Curious About Chances: 170/4.0

[Curious34]

Hey guys, I am on the fence about whether or not I should attend law school and I was wanting to hear some opinions from people on this forum.

I took the LSAT a year ago and got a 170. I have just graduated from an SEC school with a 4.0 GPA in Business. I'm a non-URM male with no overly incredible internships or jobs. I've worked with a few on-campus clubs and organizations and volunteered with a few things over the years, but nothing of great magnitude. I have also worked as an intern and a volunteer for athletic teams over the past three years, so that is basically what my work experience consists of.

I'm not very sure at all that law school is what I want to do with my life, but I want to get a little feedback on what my options could be. Do I have any chance at HYS? How about CCN? Could I get any decent money at a T14? Thanks in advance for your insight, I appreciate it!

[062914123]

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[Curious34]

What were you PTing at? With your GPA and an LSAT score just a few points higher, you'd be a lock at H and as near a lock at YS as possible based on numbers. You shouldn't accept anything less from yourself than HYS or CCN with $$$.

My PT's were usually around the 172ish range. I would get anywhere from 168 (low end) to 173 on an average basis, with a few 175's sprinkled in pretty rarely.

Thank you for the input! It sounds like I may have been selling myself a little bit too short. Do you think that I would have a chance at HYS (or CCN with $$$) with my current score?

[rad lulz]

[wisdom]

Not good shot at Y/S, although not out of the realm of possibility, coin flip or slightly worse for H, will get one or two of CCN. Will echo what previous poster said: if that was your first time taking the LSAT and you could do better with more preparation, that might be the way to go. I presume you'd be applying this fall anyways, so you could take the October LSAT and with a few points improvement be a good shot at Harvard at least.

[Ti Malice]

Your odds would be strong to very strong at most of the non-YHS T14, and you should pick up a few scholarship offers. If you apply with these numbers, submit your app as early as possible. Here's how people with your numbers have done over the last three cycles:

[Curious34]

My apologies, radlulz, I didn't mean to post a repetitive thread on purpose. When I posted, I was curious if my lack of "academic" softs, or attending a relatively average public university for undergrad (while majoring in Business) would hurt me.

Basically, I was wondering if my numbers alone would be good enough to combat these obstacles. I was also wondering whether or not a retake would be in my best interest. I feel like I did well to get the 170 (I prepared pretty hard for a decent amount of time), and I am a little worried that if I were to take it again that my score may drop. It is starting to sound like that may be the way to go, though.

[jbagelboy]

My apologies, radlulz, I didn't mean to post a repetitive thread on purpose. When I posted, I was curious if my lack of "academic" softs, or attending a relatively average public university for undergrad (while majoring in Business) would hurt me.

Basically, I was wondering if my numbers alone would be good enough to combat these obstacles. I was also wondering whether or not a retake would be in my best interest. I feel like I did well to get the 170 (I prepared pretty hard for a decent amount of time), and I am a little worried that if I were to take it again that my score may drop. It is starting to sound like that may be the way to go, though.

Wrong way of looking at it. Admissions will look to see if you're over one median (or in your case, both), and then read the rest of your application. Your "softs" would not be an impediment to your numbers -- you just need to go above and beyond for Yale and Stanford. Here, the easy major at public school don't work in your favor.

Your LSAT fell square within your PT range (168-172). Unless you could prep hard to increase that range to consistently over 173, your retake might fall flat since you have to account for a -2 or -3 point drop on test day. Try doing a few diagnostics and see how you feel. I wouldn't jump to it unless its HYS or bust for you.

[Bobson]

Your numbers have been addressed well enough already. In sum, you have nothing going for you except an excellent GPA and respectable LSAT score. Nothing wrong with that. Problem is...

I'm not very sure at all that law school is what I want to do with my life

This is a major red flag. If you aren't certain you want to practice law for a living, going to law school is probably a bad idea regardless of where you get in. You may have some excellent options available to you, but maybe even the best options in this field aren't worth considering. What are your priorities?

In the past, I took a job offering good pay and benefits because I thought those things were valuable. I ended up hating my work and quit the job within one year of starting. They money was nice but it wasn't enough to balance the fact that I dreaded waking up five days per week. I really don't think any amount of money would have been enough to keep me there. If you haven't considered that possibility yet, you really ought to.