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Got my LSAT back and boy am I discouraged. Studied for 12 months and looks like I'm going to have to re take. My first choice is Howard, after that any school in the DC area. But NY and boston are places I'd like to practice as well. Anyway. Wanted to know what my chances are with 148/3.77. Any schools I have a chance at? Or just retake in October?. Also, if I apply "early" does that increase my chances over applying later with probably a slightly higher score? This sucks haha

Thanks guys

Octaviankid wrote:Got my LSAT back and boy am I discouraged. Studied for 12 months and looks like I'm going to have to re take. My first choice is Howard, after that any school in the DC area. But NY and boston are places I'd like to practic ad welle. Anyway. Wanted to know what my chances are with 148/3.77. Any schools I have a chance at? Or just retake in October?. Also, if I apply "early" does that increase my chances over applying later with probably a slightly higher score? This sucks haha

Thanks guys

For sure retake. You have a good GPA and you probably do not want to go to a school that would take a 148.

How did you study?

I self studied from July (lightly) and gradually got more serious. Did test masters prep several months leading into the test

There are no schools worth attending with a 148. Retake.

Don't waste that legit gpa

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... ?f=6&t=396

Don't depend on a test prep company, for me I improved the most on my own. Study hardcore, find all the modern LSATs since ~1992, take all of them under timed conditions and dissect every problem you get wrong. Make spreadsheets for the types of q's you get wrong, make spreadsheets to track your progress/improvement.

Games are most learnable, there's no reason why with enough practice you can't get perfect most of the time. Hint: Retake old games you haven't seen in a while.

Look in the LSAT forum for more tips. The LSAT stands between you and a great school.

Ok, thanks for all of the advice!

MrSparkle wrote:Don't depend on a test prep company, for me I improved the most on my own. Study hardcore, find all the modern LSATs since ~1992, take all of them under timed conditions and dissect every problem you get wrong. Make spreadsheets for the types of q's you get wrong, make spreadsheets to track your progress/improvement.

Games are most learnable, there's no reason why with enough practice you can't get perfect most of the time. Hint: Retake old games you haven't seen in a while.

Look in the LSAT forum for more tips. The LSAT stands between you and a great school.

Any books you particularly found helpful for your self study? I have the powerscore bibles.
Also, cheapest place to buy old tests? I already went through LSACS super prep (orange one), 10 actual LSAT prep tests, and 10 more actual prep tests.

Amazon is the cheapest I know of for PT bundles, about $20 a pop.

I would recommend Manhattan. http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-LSAT-Se ... roduct_top

Octaviankid wrote:

MrSparkle wrote:Don't depend on a test prep company, for me I improved the most on my own. Study hardcore, find all the modern LSATs since ~1992, take all of them under timed conditions and dissect every problem you get wrong. Make spreadsheets for the types of q's you get wrong, make spreadsheets to track your progress/improvement.

Games are most learnable, there's no reason why with enough practice you can't get perfect most of the time. Hint: Retake old games you haven't seen in a while.

Look in the LSAT forum for more tips. The LSAT stands between you and a great school.

Any books you particularly found helpful for your self study? I have the powerscore bibles.
Also, cheapest place to buy old tests? I already went through LSACS super prep (orange one), 10 actual LSAT prep tests, and 10 more actual prep tests.

I will say that there are places you can get all the LSATs on the interwebs where it will cost you a bit of your morals, a few clicks, and a bunch of printer paper/ink (I didn't do this, but I have heard it exists on this/other forums). Otherwise, Amazon has a lot of them, or you can get them direct from LSAC (more expensive than Amazon though).

Since you went through Testmasters, just use that same methodology (I did a similar prep co., blueprint, when I began studying). I did read through the Powerscore bibles (logical reasoning and games books), but I found that methods similar to Testmasters/blueprint were quicker and easier for me, especially regarding games. In my free time, I also picked up a logic puzzle book that 200 puzzles pretty similar to LSAT logic games. Should be easy to find, I forgot the title.

The real improvement for me came from constant practice, starting slow and working through a test at a time, making sure I understood 100% what I got wrong and why. Later, I built up my stamina...the LSAT is a marathon, you can't afford to feel drained until you're finished. I took one test (making it 5 sections by inserting an extra section from a random test as "experimental") every day for a month leading up to the exam day, and established a routine (including breakfast) that mirrored what I'd do on test day. It was painful and boring and I had no social life, but it paid off.

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I just thought I'd give you an update.
I raised my Oct LSAT to a 159, which is closer to my avg PT's. I've already applied to 13 schools and I wanted to get some feedback on my chances. Howard, American, Pepperdine, St. John's, Northeastern, Chicago-Kent..I'm also applying so some schools I'm fairly confident i'll get into such as Albany & Suffolk..as well as some long shots GW, Boston College, Brooklyn, and GULC...Just curious to hear your thoughts.. my current stats are 3.77/ 159

Congrats on the big improvement!!

UMN/WUSTL/Indiana/Emory/Alabama are all plausable reaches. I bet you would get into atleast one.

Good shot at ASU, Iowa, Davis, Colorado-Boulder, Utah, Florida, SMU,Baylor, Houston, and Tulane.

If you are ok working within their markets, I think those schools would give you better job prospects than the ones you lised.

You should ask for fee waivers.

(you should still retake again in Feb/June)

are you an ethnic minority?

OP are you a URM?

I'm african american, yes.

Octaviankid wrote:I'm african american, yes.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=195443

Well that changes everything. Anywhere you are at or above both medians should offer you close to a full ride. FORGET about the second tier. You are bound for a T1. If I were you, I would blanket every T14 I was above the gpa median + every Tier 1 I would consider going to/ get a waiver from (for scholarship negotiation purposes). Ask for fee waivers. Tell them your a URM. "Hi Im a [race] [gender] with a [gpa/lsat]. I would really like to apply to your school, but cant afford to. I would like to request a fee waiver. Thank you for your time" - or something to that effect

You really ought to consider retaking. A mid 160s score would likely get you T14. Even breaking the 160 threshold would help your chances and scholarship offers greatly.

Nova wrote:

Octaviankid wrote:I'm african american, yes.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=195443

Well that changes everything. Anywhere you are at or above both medians should offer you close to a full ride. FORGET about the second tier. You are bound for a T1. If I were you, I would blanket every T14 I was above the gpa median + every Tier 1 I would consider going to/ get a waiver from (for scholarship negotiation purposes). Ask for fee waivers. Tell them your a URM. "Hi Im a [race] [gender] with a [gpa/lsat]. I would really like to apply to your school, but cant afford to. I would like to request a fee waiver. Thank you for your time" - or something to that effect

You really ought to consider retaking. A mid 160s score would likely get you T14. Even breaking the 160 threshold would help your chances and scholarship offers greatly.

Wow, I had no idea it made such a difference. I will definitely do this, thanks!!!

Good luck!!

Wanted to give you all an update as well as ask for some advice.

So I've already gotten accepted into Albany, Northeastern, CUA, American, and GW <-- ( SUPER STOKED!")
I still have a number a of schools to hear from, but Georgetown wanted to give me an alum interview...the interview is on January 3rd. I just wanted to ask if anyone has done one of these interviews before, and what all I should expect.

Octaviankid wrote:Wanted to give you all an update as well as ask for some advice.

So I've already gotten accepted into Albany, Northeastern, CUA, American, and GW <-- ( SUPER STOKED!")
I still have a number a of schools to hear from, but Georgetown wanted to give me an alum interview...the interview is on January 3rd. I just wanted to ask if anyone has done one of these interviews before, and what all I should expect.

I have nothing constructive to offer re: interviews, but I just have to say that you REALLY should not waste that stellar GPA. You could go to one of the VERY BEST schools in the country. You've only taken the LSAT once, and you didn't put 100% effort into your studying. It's beyond silly to settle for a mediocre school like GW when you could go to any one of the T14 with really not THAT huge of an improvement. And the difference in job prospects is ridiculous.

Ok so...

I haven't heard from every school yet (Howard, Brooklyn, Pepperdine) but I got my Georgetown acceptance today!
Beyond excited! If I can work everything out financially, I'll definitely be going...Just want to thank you all for your advice these past few months..it's been quite a journey since that 148!

Blessings

Congratulations!!!

Octaviankid wrote:Ok so...

I haven't heard from every school yet (Howard, Brooklyn, Pepperdine) but I got my Georgetown acceptance today!
Beyond excited! If I can work everything out financially, I'll definitely be going...Just want to thank you all for your advice these past few months..it's been quite a journey since that 148!

Blessings

This is awesome. Remember when Howard was your goal?

Way to go, OP.

It was really neat to read this post and see OP's journey from a 148 to a GULC acceptance. Congratulations!