Chance me please! Forum

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sportgirl234

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Chance me please!

Post by sportgirl234 » Wed May 18, 2011 3:53 pm

i just took my first lsat practice exam today. (untimed) and got about 160. How much should i expect to improve with a lot of studying? I just finished up my sophomore year at a state university. My gpa is about a 3.45. What law schools should i be looking at? my softs are nothing special, a lot of traveling, some volunteer work - any advice is greatly appreciated!! : )

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Ginj

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by Ginj » Wed May 18, 2011 3:56 pm

Image

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Ginj

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by Ginj » Wed May 18, 2011 3:59 pm

No, but srsly...get your grades up. Start studying for the LSAT during the summer after your junior year. Take the test in October. Then come back to the chances thread.

sportgirl234

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by sportgirl234 » Wed May 18, 2011 4:02 pm

haha fair enough - you got it. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk I just tend to over analyze things and wanted to get a head start.

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memphisbelle

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by memphisbelle » Wed May 18, 2011 4:23 pm

The good thing is, you have a good bit of time before you reach crunch time.

As a pre-0L, I don't have much to offer in the way of advice but I'll give it a shot.

1) If your 3.45 is a cumulative GPA of all UG coursework you've done, then work on raising it by doing everything you can over the next two years to maintain 4.0. Every A counts. Also, make sure that if your university gives A+ that you're getting them.

2) If you have previous poor coursework from another institution/retake fails that are not calculated in this, your LSAC GPA may be lower than you think. The LSAC GPA takes into account ALL UG coursework done previous to the degree being granted. If this is the case, you may have a slightly rougher time and this will make all the more important that you heed the advice contained in #1.

3) Do not withdraw from classes without ensuring that the proper procedures are followed. If you have to withdraw, make a superhuman effort to ensure that you get the drop in before the 'W' date. A 'W' is generally not considered punitive, but it's better that it doesn't show on your transcript at all. A 'WF' or 'F' assigned due to unfortunate circumstances will impact tank your GPA.

4) If this has already happened, submit a petition for retroactive withdrawal to get it changed to a 'W'. This will not be easy in many cases and will require documentation. It will be worth it though.

5) Play with the LSAT stuff at your own leisure. You don't have to worry about it for a while. Make sure that you're ready two to three test dates prior to the cycle that you're going to apply in. This allows time to retake in case you're sick/too nervous/not ready and bomb it the first time.

6. Apply early. Some schools have rolling admissions, so it gets more competitive as the cycle goes on. Early App and Early Decision are two seperate things. ED is binding and should only be used if that is the only school you want to go to/highest you can get into with your numbers. Conventional wisdom has it that ED gives you a small boost. The downside is that it can take away your power to negotiate scholarship money.

So, sorry for the wall of text. I think this about covers the things that I wish I would have known in UG and the things that I am learning via TLS about the application cycle.

Good Luck!
MB

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skw

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by skw » Wed May 18, 2011 4:37 pm

So far so good bro. 160 is a solid raw score and with diligent effort, you can raise it significantly. You should try to eek your GPA up a few points. For straight through (young students with no work experience) softs matter very little, so do whatever is fun/interesting and then spin it into some kind of learning experience in your PS. If law school is what you really want, it is within your grasp (at a T1) if you put in some work.

TheFactor

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by TheFactor » Wed May 18, 2011 5:45 pm

your score is meaningless if you didn't take the test under timed conditions

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jtemp320

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by jtemp320 » Wed May 18, 2011 5:53 pm

TheFactor wrote:your score is meaningless if you didn't take the test under timed conditions
Agreed - buy a book of tests and time yourself. Or better do a free practice test event from a company (if you live in a major city of near a college you can find one - just skip the promotion for the class if you can) i.e.:

http://www.princetonreview.com/law/lsat ... vents.aspx

Anecdotally, I went up 7 pts from my diag (which was the same as yours) in 3 months and then took the LSAT. I took it again three months later and went up another 7 pts. But I probably put in 15 hours a week for six months and took 25-30 full PTs.

Good luck!

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glewz

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by glewz » Wed May 18, 2011 5:56 pm

When you have a lot of time, take an LSAT course or self study.
Self study = Buy "PowerScore Bibles"
LSAT course = Take Testmasters

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coldshoulder

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by coldshoulder » Wed May 18, 2011 6:49 pm

Ginj wrote:Image
I'm saving this.

sportgirl234

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by sportgirl234 » Wed May 18, 2011 8:13 pm

i will definitely heed this advice thank you so much! : )

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Verity

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by Verity » Wed May 18, 2011 8:22 pm

The obvious advice is to get the highest GPA and LSAT possible. As far as GPA goes, it doesn't matter what the heck you major in, or where you went to school. Seriously. If you want to go to the best law school possible, just get as many As as possible, even if you take the easiest courses imaginable.

As for the LSAT, read Powerscore's Logic Games Bible, the Logical Reasoning Bible, and do Kaplan's 180. Then do EVERY OFFICIAL PREPTEST YOU CAN FIND. I can't stress "official" enough; don't trust Kaplan or Barron or Princeton Review's fake ass questions.

It's TLS gospel that the numbers ALWAYS, VASTLY overshadow anything else in your application. Get the highest numbers possible.

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westinghouse60

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by westinghouse60 » Thu May 19, 2011 9:23 pm

+1 to the raw score being meaningless, but if you want some kind of comparison, I took my first PT timing myself so I would work quickly, but going over maybe 5-10 minutes per section in order to finish, and got around what you did (it was at the end of my sophomore year too; I'm currently going into my senior year). After going through Powerscore Bibles and taking ~20 fully timed PT's, I'm now averaging around a 168. So IMO although a 160 untimed doesn't mean much, it shows you have a good base to work with.

You also have plenty of time to both bring your GPA up and study, and while they aren't mutually exclusive, I probably spent too much of my junior year studying for classes at the expensive of studying for the LSAT. In retrospect my advice would be to take as many hours/get as many A's as you can next fall/this summer then ease up somewhat next spring in order to put in more time studying for the LSAT. (By this mean still getting the best grades you can, but maybe taking 15 hours instead of 18+ or whatever.)

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sportgirl234

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by sportgirl234 » Fri May 20, 2011 1:35 pm

thats great to hear - where are you heading to school?

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SemperLegal

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by SemperLegal » Fri May 20, 2011 1:42 pm

Focus more on GPA than LSAT right now. Its better to get even one more A and either wait a year to prep for LSAT or prep for LSAT during a bland semester in your JR year (try to do an automatic A internship if possible). You can always retake or postpone the LSAT. Same cannot be said for UG. Pick your classes very carefully and drop anything that looks like it will be impossible to get an A. You can get all your education and enrichment elsewhere, "A"s are what is important now.

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Corwin

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by Corwin » Sat May 21, 2011 4:44 pm

Just would like to chime in with everyone else and say focus on getting your GPA up. You've got plenty of college left! With strong grades and LSAT prep over the next two years, you have great chances at some excellent schools.

legaleagle9

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by legaleagle9 » Sat May 21, 2011 6:32 pm

Ginj wrote:No, but srsly...get your grades up. Start studying for the LSAT during the summer after your junior year. Take the test in October. Then come back to the chances thread.
just wondering..wouldnt october lsat be a little late if OP wants to get apps out as soon as possible, like right when they are available to turn in?

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Corwin

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Re: Chance me please!

Post by Corwin » Sat May 21, 2011 7:07 pm

legaleagle9 wrote:
Ginj wrote:No, but srsly...get your grades up. Start studying for the LSAT during the summer after your junior year. Take the test in October. Then come back to the chances thread.
just wondering..wouldnt october lsat be a little late if OP wants to get apps out as soon as possible, like right when they are available to turn in?
October is ok. Your apps will be fine, but not earliest possible. Suggest taking June after your Junior year and then October if retake is necessary.

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