u/Important-Praline638

I (24F) had a pretty terrible college experience, one that involved a lot of traumatic experiences. This caused my GPA to be low ( 2.75). I have taken the LSAT twice now ( went from a 150 to a 155). I have gone through two admissions cycles. Since graduating from college, I got my paralegal certification and have worked at a small law firm for about 2 years now.

I’m on my second admissions cycle, and I am waiting to hear back from two more schools, both on the lower end. I have only ever been waitlisted or accepted by these lower-ranked schools. My question is this:

If I get into a lower-ranked school, should I just accept it because that’s all I can realistically expect to ever get? Or wait for the next cycle and apply again to a bigger and better school. Do I have a shot at something bigger, or do I take what I can get? I want to be a public defender or work at a small-scale firm in the future.

I (24F) have been working in the legal field for 2 1/2 years. I started as a legal receptionist while getting my paralegal certification at SMU. I have the certificate, but I remained at the firm I worked in as a legal assistant because ‘ I did not have the experience to be a paralegal’. 

In the last two years, I’ve been promoted to case manager, then senior case manager. I have worked extensively on Discovery responses and drafting, drafted wills and estate planning documents, and am in charge of all communication with our clients. I also do all scheduling and docket coordination for my cases. My caseload has ranged from 89 cases at our busiest time to 27 once I started assisting only with litigation matters. All this to say, I have done what I think is a lot of the tasks and skills a paralegal would do. 

I am trying to get a job as an entry level paralegal, one that could theoretically be trained to draft everything on my own. My primary experience has been in probate, probate litigation, trust litigation, and estate planning. I would like to try a new area as well if given the opportunity.

If you were in my position, how would you pivot? What are ways I can pitch myself in interviews? Any tips would be extremely helpful!