I feel so Fake Forum

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Jinjuice

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I feel so Fake

Post by Jinjuice » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:28 pm

Hello All,

Here is my story. I took the LSAT cold, and I scored a 128 on it. I did not guess on any answers and left some answers blank on this diagnostic. After five months of intense prep, the highest I was able to score was a 145 on practice tests. I took the Kaplan course twice, and I even tried to self-study. However, it did not help.

I took my first actual LSAT 3 months after starting to prep and only scored a 138. This was not even the 145 that I had scored on my practice tests. Two months later, I took it again, and I scored a 135 on the actual LSAT. 3 point lower. After this I gave up. I majored in criminal policy and had a 3.9 gpa, so I got into a TTTT which ranked close to Cooley. My dream was always to go to a T45-50 school. Well, initially it was T15-20, but I gave up and stuck with T45-50 after my LSAT score. And boy believe me after. My LSAT scores I did not have a shot at those either.

After my first year of law school, I was in the top 20 percent and thus transferred to a T40-50 school. My goal was met.

Now that I'm here, I feel so fake. People here initially scored 160+ on the LSAT and here I am with my 138. I feel they are so much more capable and smarter. What do I do? Will I ever be even be able to pass the bar? Why did the school accept me with such poor LSAT scores. This school had initially rejected me the first time.

My main concern is should I drop out?

I doubt I will pass the bar. I don't think I'm smart. My gpa was high because think about it criminal policy is an easy major. I did well my first year of law school and was able to transfer because I went to a crappy law school that people laugh at.

I transferred in order to meet my goal but in reality I'm a 138.

Also during OCI I felt like crap.

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oidsedidy

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by oidsedidy » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:40 pm

Jinjuice wrote:Hello All,

Here is my story. I took the LSAT cold, and I scored a 128 on it. I did not guess on any answers and left some answers blank on this diagnostic. After five months of intense prep, the highest I was able to score was a 145 on practice tests. I took the Kaplan course twice, and I even tried to self-study. However, it did not help.

I took my first actual LSAT 3 months after starting to prep and only scored a 138. This was not even the 145 that I had scored on my practice tests. Two months later, I took it again, and I scored a 135 on the actual LSAT. 3 point lower. After this I gave up. I majored in criminal policy and had a 3.9 gpa, so I got into a TTTT which ranked close to Cooley. My dream was always to go to a T45-50 school. Well, initially it was T15-20, but I gave up and stuck with T45-50 after my LSAT score. And boy believe me after. My LSAT scores I did not have a shot at those either.

After my first year of law school, I was in the top 20 percent and thus transferred to a T40-50 school. My goal was met.

Now that I'm here, I feel so fake. People here initially scored 160+ on the LSAT and here I am with my 138. I feel they are so much more capable and smarter. What do I do? Will I ever be even be able to pass the bar? Why did the school accept me with such poor LSAT scores. This school had initially rejected me the first time.

My main concern is should I drop out?

I doubt I will pass the bar. I don't think I'm smart. My gpa was high because think about it criminal policy is an easy major. I did well my first year of law school and was able to transfer because I went to a crappy law school that people laugh at.

I transferred in order to meet my goal but in reality I'm a 138.

Also during OCI I felt like crap.
You should not define yourself by your LSAT score. Richard Feynman supposedly scored a 125 on his I.Q. test- shit happens. You performed well during your first year of law school. You earned a spot at your current law school- you should be proud of your accomplishment and trust in yourself to continue to do well. You will be fine... so long as you don't waste any more time and energy feelingly badly over something as meaningless as an LSAT score.

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bmathers

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by bmathers » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:24 pm

Jinjuice wrote:Hello All,

Here is my story. I took the LSAT cold, and I scored a 128 on it. I did not guess on any answers and left some answers blank on this diagnostic. After five months of intense prep, the highest I was able to score was a 145 on practice tests. I took the Kaplan course twice, and I even tried to self-study. However, it did not help.

I took my first actual LSAT 3 months after starting to prep and only scored a 138. This was not even the 145 that I had scored on my practice tests. Two months later, I took it again, and I scored a 135 on the actual LSAT. 3 point lower. After this I gave up. I majored in criminal policy and had a 3.9 gpa, so I got into a TTTT which ranked close to Cooley. My dream was always to go to a T45-50 school. Well, initially it was T15-20, but I gave up and stuck with T45-50 after my LSAT score. And boy believe me after. My LSAT scores I did not have a shot at those either.

After my first year of law school, I was in the top 20 percent and thus transferred to a T40-50 school. My goal was met.

Now that I'm here, I feel so fake. People here initially scored 160+ on the LSAT and here I am with my 138. I feel they are so much more capable and smarter. What do I do? Will I ever be even be able to pass the bar? Why did the school accept me with such poor LSAT scores. This school had initially rejected me the first time.

My main concern is should I drop out?

I doubt I will pass the bar. I don't think I'm smart. My gpa was high because think about it criminal policy is an easy major. I did well my first year of law school and was able to transfer because I went to a crappy law school that people laugh at.

I transferred in order to meet my goal but in reality I'm a 138.

Also during OCI I felt like crap.
Dude - I get ya - but who cares what you scored on some multiple choice test? That test is not designed to tell the taker if they are "smart" or not - it's no big deal. Your grade on a standardized test is old news when you've already put up and succeeded in the actual game - in 1L. Just because a school is TTTT does not make it an "easy" school.

Self-doubt can manifest itself out if you let it, if you believe the doubt. Don't believe it, you earned everything that you have received thus far.

Congrats on killing 1L in LS. You found your passion, now let's make the most out of the opportunity that you EARNED.
Last edited by bmathers on Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Barack O'Drama

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by Barack O'Drama » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:33 pm

Jinjuice wrote:Hello All,

Here is my story. I took the LSAT cold, and I scored a 128 on it. I did not guess on any answers and left some answers blank on this diagnostic. After five months of intense prep, the highest I was able to score was a 145 on practice tests. I took the Kaplan course twice, and I even tried to self-study. However, it did not help.

I took my first actual LSAT 3 months after starting to prep and only scored a 138. This was not even the 145 that I had scored on my practice tests. Two months later, I took it again, and I scored a 135 on the actual LSAT. 3 point lower. After this I gave up. I majored in criminal policy and had a 3.9 gpa, so I got into a TTTT which ranked close to Cooley. My dream was always to go to a T45-50 school. Well, initially it was T15-20, but I gave up and stuck with T45-50 after my LSAT score. And boy believe me after. My LSAT scores I did not have a shot at those either.

After my first year of law school, I was in the top 20 percent and thus transferred to a T40-50 school. My goal was met.

Now that I'm here, I feel so fake. People here initially scored 160+ on the LSAT and here I am with my 138. I feel they are so much more capable and smarter. What do I do? Will I ever be even be able to pass the bar? Why did the school accept me with such poor LSAT scores. This school had initially rejected me the first time.

My main concern is should I drop out?

I doubt I will pass the bar. I don't think I'm smart. My gpa was high because think about it criminal policy is an easy major. I did well my first year of law school and was able to transfer because I went to a crappy law school that people laugh at.

I transferred in order to meet my goal but in reality I'm a 138.

Also during OCI I felt like crap.

Don't let the imposter syndrome effect your future negatively. You did earn where you are now! Top 20% is great and you are good at law school...
Last edited by Barack O'Drama on Fri Jan 26, 2018 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

FascinatedWanderer

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by FascinatedWanderer » Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:04 am

Passing the bar may be a legitimate concern if you struggle this much with standardized tests.

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Nebby

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by Nebby » Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:33 am

I scored 157 and copped honors as a transfer at CCN so your LSAT shouldn't be much of a hindrance either. Just study hard and do what made you successful in 1L

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zhenders

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by zhenders » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:12 am

I teach the LSAT for a living; the LSAT is a skills-based test -- NOT an IQ test. My advice to you is this: literally never waste another second thinking about your LSAT score again.

Keep studying hard. Believe in yourself. Focus more on your great undergrad GPA and less on your performance on one particular standardized test. Congratulations on transferring to a great law school!

I should say too that I've taught students who in every other area of their lives were BRILLIANT, who were stuck in the 140s; I've also taught students who were in the 170s whom I literally can't imagine as attorneys. Also, anyone who brags about their LSAT score in school (it's hard to imagine people doing this, but IF they do) is only doing so because for whatever reason, they lack confidence too.

Kick butt at your new school; you're no imposter -- you deserve to be there: you worked hard for it.

TransferHopeful17

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by TransferHopeful17 » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:12 am

How far you've come since the LSAT should tell you how much weight you should give it at this point.

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Kali the Annihilator

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by Kali the Annihilator » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:34 am

I have a micropenis. When I was in high school gym class, I was the one guy who refused to shower because I didn't want other dudes to see my micropenis. Most of my classmates from high school are now farmers living off subsidies and barely making ends meet, doing time, and a couple have done well for themselves. I still have a micropenis and always will, but I ended up doing ok for myself and can just pay people to pretend I don't have a micropenis when we sex.

I sincerely hope this puts things in perspective for you.

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jbagelboy

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by jbagelboy » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:10 pm

Kali the Annihilator wrote:I have a micropenis. When I was in high school gym class, I was the one guy who refused to shower because I didn't want other dudes to see my micropenis. Most of my classmates from high school are now farmers living off subsidies and barely making ends meet, doing time, and a couple have done well for themselves. I still have a micropenis and always will, but I ended up doing ok for myself and can just pay people to pretend I don't have a micropenis when we sex.

I sincerely hope this puts things in perspective for you.
No werdz

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ReasonableNprudent

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by ReasonableNprudent » Sun Aug 28, 2016 7:58 pm

Kali the Annihilator wrote:I have a micropenis. When I was in high school gym class, I was the one guy who refused to shower because I didn't want other dudes to see my micropenis. Most of my classmates from high school are now farmers living off subsidies and barely making ends meet, doing time, and a couple have done well for themselves. I still have a micropenis and always will, but I ended up doing ok for myself and can just pay people to pretend I don't have a micropenis when we sex.

I sincerely hope this puts things in perspective for you.

Moral of the story for OP: overcompensate.

In seriousness, LSAT scores correlate to success in the first year of law school and not much else. I suppose by extension you might say that LSAT also correlates to admission at prestigious schools and therefore better jobs, but that doesn't matter for your purposes. The primary thing the LSAT is intended to predict--aptitude for law school--you've proven notwithstanding your shitty LSAT score. At this point the score doesn't matter. Your poor LSAT performance can be explained away internally based on an number of explanations (poor preparation, lack of confidence in your abilities, whatever).

Basically, get over it. Relish in the fact that you snuck in through the back door and did well. You've proven that, at least as to you, the indicative and predictive power of the LSAT is bullshit.

My grandfather (who is now very old) learned carpentry from his old man when he was a boy. He built houses and churches and office buildings all over the town he lived in, and was sought out in neighboring towns for miles. He was never any less a carpenter because he didn't go to trade school.

This is from Wikipedia: "Associate Justice James F. Byrnes, whose short tenure lasted from June 1941 to October 1942, was the last Justice without a law degree to be appointed; Stanley Forman Reed, who served on the Court from 1938 to 1957, was the last sitting Justice from such a background. In total, of the 112 Justices appointed to the Court, 46 have had law degrees, an additional 18 attended some law school but did not receive a degree, and 47 received their legal education without any law school attendance.[2]." Even though no one is getting to the Supreme Court without having gone to law school from this point forward, I think this sheds a little perspective on your shitty-LSAT-score-complex.

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ReasonableNprudent

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by ReasonableNprudent » Sun Aug 28, 2016 8:08 pm

FascinatedWanderer wrote:Passing the bar may be a legitimate concern if you struggle this much with standardized tests.
I don't think it correlates. The bar is more analogous to a big-ass law school exam than the LSAT. OP has already shown an ability to do well on law school exams.

Given the good performance in 1L and the bad performance on the LSAT I suspect that OP is perfectly capable of doing significantly better than a 138 on the LSAT. [To be honest, I suspect flame, as 128 is about as good as someone would do simply checking "B" for all the answers, but I digress.] I think the formula for taking the LSAT just didn't really "click." But obviously spotting the issue and answering law school MC questions did.

Just keep working hard and prep for the bar using proven methods, OP. Barbri can probably show you some stats regarding how many people pass the bar from your school as correlates to portion of the prep material completed.

But to answer your initial question ("should I drop out"), the answer is don't be ridiculous. If you played college basketball and were drafted to the NBA would you turn it down because you didn't make high school try-outs? It's not apples-to-apples, but you get the idea.

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Sun Aug 28, 2016 8:26 pm

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the best indicator of bar passage is 1L grades (or maybe it's overall law school GPA), not LSAT scores.

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joeycxxxx09

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by joeycxxxx09 » Sun Aug 28, 2016 9:20 pm

How do you even score a 128? Isn't that missing about 80 questions? And after 3 months you still missed 65?

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Sun Aug 28, 2016 9:50 pm

joeycxxxx09 wrote:How do you even score a 128? Isn't that missing about 80 questions? And after 3 months you still missed 65?
Why does this matter now? Clearly the OP can perform well in their classes.

FascinatedWanderer

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by FascinatedWanderer » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:45 pm

I too suspect a flame. While LSAT obviously doesn't correlate perfectly (or even particularly well) to law school performance a 128 seems to indicate a level of analytical incapacity that precludes any success in law school.

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by Nebby » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:48 pm

Isn't the lowest score possible 130?

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haus

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by haus » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:49 pm

FascinatedWanderer wrote:I too suspect a flame. While LSAT obviously doesn't correlate perfectly (or even particularly well) to law school performance a 128 seems to indicate a level of analytical incapacity that precludes any success in law school.
Or it could be someone who simply screwed up their bubbling.

haus

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by haus » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:51 pm

Nebby wrote:Isn't the lowest score possible 130?
I believe the range starts at 120

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stego

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by stego » Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:53 pm

Nebby wrote:Isn't the lowest score possible 130?
no, it's 120. eta: scooped by haus

Scoring as low as a 128 probably involves running out of time and leaving a bunch of questions blank. But in any case, it doesn't matter because OP has already shown they can do law school. Once you matriculate, your LSAT score becomes meaningless.

Jinjuice

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by Jinjuice » Tue Aug 30, 2016 12:29 am

Thank you all for the inspiring words. I even received a touching PM which I will be replying to shortly. Please note that I will be reading these comments.

The LSAT broke my heart and my dreams. at this point, I dread if I will get a SA position. I'm doing all I can. My past schools admission standards really screw me over in the legal community but the school defined me for a year so I must accept it.

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mjb447

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Re: I feel so Fake

Post by mjb447 » Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:47 pm

You don't need to feel like a fake, as other commenters have pointed out. If you can't change how you feel, though, hopefully you can embrace the feeling (a little) as a sign of success. After all, you probably wouldn't feel as fake if you'd stayed at the TTTT. In fact, if you succeed in getting a summer associate position, you might feel fake all over again if some of your peers are from higher-ranked law schools, have better grades, or just seem smarter.

If you hustle and are persistent, which it sounds like you are, you'll probably have even more opportunities that, with your current mindset, you won't feel like you deserve. These feelings have virtually no basis in reality. If you're not ready to fully 'believe' this, I hope you can understand that, for you, these feelings come with succeeding and they indicate that you should keep pressing forward, not quit.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

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