is the LSAT a predictor of Law School Success? Forum

[cwill011]

Posted this in the wrong topic area (sorry about that)... I'm reposting here.

Whats up guys.

So the question I have is in regards to how accurate the LSAT can be in regards to predicting how well one may do in law school barring good study habits. The reason why I ask is because my biggest fear in regards to law school is being the guy who tries incredibly hard and studies 16hrs a day (hyperbole) only to come up short on every exam. I've never been that guy... In fact, I was the opposite. I started college at 16 and had an associates by 17... While that may sound impressive, I did it with a 2.02 GPA simply because I didn't care much about school. My mom forced me into it so she could brag essentially & I slacked as an act of rebellion. When I went off to college, I did incredibly better (3.7 over last 2 years) in school just by simply trying. I honestly didn't study much... It was more about understanding concepts and simply applying them on the test. The only classes that ever challenged me was quantitative poly sci classes... those I had to study for.

That said, I've improved my study habits and re-affirmed my commitment to being a lawyer. Thats all I want to do in life. I became a school teacher and I feel bad because everyone thats works LOVES teaching and Im just sitting there wishing I was learning constitutional law... Wishing I had something that challenged me. What Im wondering about is an actual example of how rigorous Law school is... I dont want to fall into the trap of quitting a job that puts food on the table and is not incredibly hard to do, only to go to law school and find out I dont belong.

TL;DR: How accurate is the LSAT in predicting how well I could theoretically do in Law School. When deciding to go, is it like (<150 No), (150-160 Maybe), (160< Yes)?

[Clearly]

The LSAT is loosely correlated with how well people do in law school, at least first year. The correlation isn't worth worrying about. That said, your final question is very different. How you do on the lsat is determinative of if you should go to law school, although not out of concern for your exact rank in the class, but rather if a school that would accept a given lsat is worth attending at all (or without a substantial scholarship, which means you beat their lsat standards, which makes the question moot).

First, what do you want to do as a lawyer? What type of career are you looking for?

[retaking23]

Don't use LSAT to predict law school success. Use it for deciding where to apply, if to apply, negotiating scholarships etc. That said, suppose you got a 180 and went to a TTT. Would this mean you can count on doing very well in law school? Perhaps there is something you possess innately which will give you some sort of a leg up in terms of reasoning and comprehension, but the straightforward LSAT reasoning is not particularly helpful in law school where everything sort of depends. Hardwork, legal synthesis ability, and knowing the doctrine and being able to churn it out and apply it fast and in a whole host of ways is what will make you successful. Similarly, going to a top school that gives normal grades (think CCN) with an LSAT score far below their median does not mean you will do badly; the above factors will determine success far more than LSAT.

And, if you are not an outlier in terms of LSAT score and are fungible with all your classmates, then beware the curve.

[cwill011]

The LSAT is loosely correlated with how well people do in law school, at least first year. The correlation isn't worth worrying about. That said, your final question is very different. How you do on the lsat is determinative of if you should go to law school, although not out of concern for your exact rank in the class, but rather if a school that would accept a given lsat is worth attending at all (or without a substantial scholarship, which means you beat their lsat standards, which makes the question moot).

First, what do you want to do as a lawyer? What type of career are you looking for?

I want to do criminal law mainly... I've had a very personal experience with the legal system and I realized early on in life how detrimental a bad lawyer can be to a defendant and their family. I don't know how realistic it is, but I wanted to be a public defender for a few years to gain experience. I know these jobs are hard to come by so I'm not chained to that. My ultimate goal though is to go private practice and become successful enough to employ other people. Success in the legal field to me would be making 80-90k (more wouldn't hurt), being able to employ 5 or 6 other people, and being the best defense lawyer possible. I know most people who open up private practices don't make it and wash out but I'm really not going to let that discourage me. I really don't think anything I'm trying to do is even close to being impossible.

With these goals, its important that I go to school with as much FinAid as possible... Im an URM and Im kind of hoping that if I score high enough on the LSAT, a 2-4 tier school will give me full tuition.

[cwill011]

And, if you are not an outlier in terms of LSAT score and are fungible with all your classmates, then beware the curve.

This is kind of what im getting at. I assume law school is a self selective process in terms of intelligence and I assume that everyone in law school was at least an above average UG students.... even at the 3rd and 4th tier schools. Im wondering if Im actually on par with my peers or if Im capable of standing out.

Falling victim to the curve would kill me inside... Im going to bust my tail and my goal is to outwork everyone. I just hear stories about people who work extremely hard and still get kicked out of school due to GPA. Granted, Im taking them at their word in terms of how hard they said they worked.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Getting kicked out is pretty unlikely if you're at a decent school (schools with very high acceptance rates usually do flunk people - their curves require a certain number of Fs - but higher ranked schools don't use those curves). It's not clear what your GPA is exactly, but with a high LSAT you can get into a school where failing out isn't really an issue (assuming you actually do the work).

There is also no reason why falling victim to the curve should kill you inside. Grades are not a reflection of you/your worth as a person, especially on a curve, where the system requires ranking what are often very very similar exam answers.

Hard work is important but the bigger issue for law school is figuring out how to take exams. Studying 16 hours a day isn't necessary for that.