Taking GRE on top of LSAT (LSAT is my weakness) Forum

[lawstudent201920]

I took the LSAT and got a 165 the first time. Studied for 3 more months and got a 162 the second time. LSAT is just really not my strength and I am considering studying for the GRE.

I have a 3.9 GPA from a top 10 undergrad (double majored in STEM fields and minored in pre-law). I know that with a 165, it will be close to impossible to get into the top 10 law schools. However, I am just terrible at the LSAT (I studied for over a year and went from 165 to 162).

I know that if I take both the GRE and the LSAT, both scores need to be reported to the law schools. Does anyone know if having a strong GRE score would help, even with my 165 LSAT? I am stronger at math and I heard the GRE RCs are much easier (and I got 2300+ on the SAT), so I'd love to hear some thoughts on taking the LSAT on top of the LSAT. Would my 165 LSAT score still need to be reported to U.S. rankings by the law schools if I have a strong GRE? I know the LSAT scores reported to U.S. news is a major concern for law schools.

Thanks in advance for your inputs!

[cavalier1138]

Won't help.

Once you have a valid LSAT, that gets reported for ranking purposes, so that gets precedence.

[QContinuum]

I took the LSAT and got a 165 the first time. Studied for 3 more months and got a 162 the second time. LSAT is just really not my strength and I am considering studying for the GRE.

I have a 3.9 GPA from a top 10 undergrad (double majored in STEM fields and minored in pre-law). I know that with a 165, it will be close to impossible to get into the top 10 law schools. However, I am just terrible at the LSAT (I studied for over a year and went from 165 to 162).

I know that if I take both the GRE and the LSAT, both scores need to be reported to the law schools. Does anyone know if having a strong GRE score would help, even with my 165 LSAT? I am stronger at math and I heard the GRE RCs are much easier (and I got 2300+ on the SAT), so I'd love to hear some thoughts on taking the LSAT on top of the LSAT. Would my 165 LSAT score still need to be reported to U.S. rankings by the law schools if I have a strong GRE? I know the LSAT scores reported to U.S. news is a major concern for law schools.

Thanks in advance for your inputs!

Law schools will consider your GRE and, if you do very well, that will likely be a "plus" factor on your application. However, as you suspect, your LSAT score will still be reported to law schools and they will still need to report your LSAT score to USNWR for rankings purposes. Thus, you should still expect to perform roughly in line with your LSAC GPA and LSAT score (with perhaps a small 'boost' around the edges if you were to knock the GRE out of the park).

Overall, I'd recommend focusing your energies on improving your LSAT score, instead of starting over from square one in prepping for the GRE. Contrary to your self-doubt, you are actually not remotely "terrible" at the LSAT. A 165 is a solid score, and combined with your 3.9 may actually get you into a T13 (though probably at sticker). You would be in great shape if you were to squeeze even a few more points out of the test. I refuse to believe anyone capable of scoring a 165 is incapable of scoring a 169 or 170. Best of luck - you can do it!

[markovchain]

Please excuse my irrelevant question but are you a female Asian? Sounds familiar to someone I know.

I took a GRE for part to see how well I would do and it is nowhere the difficulty of LSAT so it might not be a bad idea to have 335+ on your resume.

It might just be that your downtime came late relative to everyone else. I suggest you clear your mind for a month or two and tackle again for 175+; you will most likely get lower score than your expectation so it is a good idea to set it up high. Wish you the best of luck!