another grandparent to COPD, and my older brother dropped dead from a pulmonary embolism right in front of me – I tried to save him with CPR but to no avail. This gave me a lot of guilt on top of the grief, which I coped with by abusing alcohol and drugs— obviously not good for academic performance. However today I consider my recent success and dream of being a lawyer as the ultimate way to honor my deceased loved ones.

So when writing my addendum, should I focus just on the immaturity or all of the loss? Or both? And how do I write about this without sounding like I'm feeling sorry for myself?

Long story short, I fucked around a lot during my first crack at college as an 18-20 year old straight out of high school. I took a couple years off then came back as an A and B student. This coming fall is my final undergrad semester, but my first years in college were so horrible that the best my GPA can be is somewhere between a 2.9 and 3.0. I haven't taken the LSAT yet, but in my practices I routinely get in the low to mid 170s( I think the most recent one was 173). I know WashU in St Louis is king for super-splitters like myself, but I'm curious about other options. While not completely opposed to it, St Louis isnt at the top of my list of where I want to move.

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Long story short, I have interest in a career in law enforcement, but due to some mistakes I made at ages 19 to 21(felony arrests, no convictions), I know that I won't be able to be an LEO anywhere. However, I'm almost done with my bachelor's degree and am confident in my ability to get into law school. I'm curious about being a DA/prosecutor. According to my state's bar, only felony convictions disqualify one from being a lawyer-I don't have convictions, so I'm allowed to be a lawyer. Does this mean that I could be a DA? I understand it's a job you have to be elected to, I'm just seeing if its possible. I know while the DA is a lawyer, it is still viewed as an LE - adjacent position, so I wasn't sure if the background requirements would be more like that for cops than lawyers.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I'm 25 now and haven't been in any trouble in 4 years. By the time I start practicing law, it will have been 8-9 years. And obviously I'm not going to be a DA as my first gig out of law school. So by the time it would even be a possibility, it'll probably be 15 plus years without getting in trouble.

My first couple years out of high school, I was enrolled in Community college only to get my mom off my back. I literally didn't go to class over half the time. Therefore there were 4 or 5 classes that I received Fs or Ds in(some of them, multiple times) When I was about 21, something changed inside of me, and I decided cared about my education. So I finally passed those previously mentioned classes. I graduated with my associates at 22 and am now 25 and finishing my bachelor's this coming December. In my first 4 semesters at University, I have only made 1 C, the rest As and Bs. These past two semesters, I've even made the Chancellor's list(above 3.8 semester GPA). However, due to those horrible first 2-2.5 years at community college, the best my GPA can get to is somewhere between a 2.9 and 3.0. I've been consistently getting in the 165 to 170 range on my LSAT practices, and I want to improve that even more. Im planning on taking the real LSAT for the first time in

September.

I know theres no way for a 2.95ish GPA to not hurt my chances in both scholarships and admissions. However, I feel like a deeper look at my transcript shows that I am now a 3.8 student, not a 2.9 student. And this makes sense because my brain wasn't fully developed when I made those bad grades because men's frontal lobes dont develop until mid to late 20s. I get that this shouldn't put me over those who were responsible since day 1 and got great grades their whole undergrad, but I feel like me pointing out my improvement as I got more mature could make a good GPA addendum. I also went through a lot as a teenager that caused me to be depressed and unmotivated in my earkier adult years. I'm not sure if its appropriate to bring up personal trauma in a GPA addendum though.

Long story short, I didn't try in Community college. Flunked so many classes it took me almost 4 years to graduate with my associates. Once I got to university, I was much more disciplined and am graduating in December with my bachelor's. Unfortunately, my community college GPA is so atrocious that even after making the Chancellor's honor roll twice(planning on making it a third time this fall), my overall undergrad GPA is probably going to end up between 2.9 and 3.0. I know this is pretty bad for law school, but I'm only interested in going to Ole Miss(where I'm doing undergrad). I know this isn't an elite law school, plus I've heard they like admitting people who did undergrad here to law school. So I'm confident I can get in. I've been scoring around 169 on my LSAT practices. Haven't taken the real LSAT yet though.

I am a little worried about being able to get money for law school. My GPA is abysmal. As far as my socioeconomic status, I'm not rich by any means, but I'm afraid I'm not poor either, so I'm afraid I won't qualify for need-based aid.

Can I get scholarship money based soley on my LSAT score. I'm not expecting a full ride or anything, even 25% of my tuition or something would be awesome. I've also heard that if you agree to be a public defender when you first finish law school, you can get some of your school paid for.

Anyone know of any scholarships that focus soley on LSAT?

Or any that don't take into account GPA or financial needs?

Anyone know of any on campus jobs that don't make you work weekends? I have an off campus job at a restaurant, so I have to have full availability for that job Saturday and Sunday. But I'd like a second job this fall.

Last night I had my mom (a nurse) take my blood pressure and it was 128/90. She said that its high for my age and that I should work on getting it down but didn't act like it was super urgent. After a little research, it looks like this is borderline Stage 2 hypertension.

For some background, I'm 5'10 and 225 pounds, so I'm definitely overweight. I'm also in college and have had a challenging past semester: a 5 class courseload with lots of homework, an internship, having a leadership position in a student club, and a part-time job on the weekends. Ive definitely been stressed these past 3 months and have only been averaging about 5.5 hours of sleep eaxh night. I also drink usually 1 to 3 nights a week and use nicotine pouches.

I know all of these lifestyle aspects are bad for blood pressure, I'm going to quit the nicotine and alcohol for a while, try to lose some weight, and make an effort to sleep more.

While I know making a post on reddit isn't a substitute for going to see a doctor, I just want some advice as to whether or not I can fix this on my own. 25 seems so young to be this unhealthy, but thats what I get for not prioritizing my health.

I just hope I haven't done any irreversible organ damage.

Any tips appreciated, thanks in advance!

Since February, I have been interning at a local radio station, learning digital marketing, sales, and radio production. My boss at this internship has told me that he would like me to be full time this summer-Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. The issue is that its still not paid, unless I earn commission from ads sales. Im so inexperienced still that I dont feel confident in relying on commission for my sole income. If I was to be at my internship for this long, it'd limit how many hours i can work at my restaurant job, which is what pays my bills.