Lsat 151, LSAC gpa 3.2, ED Forum

Sciencemeetslaw · Post by **Sciencemeetslaw** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:05 pm

Hi everyone,

Just would like to get some advice on: If I want to apply ED this year, what would be **the most highly ranked** law school i have a chance of getting in? (Let's forget about scholarship, location, etc... for now). I know I don't have a chance at the T14, but how about the top 20-50's? Any advice is appreciated!! Thanks!

Background:
- Undergrad at a top 20 university
- Science double major, graduated with honors
- Law firm/lab/hospital intern, student club founder, student journal publications
- Extremely rich cultural background

ub3r · Post by **ub3r** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:33 pm

Advice?

retake

mintme · Post by **mintme** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:34 pm

mylsn.info

fredfred · Post by **fredfred** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:35 pm

You aren't gonna like this advice but honestly there is not a single law school you could get into that is worthwhile. Retake the lsat until you do much better. My first lsat prep test score was a mid 140s. I finished at mid 170s. It is seriously life changing. Do not go to a single school that will let you in. Even if it is for free.

AReasonableMan · Post by **AReasonableMan** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:35 pm

I don't want to depress you but it's 0 percent. Those soft factors really only help if you're in the running. You're just too far below the medians. If rank and employment statistics are important to you then you need to retake. Presently, you might get a low TT but may only be looking at schools outside the top 100.

lymenheimer · Post by **lymenheimer** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:36 pm

Sciencemeetslaw wrote:Hi everyone,

Just would like to get some advice on: If I want to apply ED this year, what would be **the most highly ranked** law school i have a chance of getting in? (Let's forget about scholarship, location, etc... for now). I know I don't have a chance at the T14, but how about the top 20-50's? Any advice is appreciated!! Thanks!

Background:
- Undergrad at a top 20 university
- Science double major, graduated with honors
- Law firm/lab/hospital intern, student club founder, student journal publications
- Extremely rich cultural background

PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING YOUR CHANCES: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 9&t=245107

AReasonableMan · Post by **AReasonableMan** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:55 pm

In all honesty graduating with honors in a hard science is very impressive, but law school admissions are more concerned with the raw numbers so you are unfortunately less regarded than a 3.5 basket weaving major. You'd get the respect you deserve in the science world. Odds are law would not play out well with these numbers, but crazier things happen every day.

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 6:36 pm

Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
Background:
- Undergrad at a top 20 university
- Science double major, graduated with honors
- Law firm/lab/hospital intern, student club founder, student journal publications
- Extremely rich cultural background

If you're able to hack a science major at a Top 20 undergrad, you're capable of way, way more than a 151 on the LSAT. Gotta retake after a long period of study if you want law school to become a viable option.

Sciencemeetslaw · Post by **Sciencemeetslaw** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:29 pm

Thank you all for the replies!

It seems that everyone is strongly suggesting a retake. One concern that I have with the retake is that if I register for the Dec LSAT now, then i will only have 1 month and half left for review and score higher. I feel that this is too short of a time to do any improvement. And I need to attend law school in this cycle due to personal issues.

BasilHallward · Post by **BasilHallward** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:33 pm

Then sit for the Feb exam.

Sciencemeetslaw · Post by **Sciencemeetslaw** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:35 pm

BasilHallward wrote:Then sit for the Feb exam.

But I want to attend law school this year, like fall 2016. Isn't February supposed to be for the next cycle?

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:38 pm

Post removed.

Sciencemeetslaw · Post by **Sciencemeetslaw** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:40 pm

basedvulpes wrote:
Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
BasilHallward wrote:Then sit for the Feb exam.

But I want to attend law school this year, like fall 2016. Isn't February supposed to be for the next cycle?
Why do you have to go this year?

Personal issues.... Overall delaying for one cycle is not possible for me.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:41 pm

Post removed.

Clemenceau · Post by **Clemenceau** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:45 pm

Why ya wanna be a lawyer? Seems like you're far better positioned to pursue employment relevant to your science background

unsweetened · Post by **unsweetened** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:17 pm

Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
BasilHallward wrote:Then sit for the Feb exam.

But I want to attend law school this year, like fall 2016. Isn't February supposed to be for the next cycle?

You will get your scores back before the deadline for a lot of schools, so this is pretty good advice. UCLA took my application a month late.

Sciencemeetslaw · Post by **Sciencemeetslaw** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 11:25 pm

unsweetened wrote:
Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
BasilHallward wrote:Then sit for the Feb exam.

But I want to attend law school this year, like fall 2016. Isn't February supposed to be for the next cycle?
You will get your scores back before the deadline for a lot of schools, so this is pretty good advice. UCLA took my application a month late.

Hi Unsweetened,

So you mean that I can still apply to good law schools with a Feb. LSAT? From what I've heard previously, since the admission is rolling, I will be at a huge disadvantage with a Feb LSAT, as most schools have already made offers. And ppl said that the Feb. LSAT is weird.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:07 am

Post removed.

cbbinnyc · Post by **cbbinnyc** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:22 am

I've seen this "I must go to law school this cycle for 'personal reasons'" stuff before. But I can't come up with many reasons that make sense. Is your father dying and his only wish was to see you start law school in his lifetime? Are you in a "Saw"-style scenario where you must enter law school this cycle or a device will chop off all your limbs? The fact is, if you can retake and raise your score (even by just 10 points) it will be, as fredfred said, "life-changing". Life is long, waiting one year is negligible in the long run, and the possible benefits are huge. That said, it's possible to retake in Feb and still use it for this cycle. It might limit your choices of school (though I think most places will take a Feb score at this point) and it will definitely put you at a disadvantage to be reviewed late in the cycle, so I would still recommend sitting out this cycle, getting a better score, and trying again.

ETA: Not sure what you mean when you say that the Feb LSAT is "weird." It is undisclosed, which is annoying, but that has no bearing on the actual administration or content of the test.

KMart · Post by **KMart** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 12:36 am

There's like 2 people every year who seriously must go to law school or Putin will murder them. Are you one of them? You have great options at an alternative career. Why not pursue that route? The WE will only help you.

I'm not sure how you studied the first time around - or if you studied - but a month and a half is a decent amount to improve your score if you start grinding. Theoretically you should already have the basics down and just need to be drilling.

At an absolute minimum I'd retake the LSAT before applying if you're hell-bent on going to school next fall (which should not be the case but I know you're unlikely to listen).

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:36 am

Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
unsweetened wrote:
Sciencemeetslaw wrote:
BasilHallward wrote:Then sit for the Feb exam.

But I want to attend law school this year, like fall 2016. Isn't February supposed to be for the next cycle?
You will get your scores back before the deadline for a lot of schools, so this is pretty good advice. UCLA took my application a month late.
Hi Unsweetened,

So you mean that I can still apply to good law schools with a Feb. LSAT? From what I've heard previously, since the admission is rolling, I will be at a huge disadvantage with a Feb LSAT, as most schools have already made offers. And ppl said that the Feb. LSAT is weird.

I mean, you're at a huge disadvantage trying to make law school a decent option with a 151 LSAT. You just can't go to a good, or even decent school with a 151. If you truly must apply this year for personal reasons (fyi I've been on this prestigious chatboart for a while and never actually heard a reason someone MUST go a particular year) then your only defensible options are retake in December or just don't go to law school and do something else entirely.

PrayFor170 · Post by **PrayFor170** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:36 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
If you're able to hack a science major at a Top 20 undergrad, you're capable of way, way more than a 151 on the LSAT. Gotta retake after a long period of study if you want law school to become a viable option.

gabbyNOLA · Post by **gabbyNOLA** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:27 pm

Going against what everyone else here is saying...

I had a 2.9 GPA, 155 LSAT. I got into a Tier 1 school off the wait-list, a week before class started, with a $23.5k/year scholarship. I originally applied late, too, in March of 2015.

That said, I'm the first in my family to go to college, let alone a professional school. I had 5 years of work experience as a paralegal and I wrote (what I consider to be) great essays. I also only applied to ONE law school (my alma mater) and made it very clear that if I was given admission and scholarship I would go. I KNOW I only got in because they had someone withdraw and wanted to fill the slot with someone they knew would come. Also, they emailed me on 8/1 asking if I'd take 15k and I said no. They came back a week later with 23.5k.

So...is it possible? Yes. It is HIGHLY unlikely? Yes. I had actually moved across the country because I didn't think it was going to happen and had to move back the night before orientation.

Big Dog · Post by **Big Dog** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:29 pm

you should not attend LS.

ihenry · Post by **ihenry** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 8:55 am

Clemenceau wrote:Why ya wanna be a lawyer? Seems like you're far better positioned to pursue employment relevant to your science background

I mean, in terms of employment aspects, not all hard science majors are born equal. Especially traditional hard sciences like pure mathematics, physics and life sciences, while they are tippy top in terms of academic rigor, many students find it hard to snag a relevant job offer. In this case, if someone goes through law school and decides to do patent law, just for example, he will be much more employable than with a not-so-marketable undergrad major.