URM GPA 3.18 UCLA/LSAT 156-157 Chances? feeling defeated ... Forum

[melyfig]

Hey guys so I have a 3.18 GPA from UCLA.
I know. Not to sexy for law school. I struggled the first two years... Big fish small pond syndrome. It took me that long to learn how to study efficiently and ask for help. Later GPA is slightly better about 3.4-3.6.
URM. Mexican American. First generation college student.
Studied my ass off for the LSAT. A year of prep.
Went 156-->157.
Don't see myself improving much there although I could retake again. I know that go to advice is retake and wait a year but honestly I can't.
I'm two years out of undergrad ( I've been working at a law office) and I've already put it off a year. Cancelled test in June.


Where do you guys see me having a shot at applying? The pro to my situation is I'm open to any region. I'm in SoCal but willing anywhere. No specific law I want to practice (law is the ultimate goal here. I've wanted to be. Lawyer since I was 10. Law school is happening despite the advice that will surely pop up telling me not to bother)
Not really interested in Big Law. Much rather go into private practice. Not wanting to go into a lot of debt.

Soft
Not many. Worked a lot throughout undergrad. Graduated debt free. JusticeCorps In college and working as a registered process server for an attorney.

Been working for a law firm full time since I graduated.

As of now I've put so much into the LSAT and failed, I was PTing in the 160-165 range. I hate that this happened. I'm absolutely defeated. I thought I'd have at least a 160. So my list of schools was based off a score I didn't receive.

I have two personal statements I'm working on. One is growing up Mexican American in an extremely small town (12,000 population) and being 1 of 3 Mexicans in my grade, rest white.
The other about my mom choosing to leave us when I was a child and me taking on the role of mother to my younger sisters.
If anyone is open to reading these please let me know. I need readers.

The dream is Iowa. Any advice. Please no rude or mean comments. I'm feeling like crap as it is. And yes. I'm going to law school regardless.

[joeycxxxx09]

Your clearly not studying very effectively
Your attitude of going to law school regardless is not a smart one
156 just is not high enough for your goals
Really consider a retake here
Those numbers aren't going to get you far
Edit: a little harsh but you can't have that "going to school regardless" attitude with those numbers. It's not hard to improve to a 160+ if you already got a 156.

[acerqueira11]

Hey guys so I have a 3.18 GPA from UCLA.
I know. Not to sexy for law school. I struggled the first two years... Big fish small pond syndrome. It took me that long to learn how to study efficiently and ask for help. Later GPA is slightly better about 3.4-3.6.
URM. Mexican American. First generation college student.
Studied my ass off for the LSAT. A year of prep.
Went 156-->157.
Don't see myself improving much there although I could retake again. I know that go to advice is retake and wait a year but honestly I can't.
I'm two years out of undergrad ( I've been working at a law office) and I've already put it off a year. Cancelled test in June.


Where do you guys see me having a shot at applying? The pro to my situation is I'm open to any region. I'm in SoCal but willing anywhere. No specific law I want to practice (law is the ultimate goal here. I've wanted to be. Lawyer since I was 10. Law school is happening despite the advice that will surely pop up telling me not to bother)
Not really interested in Big Law. Much rather go into private practice. Not wanting to go into a lot of debt.

Soft
Not many. Worked a lot throughout undergrad. Graduated debt free. JusticeCorps In college and working as a registered process server for an attorney.

Been working for a law firm full time since I graduated.

As of now I've put so much into the LSAT and failed, I was PTing in the 160-165 range. I hate that this happened. I'm absolutely defeated. I thought I'd have at least a 160. So my list of schools was based off a score I didn't receive.

I have two personal statements I'm working on. One is growing up Mexican American in an extremely small town (12,000 population) and being 1 of 3 Mexicans in my grade, rest white.
The other about my mom choosing to leave us when I was a child and me taking on the role of mother to my younger sisters.
If anyone is open to reading these please let me know. I need readers.

The dream is Iowa. Any advice. Please no rude or mean comments. I'm feeling like crap as it is. And yes. I'm going to law school regardless.

First off, I know how it feels to have a LSAT score that you are not proud of. I am on the same boat. Your biggest problem will be wanting go to a school and leaving with minimal debt. The way I've seen the recent acceptances go down, the schools you saw on your 160 list might still be in contention. I know people who have gotten full rides to schools they did not think they would have. Schools like Northeastern, BU, BC (mostly schools in the Northeast because that is where I am from). Your best shot are at schools around the 50 mark when it comes to rankings. low 1T and most 2T. I would look for schools that has the best job prospect for what you want to do, and apply to many of them. Your numbers might get you a surprisingly large amount of money, or nothing at all. I know there will be a lot of people saying not to go to law school if you can't get at least a 165, or to retake until you get it. That is what many people said to me, but my mind was already made. Just be ready have difficulty finding a respectable school that offers a lot of money. Some schools might surprise you! All the best

[d237]

I was in the same boat as you, actually. We have remarkably similar life stories/numbers and I was just accepted at Iowa with significant scholarship money (although I have stronger softs). I didn't expect to even get in so I think that they really do take other things into consideration for admissions. Make sure you also apply to Texas, Berkeley, Michigan and Notre Dame- from what I've heard, these places also take a more holistic approach to admissions.

LS admissions is a crap shoot but if you can articulate some meaningful experiences in your personal/diversity statement that show why you have a unique perspective that will add to the class and that you are academically prepared for LS, I think some will bite.

Good luck! Don't give up hope!

[deant286]

Law school admissions is actually not much of a crapshoot as you can generally predict where you will end up based solely on your numbers, bc they rule the admissions game. My cycle is unfolding exactly as I expected - based on what I saw on mylsn.info.

OP, I know you came on here looking for people like the last two posters to encourage and enable you to pursue this course but please listen to me: do not go to law school unless you retake. I'm not trying to parrot generic TLS tag lines for the hell of it, it really is your best (and only logical) course of action.

If you're seriously interested in finding legal employment and/or living without life crippling debt then you should reavaluate your study strategy and at the very least crack 160.

[180kickflip]

I'm not one to always respond with retake, but your situation is just too close to mine for me to resist.

I'm a URM with a 3.2 GPA and a mid 150s first LSAT. I thought I studied to get that score. I was wrong. I studied for my retake (using the materials and methods discussed in the LSAT prep threads here) and scored a few points higher. Then I studied some more, took it again, and scored a little higher. Now I have apps out with a score in the high 160s, and acceptances (and scholarships) are coming in.

It was a full 2 year uphill battle for me, but if I count scholarship dollars, it's paid off at about 50k per year of studying. I clearly am not brilliant or I wouldn't have needed two retakes to get a score that would still be considered a disappointment by half of TLS. All I did is not give up. I'm 100% sure you can improve if you work hard (and smart) enough. If all you did is self-study, then take a class. If all you did is take a class, then get new materials and self study. If you studied alone, find a buddy. Even just a 3 point improvement could change the entire trajectory of your career.

Get off TLS, and get back to prep =)

[cbbinnyc]

Law school admissions is actually not much of a crapshoot as you can generally predict where you will end up based solely on your numbers, bc they rule the admissions game. My cycle is unfolding exactly as I expected - based on what I saw on mylsn.info.

OP, I know you came on here looking for people like the last two posters to encourage and enable you to pursue this course but please listen to me: do not go to law school unless you retake. I'm not trying to parrot generic TLS tag lines for the hell of it, it really is your best (and only logical) course of action.

If you're seriously interested in finding legal employment and/or living without life crippling debt then you should reavaluate your study strategy and at the very least crack 160.

This.

I know that go to advice is retake and wait a year but honestly I can't.
I'm two years out of undergrad ( I've been working at a law office) and I've already put it off a year.

This is not a good reason for not retaking and waiting for a later cycle. Waiting another couple years might seem like a long time right now, but it is nothing when you think about the long term (not to mention the potential economic benefits you will reap in the long run by retaking and attending a better school). Also, you can use the time to build up some better softs. Won't hurt to put some distance between you and that GPA either.

[seashell.economy]

I am sorry you are in this situation, OP. I can read your PS/DS and give you feedback and edits, if you want. PM me and we can work it out through email. The only thing I'd ask is for you to send the essays to me this week, as I have a lot of writing deadlines coming up mid to late January.

[acerqueira11]

I can also help you with your PS/DS. I am URM-Brazilian and did a PS/DS on it as well. Just PM me and we can figure it out!

[melyfig]

Thanks to everyone for their input positive and negative. I'm going to apply this year, see where my cards fall and take it from there. At this point I only have one more retake regardless so if I wait a year and retake, it will be my last opportunity to do so. My PT's were in a good place, yet my actual score is not up to par, so I think it is more mental than skill. I going to see what happens and make a decision from there. I will just be applying far and wide. Contrary to what everyone seems to believe on TLS the T-14 are not the be all end all for attorneys. Particularly if I am open to working in other places because the typical metropolitan areas so I'm going to focus on where I can bring the admissions committee to my side, my Personal Statement and perhaps a GPA addendum about my struggle being 1st generation and a fear of asking for help in college. Thanks again.

[acerqueira11]

Thanks to everyone for their input positive and negative. I'm going to apply this year, see where my cards fall and take it from there. At this point I only have one more retake regardless so if I wait a year and retake, it will be my last opportunity to do so. My PT's were in a good place, yet my actual score is not up to par, so I think it is more mental than skill. I going to see what happens and make a decision from there. I will just be applying far and wide. Contrary to what everyone seems to believe on TLS the T-14 are not the be all end all for attorneys. Particularly if I am open to working in other places because the typical metropolitan areas so I'm going to focus on where I can bring the admissions committee to my side, my Personal Statement and perhaps a GPA addendum about my struggle being 1st generation and a fear of asking for help in college. Thanks again.

Good luck!!!

[DLM17]

Firstly, be positive!! I think it's easy for everyone to get in their heads too much and be down on themselves, but that doesn't help. Focus on moving ahead and strengthening the rest of your application.

I like this topic for your statement: "The other about my mom choosing to leave us when I was a child and me taking on the role of mother to my younger sisters." -- Just make sure to tie it into how it relates to your ambition to be a lawyer or how it's made you a motivated person, etc.

Also, I would be careful about retaking the LSAT too many times... unless you really think you will boost much. I'm not familiar with Iowa or how they look at it.. some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

[oil]

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is not true.

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is only true if it's your highest score.

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is true but doesn't matter because they really only consider your highest.

[DLM17]

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is not true.

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is only true if it's your highest score.

some schools average, some look at most recent, but they will see all of them.

This is true but doesn't matter because they really only consider your highest.

They usually use the highest score to report to the ABA, not necessarily for evaluation.

Either way, all of this is irrelevant for this thread. Go here for more info: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=107648

[oil]

They usually use the highest score to report to the ABA, not necessarily for evaluation.

Either way, all of this is irrelevant for this thread. Go here for more info: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=107648

There is a difference between what a school says they consider and what a school does actually consider. Evidence shows they only really consider the highest score.
And this discussion is not irrelevant. You were warning against retaking with some garbage about schools caring if you retake too many times. It would be a shame if OP made a poor life decision on the incorrect info you provided.