Should I take the LSAT or GRE? USC is my top choice Forum

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1Mommylawyer

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Should I take the LSAT or GRE? USC is my top choice

Post by 1Mommylawyer » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:38 pm

Hello,
I am a URM with a 3.87 GPA. I want to study from now until November to take either the LSAT or GRE. Which should I take? I do plan to apply to most of the T-15, but USC is my absolute top choice. Also wondering if I should apply ED?

Thanks!

dvlthndr

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Re: Should I take the LSAT or GRE? USC is my top choice

Post by dvlthndr » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:50 pm

Take the LSAT. Not every school takes GRE scores, and there is a risk that it will negatively impact your chances at scholarships etc. at certain schools. The GRE is really meant for people that spent a few years in graduate school and did something else prior to law school (e.g., people with a masters degree in some STEM field).

Don’t apply E.D. unless you are willing to pay full price for a school. If you perform well on the LSAT there is a strong chance that many T14 schools will offer you a substantial scholarships. Even if you want to go to USC for personal reasons (e.g., you are geographically limited), I would strongly recommend applying normally.

1Mommylawyer

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Re: Should I take the LSAT or GRE? USC is my top choice

Post by 1Mommylawyer » Wed Jun 17, 2020 8:28 pm

dvlthndr wrote:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:50 pm
Take the LSAT. Not every school takes GRE scores, and there is a risk that it will negatively impact your chances at scholarships etc. at certain schools. The GRE is really meant for people that spent a few years in graduate school and did something else prior to law school (e.g., people with a masters degree in some STEM field).

Don’t apply E.D. unless you are willing to pay full price for a school. If you perform well on the LSAT there is a strong chance that many T14 schools will offer you a substantial scholarships. Even if you want to go to USC for personal reasons (e.g., you are geographically limited), I would strongly recommend applying normally.
Thank you for your advice!

gekko

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Re: Should I take the LSAT or GRE? USC is my top choice

Post by gekko » Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:58 am

I just want to mention a weird email I got after writing to confirm to USC that my file was complete with the exception of an LSAT since I was a GRE applicant. (I'd actually just spoken to them a couple days before at the West Coast Consortium fair.) I got one email that said thanks for the update and then another one indicating that since I had a GRE I couldn't be considered this year (Fall 2020) since they had a different earlier deadline for those who wished to be considered as GRE applicants. It's still sitting in my LSAC account without transmission...I got the impression from a call that no one there knows the process and it's a ton of red tape.

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