UCLA Undergrad. 3.76/ 158 LSAT/ Helpless! Forum

[kasha]

Hi Guys!

I'm writing just to get people's opinions about where I could end up. As the title says, I have a 3.76, I graduated in December of 2011 with a degree in English (American Lit. and Cult.). I've really struggled with the LSAT... I've taken three courses, studied on my own, bought the Bibles... I took it first time, got a 155. I took it the next year (last June) and got a 158. I've even been working with a law school consultant.

I applied last year with the 155 and didn't get in anywhere I liked. I've currently applied and am still thinking of applying to a variety of schools...

I'm pretty sure even if I kill myself I can't do much better on the LSAT. What are my chances of getting accepted to a decent school? My goal is either academia, teaching/professor or politics, government work.

Softs:
Immigrant from Eastern EU
Speak two other languages
Currently in AmeriCorps with City Year
Did linguistic research study while in undergrad
Got my AA Degree at 18 (if that even matters)
Have two legal internships (court and private law)
Two+ years tutoring ESL speakers
Summer spent tutoring children in family center

Will I ever have a chance in a T20? I've also looked into JAG and Marine Corps Officer Judge Advocate since I really want to serve my country with my law degree for at least a few years...

[tiltedwindmill]

You will need a 170+ to get into a school that will offer you the even the opportunity to pursue government or academia which are two of the hardest fields to break into (HYS are basically the only inroads).

If you want to be a polsci professor I would not take on 200,000 in non-dischargeable debt, go get fellowship funded PHD (which does not require the LSAT).

And with those scores you have no chance at a t20 (whatever that is) and surely no shot at a school that will allow you to realize you goals.

[kasha]

tiltedwindmill,


Thank you for the reply

Yea, I know I need a top notch uni to get into teaching. I was just hoping that a nice, solid law school could get me in a gov. agency even if it's for intel analysis or something or other.

I've thought about the PhD route but since I'm 23, almost 24, I really don't want to spend all of my 20s, and maybe even some of my 30s, in school while my peers gain real world job experience... Looking at the world today, almost nothing can beat experience... this is true even for law.

[Nova]

youre generally going to be over paying for regionals as of now.

http://www.mylsn.info

you should retake in june

[BigZuck]

T20 is a meaningless distinction

You'll almost certainly never get into a school that gives you a remotely meaningful shot at becoming a law professor

I don't know, for the life of me, why anyone would want to become a law professor before attending law school considering they don't even know what the study of law is like at all

Retake if you want to become a lawyer

Go to a PhD program if you want to become a professor

[lawschool22]

Please retake.

Look up MLSAT, The LSAT Trainer, 7Sage, Cambridge Drill Packets and the various guides available on this forum. Join the June 2014 thread in the LSAT forum. Look what happens if you hit 170 (which IS doable!):



Compared to:

[CerberusN7]

tiltedwindmill,


Thank you for the reply

Yea, I know I need a top notch uni to get into teaching. I was just hoping that a nice, solid law school could get me in a gov. agency even if it's for intel analysis or something or other.

I've thought about the PhD route but since I'm 23, almost 24, I really don't want to spend all of my 20s, and maybe even some of my 30s, in school while my peers gain real world job experience... Looking at the world today, almost nothing can beat experience... this is true even for law.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think it is very likely that you will simply fall into intelligence work as a sort of back-up plan. As an 1A8X1 in the United States Air Force, even my colleagues find applying to these jobs highly competitive. Mind you, many of these people have experience, a bachelor's degree, a TS/SCI clearance, and at least one foreign language under their belt. You'd be competing with people like this, which most of us can also claim veteran's preference. This may not seem like a significant issue, but when you've discovered the monstrosity that is an automated 0-100 USAJobs.gov system, you will understand why 5 to 10 points makes a difference. In any case, the point to be made is that what positions exist, which isn't many in the face of budget cuts, will pit you against people who have tailored their resumes for precisely that career path.

If you were to be considered, it would be because of your Eastern European heritage and, hopefully, fluent mastery of the extraneous languages you speak. In that case, it would be a path you could achieve just by virtue of your softs. The JD would simply enable you to work at GS-9 status rather than the more likely GS-5 or GS-7 entry point. You'd then be forced to consider whether or not the cost of admission, as well as three years of missing income, was worth it. For me, I'd say that if you had any interest in this field, you'd be better off pursuing government employment entry points now, whether it be military service or federal internships.

[LET'S GET IT]

In short: no, you don't have a shot at a T20 with that LSAT score and not being a URM. Based on your lofty career goals (and there is certainly nothing wrong with them), you will almost have to sit out a cycle and try bringing your score up. You have a really good GPA. A few more points on the LSAT and you are looking at T14 or a little lower with $. Good luck!