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UrsusCasus wrote:Hey, all,

Just received my score back from my September LSAT and I got a 164. I had a 3.9 GPA up until my senior year of undergrad, when personal issues plummeted me to a 2.8 cumulative. I took two years off of school to work full time, and am finishing up my undergrad this fall to graduate in Dec. Applying for law schools for next fall. I'm looking at several lower-tier regionals including UMKC (local), Loyola-Chicago, San Diego, Oregon, Brooklyn, Lewis & Clark, Denver, etc.

1. Based on LSAC info, I stand a good chance of getting into these schools, but should I be aiming higher? Since I can't get into any elites, do rankings really matter?

2. Should I retake my LSAT in Nov? I think I could get into the high 160's, but not sure if my low GPA is going to preclude any perceivable bonuses.

3. Is it likely I'll get any scholarship help? I pay my own way for everything, so overall cost is important to me.

Thanks for the help.

• What do you want to do out of law school?
• Where do you want to practice? Below the T20, schools are regional. Where you attend school will dictate where you practice after graduation. It makes no sense to apply to T3 law schools from Oregon to Kansas City to Brooklyn and everything in between.
• Wherever you go, you should maximize your LSAT. The higher your LSAT, the higher your chances of getting scholarship $. Every point counts: A 169 would be much better than a 164. If you can get your LSAT into the 170s, I don't think the T20 or even the lower T13 would be out of reach. See below