Top Law Schools

As I'm finishing up my applications I'm starting to get really nervous that I'm not going to get in anywhere... Everyone around me seems to have higher scores and I feel like such an Idiot! I hate my life... I know I'm dramatic and everything will be fine but I just need to know if I'm setting myself up for disappointment?

I've taken the LSAT twice.. 152 the first time and 153 the second... I have a 3.46 cumulative GPA ... I started at a jr. college and have several junior college transcripts (whatever I could find to fit my schedule) but the majority of the hours I've earned are from a tier 1 public university in Texas and I have a 3.82 BA political science.

I've spent several summers abroad, worked in the summer, am a member of several clubs and hold a position in one.

I also have really really great letters of reference...

I'd like to go to

UT - which would obviously have to be a miracle
University of Houston
Baylor
Tulane
SMU
South Texas
Pepperdine

I know I'm on the low end for the majority of schools listed above but I've heard that they're "desperate to fill seats" so do I have a chance??? Any help/suggestions appreciated! Thanks!

Unfortunately, with your numbers, you are not a very competitive applicant for most the schools you mentioned. That could be a blessing in disguise, though. If you're willing to take some time (possibly up to a year) and work on improving your LSAT score, you'll be in a much better position to enroll in one of your ideal schools and attend at an infinitly better price.

Good luck!

Oh my gosh that's not what I wanted to hear haha but thank you!

How did you study the first couple of times you took the LSAT?

Yeah, your numbers don't look good for most of those schools. Letters of recommendation and softs like summer jobs are generally meaningless.

Even if you got in to one, you shouldn't go. UT, the best school on your list, is not worth paying full price for. It's a great school for sure, but it's not worth 270k in debt. You need to forget about going this year and retake the LSAT.

hillz wrote:How did you study the first couple of times you took the LSAT?

The first time I took a prep course through Kaplan... The second time I just requested that Kaplan send me new resources (which is part of their higher score guarantee package) and I practiced timing sections for each portion of the lsat and I also took several full length test. I've always been a poor test taker but I'm a hard worker and I'm hoping that they'll focus on my GPA at the institution that my degree will be from. Any financial help would obviously be great but it isn't a deal breaker... I'm also hoping that the deceasing number off law applications is true.

TheSpanishMain wrote:Yeah, your numbers don't look good for most of those schools. Letters of recommendation and softs like summer jobs are generally meaningless.

Even if you got in to one, you shouldn't go. UT, the best school on your list, is not worth paying full price for. It's a great school for sure, but it's not worth 270k in debt. You need to forget about going this year and retake the LSAT.

Ugh you may be right but I can't imagine what I would do with a whole year off... What If my score still doesn't improve? I would feel like the year was such a waste!

Legal_Eagle101 wrote:

TheSpanishMain wrote:Yeah, your numbers don't look good for most of those schools. Letters of recommendation and softs like summer jobs are generally meaningless.

Even if you got in to one, you shouldn't go. UT, the best school on your list, is not worth paying full price for. It's a great school for sure, but it's not worth 270k in debt. You need to forget about going this year and retake the LSAT.

Ugh you may be right but I can't imagine what I would do with a whole year off... What If my score still doesn't improve? I would feel like the year was such a waste!

Make no mistake, getting a JD in your situation would be a monumentally greater waste than taking a year off.
It is financially indefensible for you to go to law school with a 3.4/153. If you want to practice in Texas you should go to UT with nearly full tuition or a T14 with a substantial scholarship.
You need to retake the LSAT, using better study materials (Kaplan is garbage).

Stop wasting your time on apps. You should not apply to LS until you get a much higher LSAT score.

Legal_Eagle101 wrote:

TheSpanishMain wrote:Yeah, your numbers don't look good for most of those schools. Letters of recommendation and softs like summer jobs are generally meaningless.

Even if you got in to one, you shouldn't go. UT, the best school on your list, is not worth paying full price for. It's a great school for sure, but it's not worth 270k in debt. You need to forget about going this year and retake the LSAT.

Ugh you may be right but I can't imagine what I would do with a whole year off... What If my score still doesn't improve? I would feel like the year was such a waste!

Um, you could get a job. The fact that you're being so dramatic about OMG A WHOLE YEAR suggests you need to develop a more mature perspective on this whole thing. I had nine years between undergrad and law school. I was making money, building a resume, and seeing the world. A year or two is not a big deal at all.

.

Read this, if you haven't already:http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=195603
That guide + Cambridge drilling packets really helped me.

Getting some experience really is a good idea. It will give you more time to study and hone in on what you really want to do in law school/life.

Thanks y'all for the advice/suggestions... I guess I'll consider taking sometime off if I don't get in anywhere that I'd like to go... I'm going to stay optimistic though and hope all of you are wrong

Legal_Eagle101 wrote:Thanks y'all for the advice/suggestions... I guess I'll consider taking sometime off if I don't get in anywhere that I'd like to go... I'm going to stay optimistic though and hope all of you are wrong

Are your parents wealthy and willing to fund your education? Are you a veteran eligible for the GI Bill?

If not, how do you plan on paying for it if you do get in somewhere? Being offered the chance to go to, say, Baylor for over a quarter million dollars in debt is not something you should be hoping for. It's more like taking a cheese grater to your genitals. The best thing that could happen to you is that you're rejected from all these schools so you dedicate yourself to a serious LSAT study regimen.

TheSpanishMain wrote:

Legal_Eagle101 wrote:Thanks y'all for the advice/suggestions... I guess I'll consider taking sometime off if I don't get in anywhere that I'd like to go... I'm going to stay optimistic though and hope all of you are wrong

Are your parents wealthy and willing to fund your education? Are you a veteran eligible for the GI Bill?

If not, how do you plan on paying for it if you do get in somewhere? Being offered the chance to go to, say, Baylor for over a quarter million dollars in debt is not something you should be hoping for. It's more like taking a cheese grater to your genitals. The best thing that could happen to you is that you're rejected from all these schools so you dedicate yourself to a serious LSAT study regimen.

^That's probably a more desirable result than being a quarter mil in the hole with no job prospects. I'm sure a lot of struggling grads would trade in their degree and take the cheese grater option if it wiped away their debt.

Legal_Eagle101 wrote:Thanks y'all for the advice/suggestions... I guess I'll consider taking sometime off if I don't get in anywhere that I'd like to go... I'm going to stay optimistic though and hope all of you are wrong

You shouldn't even apply.
The only school you'll get into is South Texas (and maybe Pepperdine off the waitlist). Neither is a good option, so save yourself the app fees and sit out the cycle.
South Texas sucks...period. And you're looking at paying sticker for Pepperdine, which is completely unjustifiable. Don't be foolish.
Your best outcome at this point is to not go anywhere.
Ditch Kaplan and bump your score up by at least 10 points.