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These are my five finalists. I have received an 85.2% ($27k/$32,688) offer for tuition for Ole Miss, which made it go from the bottom of my list to the top of my list. I am from Fort Worth, TX but have family in the Mississippi area. Would not mind living there but would rather relocate to the DFW area. Acceptance is coming for all, but unsure of the scholarship money for the others. Unsure of what should I do for employment reasons. Baylor will be very expensive and contain very little scholarship money. I have a 3.78 UGPA and made a 156 the only time I took the LSAT, without any practice. Collegiate basketball player for four years as well. Just curious as to what I should do about my future. Any suggestions would be appreciated, and you will not hurt my feelings.

tyler21 wrote:These are my five finalists. I have received an 85.2% ($27k/$32,688) offer for tuition for Ole Miss, which made it go from the bottom of my list to the top of my list. I am from Fort Worth, TX but have family in the Mississippi area. Would not mind living there but would rather relocate to the DFW area. Acceptance is coming for all, but unsure of the scholarship money for the others. Unsure of what should I do for employment reasons. Baylor will be very expensive and contain very little scholarship money. I have a 3.78 UGPA and made a 156 the only time I took the LSAT, without any practice. Collegiate basketball player for four years as well. Just curious as to what I should do about my future. Any suggestions would be appreciated, and you will not hurt my feelings.

Have you considered a retake? You could get into T14's if you spent a couple months improving 10+ points.

You have to retake the LSAT. None of these schools have very strong job placement. Your GPA is solid and with just a month or two of legitimate effort you will be able to get your LSAT up quite a bit, which would get you into Texas or SMU with a huge scholarship.

I'm really not kidding when I say that failing to study for and retake the LSAT, and subsequently attending one of these schools, would be by far the worst decision of your life, and would continue to be until the day you die.

Tiago Splitter wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. None of these schools have very strong job placement. Your GPA is solid and with just a month or two of legitimate effort you will be able to get your LSAT up quite a bit, which would get you into Texas or SMU with a huge scholarship.

I'm really not kidding when I say that failing to study for and retake the LSAT, and subsequently attending one of these schools, would be by far the worst decision of your life, and would continue to be until the day you die.

For the love of God this. With a few months of intense studying, you should break 166, which would ensure you admission AND a sizeable scholarship at UT, which is a vastly superior school to these.

Tiago Splitter wrote:You have to retake the LSAT. None of these schools have very strong job placement. Your GPA is solid and with just a month or two of legitimate effort you will be able to get your LSAT up quite a bit, which would get you into Texas or SMU with a huge scholarship.

I'm really not kidding when I say that failing to study for and retake the LSAT, and subsequently attending one of these schools, would be by far the worst decision of your life, and would continue to be until the day you die.

This probably sounds over the top, but it's 100% correct.

Unless you have a rock solid guaranteed job that you would love to have then you really do need to retake the LSAT.

Really none of the above with that LSAT score, tbf

tyler21 wrote: I am from Fort Worth, TX but have family in the Mississippi area. Would not mind living there

How do I put this...

if you're from FW, why not SMU?

Did not consider applying to SMU because did not think I would get in. Figured it was a waste of time. I am graduating in May and just don't want to sit on my ass for a year to be in the same boat. I'm unsure of how much I could improve for another LSAT. Never gone says it could be 10+ points, but I'd hate to try that and it not happen. Is life that bad at all these schools? I was really considering OU, Tech and Ole Miss.

Just study hard and retake in June. Worst case scenario you don't improve and these are your options. But if you did no practice, or even a little practice, and got a 156, a score in the mid 160's should really be no problem. At that point a near full ride to SMU is pretty much a certainty, and large scholarships to Texas and several top-14 law schools aren't far away.

tyler21 wrote:Did not consider applying to SMU because did not think I would get in. Figured it was a waste of time. I am graduating in May and just don't want to sit on my ass for a year to be in the same boat. I'm unsure of how much I could improve for another LSAT. Never gone says it could be 10+ points, but I'd hate to try that and it not happen. Is life that bad at all these schools? I was really considering OU, Tech and Ole Miss.

SMU gives a good amount of money. You won't get a job in DFW from anywhere else except MAYBE baylor and MAYBE to a smaller degree OU. SMU places well in Dallas, is closer to FW, and gives out a lot of money. Idk your GPA though I might've skimmed by it.

Why would you not consider SMU? At least get a fee waiver and apply... 28 bucks for what would probably be your best option.

All of this is irrelevant though because retaking is the way to go.

tyler21 wrote:Did not consider applying to SMU because did not think I would get in. Figured it was a waste of time. I am graduating in May and just don't want to sit on my ass for a year to be in the same boat. I'm unsure of how much I could improve for another LSAT. Never gone says it could be 10+ points, but I'd hate to try that and it not happen. Is life that bad at all these schools? I was really considering OU, Tech and Ole Miss.

Find something, literally anything, to do for a year. Travel, teach English in some foreign country, get any job, it seriously doesn't matter. You will never get a better return on investment in your entire life than waiting a year and studying hard for the LSAT. Even if you only do 5 points better (which is pretty much a lock given what we know), your options will be dramatically improved. For example, you would absolutely get into SMU with some kind of scholarship with a 161.

OU, Tech and Ole Miss are not horrible options for people who want to work in Oklahoma, West Texas, and Mississippi respectively, but the vast majority of jobs coming out of those schools will be in those locations, and not well-paying. Better schools will offer you both a better chance at a decent salary, and more geographic mobility.

I appreciate your help. It is hard to convince myself to take a year off, but I am very much considering it. I am also finishing my application to SMU (long-shot, but might as well) and will see what they say. Is there a test prep class that is the best for increasing scores? Could I transfer from one of these schools and achieve the same?

tyler21 wrote:I appreciate your help. It is hard to convince myself to take a year off, but I am very much considering it. I am also finishing my application to SMU (long-shot, but might as well) and will see what they say. Is there a test prep class that is the best for increasing scores? Could I transfer from one of these schools and achieve the same?

I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else who asks this question: it is far, far easier to retake the LSAT than to finish in the top of your law school class and transfer.

The LSAT is a very learnable test. I would bet any amount of money that if you got a 156 cold, you will crack 160 with a few months of studying. With the right focus and study plan, you'll probably gain 10+ points. That's life changing.

Each point on the LSAT is potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship money. A small handful of points can double or triple your employment opportunities. This is why Tiago is correct that you would be wasting a huge opportunity if you go to law school without actually studying and retaking. You're throwing money away and putting yourself at a school with much, much lower employment opportunities.

Wait a year, study hard, get a better LSAT, go to UT for free.

Re test prep: buy the PowerScore bibles and take as many real practice tests as you can. The LSAT prep forum is a goldmine of resources.

romothesavior wrote:

tyler21 wrote:I appreciate your help. It is hard to convince myself to take a year off, but I am very much considering it. I am also finishing my application to SMU (long-shot, but might as well) and will see what they say. Is there a test prep class that is the best for increasing scores? Could I transfer from one of these schools and achieve the same?

I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else who asks this question: it is far, far easier to retake the LSAT than to finish in the top of your law school class and transfer.

The LSAT is a very learnable test. I would bet any amount of money that if you got a 156 cold, you will crack 160 with a few months of studying. With the right focus and study plan, you'll probably gain 10+ points. That's life changing.

Each point on the LSAT is potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship money. A small handful of points can double or triple your employment opportunities. This is why Tiago is correct that you would be wasting a huge opportunity if you go to law school without actually studying and retaking. You're throwing money away and putting yourself at a school with much, much lower employment opportunities.

Wait a year, study hard, get a better LSAT, go to UT for free.

This is right.

Look man, I was in a similar mental boat as you. You're 21/22. Even a year seems like a decade. You want to tell people that you are "doing something" with your life and you figure that the sooner you hurry up and get to law school the faster you'll be a real adult.

But here's the truth- your legal career began the minute you set foot in college when you started working towards that GPA. What you do now will impact the next 40 years of your career and will seriously impact the next 10 years of your life that you will spend paying off a mountain of student loan debt (if you are lucky enough to even get a job that allows you to make the payments). You did not properly prepare for the single most important piece of your application, and as a result you are leaving tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table. Think about it this way- if I came to you tomorrow and told you that I'd pay you $75K to study for the LSAT for one year and then go to law school, and you could do anything else with the rest of that time, would you do it?

My practice tests went up ten points with about two weeks of very part-time study. Taking the LSAT is a skill, and it's a skill you can learn. At your level of preparation, even a small amount of studying and familiarizing yourself with the test would get you where you want to go. You don't have to spend 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Just keep at it at a consistent, sustainable pace until you see improvements. In the meantime, yes, get a job. Trying to get a job without a JD is not nearly as bad as trying to get a job with a JD and a ton of debt.

retake. i had a 151 the first time i took the lsat and now have full rides at uva/mich.

I took the LSAT cold in February of my senior year and got a 157 (I was cocky, did well on the SAT - I see the error of my ways now ) Then I just studied for a couple months and took it again June my senior year and got a 167. That 167 just got me in to Berkeley! I honestly just did the 'LSAT for Dummies' book and took a few practice tests, although now having done the PowerScore books I'd recommend those instead.

My original plan was to teach English abroad for a year and apply to law school during that year and then go when I came back. But then the world opened up to me and I realized I had no idea why I was actually applying to law school. So I back burnered the idea of law school and worked in some other jobs for a few years. One of those jobs led me back to the law school path and gave me an actual idea for why I would go and what I would do, and now having taken that time I feel so much more prepared and ready and grounded.

Anyway all that is to say, maybe you do have a really articulated reason for why you want to go to law school, and if so, taking a year off to retake and do something else isn't necessarily a bad thing, you will find your way back if it's what you really want.

oh man. it's a guy with a solid GPA who underperformed on the LSAT and when told to retake, is open to the idea

it's a TLSer's wet dream of a thread

I am honestly open to anything, just want to have all the facts to give myself the best chance at success. Could I lock in a seat deposit, retake in June, then back out if I do really well? Not sure if that is an option.

tyler21 wrote:I am honestly open to anything, just want to have all the facts to give myself the best chance at success. Could I lock in a seat deposit, retake in June, then back out if I do really well? Not sure if that is an option.

Yes

This is exactly what I did my first application cycle

romothesavior wrote:The LSAT is a very learnable test. I would bet any amount of money that if you got a 156 cold, you will crack 160 with a few months of studying.

With a few days of studying he should be able to do this.

It would be an incredible mistake to attend any of these schools in this situation. You have to retake. SMU with a big scholarship or UT should be your only options here -- settle for nothing less. Your entire career is riding on this; one year is nothing.

Wow, this is eye-opening. Never would have guessed the legal profession was so limited.