Top Law Schools

Hello everyone!

I've been lurking this forum for a little while ever since my decision to attend law school. The advice and knowledge I've acquired from this site in the short amount of time is indescribable. Which is why I want to inquire about a plan for my situation.

I started off relatively decent (grade wise) in my freshmen year of college. But with no real sources of motivation, that GPA eventually dropped and I am currently sitting at a 3.08 with 26 credits. Now I am motivated and have been for the past few months, and I would like to graduate with a 3.8 overall. (which would require me to get A's in every single class from here on out -- No A-'s). I believe that is completely possible if I put in the work. At the same time, I realize that the LSAT score is HUGE as far as admissions criteria. So how do I find a workable medium between LSAT preparation, maximizing studying/school work for those As, and working on my softs?

At this point, I obviously need to bump my GPA up first, but I seem to be more interested in reading the Powerscore Bibles than anything else. Is my preparation for the LSAT a little premature, given MY circumstances?

Lastly, and this goes hand in hand with my previous question. I think the LSAT is very fun and the practice tests are also very fun to me. I have taken 2 in the past week and have gotten 144 and 151 respectively (with a couple of LGB chapters in between). In my mind, I feel like I could get a higher score every time, so I want to keep taking it. However, at this pace, I would be done with all 30 lsac tests before my junior year in undergrad. Should I start taking the tests after I'm done with all the PowerScore books and just be patient?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just an excited and motivated prospective student as most of you probably are/were!

Thanks in advance everyone!

I'll try a whack at it:

26 Credits? Like, 13 credits/semester? That's nothing. By the end of your UG time, if you work hard and take more than 13 credits/semester, you could pull it way up (3.8 or so). I personally had a 2.4 for my first year and, after busting my butt (18-21 credits/semester, mostly As), now have a 3.6. So don't screw around and a 3.8 is easily doable.

Second, if you're just a sophomore, I'd advise holding off on the LSAT prep. You don't need 2 years to prep. Take it June before your senior year and, if necessary, October of your senior year. I wouldn't start formally studying until 6 months in advance or less. Get the bibles, all prep tests, and test under realistic conditions.

It's nice to hear that you want to attend law school out of college. Things I would do are these.

1. Keep your grades up (you seem to be on the right track).

2. You should only have to spend up to six months to prep for the LSAT, depending on how much you study at once and how long it takes you to grasp things. I wouldn't start prep until January of your Junior year. When you take timed tests, take sections back to back, no long "Albert Haynesworth conditioning test" bathroom breaks every 35 minutes, if you know what I mean. Also, add in a 5th section as an experimental. Many friends who went on to law school told me they were only taking four sections in their practice, then were fatigued for the real thing.

3. Besides academics and LSAT, you should be involved in some extra curricular activity that you enjoy and devote a good amount of time to it. If you're just a bookworm, that's great, but no admissions committee for grad school wants to pick up "boring people"

4. Most importantly, you will have to decide that going straight to law school from undergrad is right for you. At most schools about 1/3 to 1/2 of students are right out of college, and from touring law schools this past summer, about 3/4 of a law school class is within 3 years out. So it's perfectly fine to wait a year or more before going to school.

dcman06 wrote: 3. Besides academics and LSAT, you should be involved in some extra curricular activity that you enjoy and devote a good amount of time to it. If you're just a bookworm, that's great, but no admissions committee for grad school wants to pick up "boring people"

On the other hand, if you're above 75th percentiles for both GPA and LSAT, schools won't really care how boring you are, you'll get in. Having a few EC's if good, but if you're doing college right, you should have very little time between schoolwork and recreational time .

Never hurts to start studying earlier so you can get familiar with certain concepts (contrapositives and how to build logic chains, for example), but yea, you'll want a few month's heavy prep work as you're approaching the lsat. If you have the extra time, take it sometime during Junior year so that June before senior year will be your fall-back test date as opposed to your first date (very helpful to have your LSAT #'s determined by fall of senior year, so you dont have to scramble to apply as soon as October scores come out).

In any case, good luck, have fun, and keep a watch on the #'s as far as the legal field goes. I'm very interested how the glut of law school students/ contraction of the legal market will affect salary and employment figures over the next few years.