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Hey everyone!

I'm a rising senior, AA (& LGBT) male with a 3.75 GPA from a state school. I'm confident that I can graduate with at least a 3.8 & will be taking a gal year. I was wondering what you all think would be a sufficient LSAT score for big money at these three schools. I'm highly debt averse so I don't have the HYS or bust mindset. (I'll likely only be applying to H anyway).

These schools in particular seem to be unpredictable when awarding scholarships to URMs and in general.

Play around with myLSN and that'll give you a pretty good idea. But really, your goal should just be 180.

VeiledProtectorate wrote:Play around with myLSN and that'll give you a pretty good idea. But really, your goal should just be 180.

Thanks! I'm planning to study for about six months, is that enough time?

tforterrill wrote:Thanks! I'm planning to study for about six months, is that enough time?

It takes different amounts of time to study for different people. The recommended minimum seems to be about 3-4 months but it takes some longer or shorter amounts of time. Try taking a cold diagnostic test, the June 2007 test is free and available online. That score will give you a good idea on what you need to improve on, and then by checking out some of the guides on this site you can find the right books and study meathods to get your desired score. With just that basic info I'd give a rough guess of 166 plus, maybe 165, to get money out of those schools. Best of luck!

some people say to take a practice test cold as a "diagnostic" but you dont have to. im an advocate of doing practice questions and reading about the test before taking any practice tests/sections of tests.

people who advocate the diagnostic like that that it shows where you're weak. however, i think you can figure that out without taking a whole test, and should just spend time shoring up your weaknesses before taking full sections and full tests.

You should be in a good position with anything near median or above. I'd shoot high as possible because 1) you always should and 2) the GRE may change the availability of scholarships, particularly if one is a reverse splitter.

#2 and reverse splitters is mostly my speculation, as I think the changes will most hurt reverse splitters until the weight of the LSAT is diminished (which it may be in the new rankings... I'm not sure.)

gwillygecko wrote:some people say to take a practice test cold as a "diagnostic" but you dont have to. im an advocate of doing practice questions and reading about the test before taking any practice tests/sections of tests.

people who advocate the diagnostic like that that it shows where you're weak. however, i think you can figure that out without taking a whole test, and should just spend time shoring up your weaknesses before taking full sections and full tests.

I took a free practice LSAT provided by my school but I never got my score back But I definitely know that the LG part was the hardest for me. So should I just start looking at those questions first?

VeiledProtectorate wrote:Play around with myLSN and that'll give you a pretty good idea. But really, your goal should just be 180.

How accurate is myLSN?

tforterrill wrote:

gwillygecko wrote:some people say to take a practice test cold as a "diagnostic" but you dont have to. im an advocate of doing practice questions and reading about the test before taking any practice tests/sections of tests.

people who advocate the diagnostic like that that it shows where you're weak. however, i think you can figure that out without taking a whole test, and should just spend time shoring up your weaknesses before taking full sections and full tests.

I took a free practice LSAT provided by my school but I never got my score back But I definitely know that the LG part was the hardest for me. So should I just start looking at those questions first?

For sure

Do LR after

RC last

If you're slightly below or scoring at the median level, then you're likely to get a scholarship with that GPA. As you know, the scores will vary across different programs and admission years. Just score as high as possible on the LSAT and get your letter or recommendations in LSAC early.

If you're debt averse, and looking to get into the best programs, I'd highly recommend that you take a year or two off and work. You're going to need money for law school whether its tuition/living expenses and experience will only strengthen your application (which could lead to more money from scholarships).

King of the North wrote:

VeiledProtectorate wrote:Play around with myLSN and that'll give you a pretty good idea. But really, your goal should just be 180.

How accurate is myLSN?

I mean its crowdsourced info -- so it's only as accurate as the people who put in the data make it. I'd say it's a good rule of thumb. Anecdotally, from my cycle, I definitely had some discrepancies from what I would expect from myLSN.