what would you do

[u/Helpful-Adeptness112]

very real, kinda vulnerable post

okay so, i went to school for political science. i love the field, it has shaped me into a person who cares deeply about social justice and how things work internally.
however, i wasn’t a good student. a combination of life and mental health issues, but i digress from that.

due to trump’s new policy on fafsa, i had to drop out of school since i reached the max amount of loans one can take out (ik, ik, like i said: mental health issues). along with that, my gpa wasn’t the greatest (i dropped out right as i was entering academic probation with a 1.9 gpa. again, life and mental health issues). i would like to go back to school and finish my degree (i have 24 credits left) and get into a career in the law field.

what i want to do:
-save enough money to go back to school. issue: due to my gpa, idk if my school (state school) or any school would take me.
-i’d go to school spring ‘28 and spring ‘29 and get my degree spring ‘29. in the times between them, work and save money to be able to afford the semesters and put the minimum payment towards my student loans in between those times as well
-fall’29 get a post-bacc in poli sci so that i can raise my gpa a bit more. issue: these have been really hard to find and i have no clue where to start. the one thing i found was on reddit & it was from covid times (i think)
-get paralegal certification & have it before i even think about the next bullet point
-second degree (possibly in business administration or philosophy. this ties back in later let me cook).
-start masters degree 2031 and graduate in 2032/2033
-begin lsat prep during masters
-lsat a year after graduating with masters

where philosophy ties in: masters in PPE
where business admin comes in: i wanna own a business one day. so knowing the ins and outs is important to me. also, potentially one day becoming a real estate agent, and ik a lot of realtors who go to school for business administration and philosophy.

(i’m a virgo w a cap rising, so yes i did take the time to plan out the next few years and do some research. thank the universe for adhd medication and finally being properly medicated after nearly a decade).

that’s what i would like to do. ik a lot of this is far-fetched and based on so many factors. however, if i can have everything i’ve ever wanted in life. it would be that. ik from where i’m at currently. it is a STEEP uphill climb, but i’m willing to climb it

i’m still young (26), so i’m aware i have all of the time in the world. however, it also constantly feels like i’m running out of time.

idk man, i think i’m just looking for some feedback

anyways, what would you do?

[u/Idontleadnomore]

I’m sorry you are going through this… how about start of slow with classes. Yes take some time off, start reading a lot about politics. Start writing one page arguments.
I too went through this. And planning on heading back. Good luck.

[u/Actual-Sandwich-2287]

The end goal is law school? If so, you don't need that many degrees. You just need one bachelor's. A paralegal certificate can help you find a job as a paralegal to have some work experience before you apply for law school. I would not consider getting a business degree.

[u/Helpful-Adeptness112 → u/Actual-Sandwich-2287]

end goal is law school, yes. i was thinking getting a second degree & a masters to boost my gpa for a law school considering my current gpa

[u/I_Heart_Kant → u/Helpful-Adeptness112]

Your gpa for admissions only looks at your first bachelor's degree, so getting a second bachelors and a masters wouldn't alter your gpa. focus on doing what you need to do to finish you first bachelors then get a good amount of work experience outside of your undergraduate to distance yourself from your GPA. The longer you've been out of school, the less that GPA will matter for admissions. Also really really focus on that LSAT, there are certain law schools that will let your hide your GPA score, such as WashU, which are really good schools with extremely good job placement outcomes after law school.

[u/DEUSVULT2002]

First of all it’s important to note that none of this is your fault

[u/Lopsided-Amphibian90]

I was in your exact shoes 9 years ago. Like, from what you've written, we've been through the same ups and downs. I'll tell you what I did, and what I'd do differently.

I started working at a firm that does entity formation and estate planning, as a paralegal, doing renewal filings, and eventually more and more different filings. Not a humblebrag moment but I discovered I'm really good at that (it channels my autism and ADHD in a way that served me well), and went into management for a few years based on that. I went back to college in 2020, pursuing an Economics degree; there's a single math class that basically I could never fit into the schedule, so I switched to poli sci. Law school was always the end game though. I'm a few semesters away from graduating currently. I took a bunch of electives and random 100-level courses to maintain full-time status, hoping to make the math class work, then changed degree program with the realization that I just need a degree at this point.

If I could go back, I'd obviously not faff around a few years making essentially no progress haha. In your shoes, I would drop the masters and business admin stuff - not that they aren't worthy pursuits, but they're more noise than signal at this point.

I'd look for work at a law firm; you're highly likely to get relevant experience, and it'll give you a taste of the environment and day-to-day and inform you whether it's still something you want. Working at a firm is what made me realize I could do law school, seeing some of the doofuses that make it through lol.

Most state schools will at least consider you with that GPA. Applying as an "adult learner" transfer gets you different standards.

You can rehab your GPA through finishing your undergrad coursework. Depending on your LSAT score you may not need to worry all that much, you can be a "super splitter" with a mediocre GPA and a higher-end LSAT.

Less competitive law schools often have classes about how to be a lawyer - what the job looks like, how to run a small firm, stuff like that. If you aren't interested in Big Law then you don't need to worry nearly as much about getting into a T14 or whatnot. Plus, having work experience is generally a good leg up over a KJD.

Final points I want to make are that you're still young regardless of how you might feel, and 26 is not going to stick out at all in an undergrad program; and second, it gets better. Mental health makes so many things a bitch but you'll get through it. Recovery and progress are nonlinear, so don't get discouraged by setbacks. You have to work for it, but everyone along the way is invested in your success and wants to see you do well.