161 URM planning retake, need suggestions for Private Tutor and Admissions Coach? Forum

[jdmba_]

Hi everyone,
I recently got my score of 161 back and I was content, but the more I read up on this site I realized that in order to get into a T6 ranking school, I may need to retake the exam or have a personal statement that's gold. I am an AA female that graduated from a top ten undergrad institution with a ~3.3-3.4 range gpa. The LSAT and my personal statement are crucial and the only variables at this point, my recommendations and extracurriculars during college and after are pretty solid.

I studied for June 2016 sitting for approximately 3 months while having a full-time job. I feel like I did the best I could do with self-study, but I think I want a private tutor to evaluate if I can raise my score by 3-4 points at least.

Does anyone have suggestions on either of the following:
1. private tutors for the LSAT that they utilized; and/or
2. mentors or writing coaches that are willing to assist with reviewing personal statements/diversity statements accessible in the Northern California area or via skype/phone (preferably that have experience with URM applicants)

I have searched online everywhere for these resources and every option that presented itself was either a Testmasters, Kaplan, Blueprint offering to match me with one of their tutors or obscure tutors whose references aren't reliable. I am a bit hesitant about hiring a tutor/ admissions coach because it entirely out of my budget, but I don't see any other avenues to obtain this guidance.

Please let me know if any of you have suggestions

I am interested in applying to law school programs this Fall 2016. I have about 16 drafts of my personal statement, but nothing that I feel more confident about than the next draft. I am aiming to complete by the end of September.

I would appreciate any words of wisdom, especially from those who decided to retake after a 161 (GPA/how they prepared/ how long/ what services were used, if any/ where they applied/ when they applied) and what the end result was in terms of school acceptance/final LSAT score?

I am also really interested in those that decided to apply with a 161, please share your experience as well in terms of when you applied, where, and the outcome/ acceptances along with GPA if people don't mind sharing

Some friends tell me I am being hasty considering to retake the exam, and I would be better off focusing on the personal statement from now through september...I just need help in deciding.

Thank you in advance!

[Barack Obama 2.0]

Hi everyone,
I recently got my score of 161 back and I was content, but the more I read up on this site I realized that in order to get into a T6 ranking school, I may need to retake the exam or have a personal statement that's gold. I am an AA female that graduated from a top ten undergrad institution with a ~3.3-3.4 range gpa. The LSAT and my personal statement are crucial and the only variables at this point, my recommendations and extracurriculars during college and after are pretty solid.

I studied for June 2016 sitting for approximately 3 months while having a full-time job. I feel like I did the best I could do with self-study, but I think I want a private tutor to evaluate if I can raise my score by 3-4 points at least.

Does anyone have suggestions on either of the following:
1. private tutors for the LSAT that they utilized; and/or
2. mentors or writing coaches that are willing to assist with reviewing personal statements/diversity statements accessible in the Northern California area or via skype/phone (preferably that have experience with URM applicants)

I have searched online everywhere for these resources and every option that presented itself was either a Testmasters, Kaplan, Blueprint offering to match me with one of their tutors or obscure tutors whose references aren't reliable. I am a bit hesitant about hiring a tutor/ admissions coach because it entirely out of my budget, but I don't see any other avenues to obtain this guidance.

Please let me know if any of you have suggestions

I am interested in applying to law school programs this Fall 2016. I have about 16 drafts of my personal statement, but nothing that I feel more confident about than the next draft. I am aiming to complete by the end of September.

I would appreciate any words of wisdom, especially from those who decided to retake after a 161 (GPA/how they prepared/ how long/ what services were used, if any/ where they applied/ when they applied) and what the end result was in terms of school acceptance/final LSAT score?

I am also really interested in those that decided to apply with a 161, please share your experience as well in terms of when you applied, where, and the outcome/ acceptances along with GPA if people don't mind sharing

Some friends tell me I am being hasty considering to retake the exam, and I would be better off focusing on the personal statement from now through september...I just need help in deciding.

Thank you in advance!

Retake, retake, retake. You're clearly capable of scoring higher, definitely retake. If you score in the mid to high 160s, you're looking acceptances from several mid to low T-14 schools with money.

[Barack O'Drama]

Yeah, definitely retake! If you can hit a 161, I have confidence you can hit mid-to-high 160s. I don't think you need a course per say, because a 161 means you know your stuff pretty good and is a matter of fine tuning. Perhaps a private tutor for a few sessions might do you well.

What prep materials did you use the first time? How many PTs did you take? How many hours a day did/can you study?

It might just be a matter of attacking your weaknesses and taking some more prep tests under realistic-test day conditions.

Good luck!

[jnwa]

Retake...as a urm your GPA doesn't disqualify from some of the best outcomes. With a 173 and your Gpa I got t6 schools with money and a t14 full scholarship.

As far as studying for the LSAT, private tutors are usually pretty good. As a tutor myself I'd recommend you ask for a practice session first where you can get a feel for their style and see if it works for you. Barring that there are tons of self-study guides on TLS. I self studied from a 150 diagnostic to a couple of 180 preptests before scoring 173 on the real thing. Look at the guides and see if there's any strategies that you haven't implemented.

Hiring someone for your personal statement makes less sense. You graduated, write well, talk about yourself, post drafts on here and people will give you feedback. The personal statement is far less important that the LSAT. You don't need to have a great one, you need to have a non-bad one and let your numbers do the rest of the work.

[jdmba_]

I just realized that I failed to mention that I have already taken the exam. I do believe that I can raise my score by potentially a few points. My concern is that it might be counter-productive because of the negative impact of being a repeat test taker. My score went up 10 points, so if i haven't hit my scoring peak... I don't know if the benefits of the few points versus the negative connotation of taking the exam repeatedly.

I took the exam thinking I didnt need to take a practice course or review and bombed it. Then I took the Testmasters course while I was in undergrad but then took the exam without the self studying component, so I did alright...but nothing t14 worthy. Thereafter I self-studied amidst my full time job and finally got this 161. This was years later and this time I studied for 3 months with self-study every morning M-F from about 3:30-8:30 am (because of my 9-5) and took every practice test from PT 40 onward. There were some instances where I took a break, but otherwise between 4-5 hours on weekdays and 6-8 hours on weekend days= 26-33 hours/week. I took 30+ exams in real life testing conditions and I even downloaded the app that makes the sounds to to simulate the exam pencil scratches, coughs, and all

I think my ego got in the way of my foresight and now I have to live with these ugly scores You are completely right, I know what my weaknesses are I just haven't been able to better myself with drilling on my own. The reading comprehension is the hardest section for me and the logic games are my strongest. The logical reasoning I'm comfortable with with the exception of the parallel/ similar reasoning (just because they are so long) and the similar and main point. Were these areas something you had trouble with as well? If so, how did you study to fix this?

Do any of know of or have suggestions on where I could find a private tutor?

How long did you guys study?

I guess... maybe the personal statement coach is overdoing it, but at this point I just feel like I need to do whatever I need to get my apps in by the end of September and into a t6.... My personal statement is clearly on the back burner now that I am stressing about my scores.

Thank you again for your advice!