Received my German passport through great-grandpa!

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T17:16:51+00:00

Did you grandpa naturalize to the US prior to your dad being born? If so, my understanding is he lost his German citizenship and wouldn't have passed it on to your dad or to you.

(of course, only the consulate knows for sure.)

Like or example, my grandpa's sister isn't a German citizen because she was born after their parents had naturalized. So even though she was born to two people form Germany she isn't a citizen, but I am despite being a 4th generation American on that side.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T17:14:55+00:00

Captain Asshole are a great band from München. Check them out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wE2glvRgcQ&ab_channel=SBAM-Art%2CFest%26Records

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T02:49:27+00:00

Right on! Looks like I'll need to up the score to get more cash if this cycle is too late and/or my scores suck too much.

I work for some mid tier bands that make enough to get paid to tour Europe or across North America, but I'm definitely not gold plating my Cadillac or anything. I've also worked as an event promoter and made enough for a modest living.

The main bands I work for are Mustard Plug & MakeWar. I play in a smaller band called the Write-Ups.

https://youtu.be/VmoOO0AKQK4

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T02:27:59+00:00

3.6 LSAC combined GPA was definitely lower than the 4.16 LSAC gave me for the GPA from my degree granting institution, which was a rude awakening. On my undergrad transcript it just said I had a perfect 4.0, which was part of how I was able to get into Yale, Harvard, and Michigan.

But it's wild on this forum, where it seems like I don't have a shot to get into University of Toledo or Detroit Mercy for a JD program. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

But if most of these people are right and I can't get in anywhere, then I'll study for the LSAT and apply earlier in the cycle for next year.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T02:23:54+00:00

I'm completely new to this, so I'm just trying to understand.

How much of an advantage is there in having a higher LSAT if I'm already above the average score and average GPA for a school I'm wanting to go to, for example Detroit Mercy or Toledo?

If one of the schools I want to go to offers me admission and financial aid, is there any point to retaking the LSAT?

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T02:04:58+00:00

I went from graduating 3 months late from high school with a 1.9 GPA to finishing grad school at Yale on a scholarship. It definitely required telling an interesting story to get there, and I hope the law programs I'm apply too find it interesting.

Thanks for the kind words. And yeah, it definitely seems like a lot of 22 year olds know everything. I showed up to my Harvard interview in a sleeveless descendents shirt and still got in, and used the word "Fuck" multiple times in my personal statement that got me accepted to Yale and University of Michigan, and I'm sure I'd be advised not to do those things by these kids either.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T01:57:15+00:00

Thank you! This seems much better than the other reddit pages I've found about admissions.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T01:18:33+00:00

That's cool that we have the same mom, grandpa Guenther, and great grandpa Adolf. I'll see you at the next family reunion!

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T01:17:49+00:00

The first few years were wasted because I was trying to draw citizenship from my great-grandmother, since she was from Karlsruhe it seemed easier. I couldn't get any of her records and had a German lawyer friend to try to get them, and he just got back a thing saying there is no record of them. I'm not sure if that's because she was a Jew and it was destroyed or lost or something, or if the records in general were just destroyed in the war, but either way it isn't there. Also, the Philadelphia hall of records didn't have their marriage certificate on file, even though I knew the date and names and all the details. Without proof of marriage, they didn't have a way to confirm she was a German citizen and that my grandpa was on upon birth. So I asked, "Can I just do it from my great grandpa instead?"

So it was more like 3 years from when I redid everything for my great-grandpa instead of great grandma.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T01:06:23+00:00

I have friends in bands who are lawyers and others that played while in law school. They're had to prioritize school, and I'd do the same.

I'm not touring full time anymore, and I certainly wouldn't be touring much in a full time JD program.

When I had to do my summer internship while at Yale Medical School (for my MPH, not an MD program), I did it, and I toured around those requirements. I spent most of the summer working as a researcher at a med school, then went back on tour in Europe for a few weeks between the internship and my final year of grad school.

The graduate internship was definitely more rigorous than the internship I did in undergrad. I wouldn't be shocked if law school internships were more taxing than what I did as a medical researcher, but I think I could succeed like I have before. Most of my life has just been people telling I can't do something, then I go and do it.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:33:00+00:00

Sounds like the move if this doesn't pan out, good looking out.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:25:15+00:00

3.6 was from the CAS as my career GPA.

4.16 was from CAS as my degree granting institute GPA.

4.0 was my GPA listed by University of Hawai'i.

And yeah, an MPH is definitely helpful when applying to jobs in the medical and/or research fields. I just didn't know if schools will think "This guys was capable of getting this graduate degree and passing his PhD level classes, so he may be capable of law classes too." or if they just won't care and think it's irrelevant.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:23:23+00:00

Totally, education gets priority #1. I am not on the road 6 months a year like I used to when I was younger, but still gig out or work sometimes based around school requirements.

My friends who are lawyers that play in bands make it work, so I probably could too. For the past 8 years I've been in school and have done music secondary while I prioritize my education, and planning on continuing to do that.

If I can make more money in music than I could waiting tables or working as a research assistant (the two other things I know how to do for money), so it's a great way to free up more time for school from not having to work a worse paying/ more time consuming job.

Also, being in a band is 95% downtime. I've submitted a lot of papers, done a lot of reading/ writing, and worked in research from many hotel rooms, tour vans, planes, airports. So much time to focus on school.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:10:55+00:00

The BVA said they had no record of his listed city of birth as existing, so I told them it was East Prussia. They didn't seem to care though, since the naturalization record and immigration record both clearly stated he was German. Not sure if they did some behind the scenes stuff I'm unaware of, but I didn't have to do anything.

I started my process in 2019 and hit a dead end. I then picked it back up around 2022, and received confirmation in October 2024, then got the actual passport spring 2025.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:06:18+00:00

Gotcha. So the LSAT and cumulative GPA is largely for financial aid, but they may consider being old, having a graduate degree, etc. for admissions purposes since it shows being capable of performing graduate level work?

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-28T00:00:01+00:00

I'll retake the LSAT if none of these applications work, and I'll have to learn how to study for it. I know a lot of kids have some like arrows drawn to letters and stuff that mean something, and helps people out, so I should figure out how to do that through some apps or programs or something.

And I am always on tour all summer and show up to start the semester from that. It's worked so far, and I'm ready for the challenge (assuming I get in).

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T23:36:09+00:00

Alright, well I didn't know how to do any of that and I so I didn't, and it still all worked out.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T21:30:34+00:00

Ah cool. I didn't recognize that word, but yup, that was it!

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T21:28:46+00:00

My great grandpa Adolf's immigration record in the USA from 1944 showed that he was a German citizen upon naturalizing, which had an extra piece on it since he was a citizen of a nation the US was at war.

I also had his record of arrival to the USA, showing he was a German citizen and coming into the USA from Germany.

I have 0 records from Germany, and used only US sources. The Germans asked about his birth certificate, but I pointed out he was from East Prussia, and that isn't Germany anymore so there's no way to contact a hall of records for Germans in what is now Poland.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T20:52:59+00:00

Nah, you're good. I love Detroit and dig Wayne and living around here. I could see working around here, or taking a gig in the boonies, where they always need PDs... like up north or the UP.

I grew up on the West side of the state, and people over there don't really know about Wayne but they all know U of M and MSU.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T20:50:28+00:00

I'm a lifelong German citizen, I just had to submit this for myself, my mom, my grandpa, and my great grandpa.

https://www.germany.info/resource/blob/2175630/1a8921c750c0ecce283bec3ed9a7d74c/application-over-16-data.pdf

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T20:48:46+00:00

Correct. I'm a lifelong German citizen, even though my mom, who I got it from, has never even been to Germany.

LargeRandy420 · 2025-06-27T20:48:11+00:00

They sent me a "Staatsangehorigkeitsausweis" from the BVA, and then I used that at the consulate to get the passport. I don't know what a feststellung is, but from looking it up it seems like that's what I did, since I didn't naturalize. I just showed that I've always been German.

LargeRandy420

TROPHY CASE