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I took the October LSAT and my score is a 136. My credentials (so to speak) are as follows: I have an associates in legal studies, a couple years of contract paralegal work and did not study for this test what so ever. I'm 40 years old and only received my associates this past spring. I had a family first in life and now am able to think of my dreams, which, have always been to become an attorney. I took the LSAT just to see where I stand before pursuing anything any further. Oh, and my gpa was a 3.21.

So here's my question: Is a 136 terrible for my circumstances?

Thank you, I appreciate the board for the wide variety of opinions displayed.

michiganturtle wrote:I took the October LSAT and my score is a 136. My credentials (so to speak) are as follows: I have an associates in legal studies, a couple years of contract paralegal work and did not study for this test what so ever. I'm 40 years old and only received my associates this past spring. I had a family first in life and now am able to think of my dreams, which, have always been to become an attorney. I took the LSAT just to see where I stand before pursuing anything any further. Oh, and my gpa was a 3.21.

So here's my question: Is a 136 terrible for my circumstances?

Thank you, I appreciate the board for the wide variety of opinions displayed.

Yes, 136 is terrible in any circumstance. You will not get into a law school of any quality with that score.

If you want to get into a good law school, take the test again and actually study.

JWP1022 wrote:

michiganturtle wrote:I took the October LSAT and my score is a 136. My credentials (so to speak) are as follows: I have an associates in legal studies, a couple years of contract paralegal work and did not study for this test what so ever. I'm 40 years old and only received my associates this past spring. I had a family first in life and now am able to think of my dreams, which, have always been to become an attorney. I took the LSAT just to see where I stand before pursuing anything any further. Oh, and my gpa was a 3.21.

So here's my question: Is a 136 terrible for my circumstances?

Thank you, I appreciate the board for the wide variety of opinions displayed.

Yes, 136 is terrible in any circumstance. You will not get into a law school of any quality with that score.

If you want to get into a good law school, take the test again and actually study.

Unfortunately, this is the only credited response. This test is learnable, but requires, for 99% of people, a ton of time and effort and energy. There are a ton of resources on this site, and people on this site that had massive score increases. To be competitive at a law school actually worth attending (forget tuition- talking opportunity cost here), you need to raise that score 30 points. It'll be tough but it's been done before.

You need to retake or not go to law school. There isn't a school in the country that would be worth going to that would admit you with a 136.

JWP1022 wrote:

michiganturtle wrote:I took the October LSAT and my score is a 136. My credentials (so to speak) are as follows: I have an associates in legal studies, a couple years of contract paralegal work and did not study for this test what so ever. I'm 40 years old and only received my associates this past spring. I had a family first in life and now am able to think of my dreams, which, have always been to become an attorney. I took the LSAT just to see where I stand before pursuing anything any further. Oh, and my gpa was a 3.21.

So here's my question: Is a 136 terrible for my circumstances?

Thank you, I appreciate the board for the wide variety of opinions displayed.

Yes, 136 is terrible in any circumstance. You will not get into a law school of any quality with that score.

If you want to get into a good law school, take the test again and actually study.

Thank you for the response, I realize that with a low score such as mine, law school is out of the question for the time being.

michiganturtle wrote: Thank you for the response, I realize that with a low score such as mine, law school is out of the question for the time being.

I didn't mean to come across as overly harsh, but those are the facts. I'm sure you're a smart guy, and, as WTRCoins said, the test is absolutely learnable. Put in a solid 6 months of work (using one of the guides posted here) and you'll put up a more competitive score if/when you retake.

..

wtrc wrote:

JWP1022 wrote:

michiganturtle wrote:I took the October LSAT and my score is a 136. My credentials (so to speak) are as follows: I have an associates in legal studies, a couple years of contract paralegal work and did not study for this test what so ever. I'm 40 years old and only received my associates this past spring. I had a family first in life and now am able to think of my dreams, which, have always been to become an attorney. I took the LSAT just to see where I stand before pursuing anything any further. Oh, and my gpa was a 3.21.

So here's my question: Is a 136 terrible for my circumstances?

Thank you, I appreciate the board for the wide variety of opinions displayed.

Yes, 136 is terrible in any circumstance. You will not get into a law school of any quality with that score.

If you want to get into a good law school, take the test again and actually study.

Unfortunately, this is the only credited response. This test is learnable, but requires, for 99% of people, a ton of time and effort and energy. There are a ton of resources on this site, and people on this site that had massive score increases. To be competitive at a law school actually worth attending (forget tuition- talking opportunity cost here), you need to raise that score 30 points. It'll be tough but it's been done before.

Thanks for that, I do plan on studying my butt off and then retaking next year. Hopefully 30+ points will be easy to come by with lots of hard work and determination!

michiganturtle wrote: Thanks for that, I do plan on studying my butt off and then retaking next year. Hopefully 30+ points will be easy to come by with lots of hard work and determination!

It will NOT be easy to come by. Be prepared to get knocked down a lot. Keep getting up and you will get where you want to be.

ImNoScar wrote:You need to retake or not go to law school. There isn't a school in the country that would be worth going to that would admit you with a 136.

Agreed.

slackademic wrote:Your numbers are really all that matters, particularly when they're this low. I don't know that I've heard of this big of a jump before, but I don't think it's impossible. If this is something you really want to do, you just have to retake. It's not worth going to any school you can get into at this point.

Frankly, if you can't achieve a 170 (or higher), it's going to be a very, very, very uphill battle.

Best of luck.

With studying, I would hope that I could improve my score greatly - verses no studying at all which is the boat I'm in now. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

michiganturtle wrote:

slackademic wrote:Your numbers are really all that matters, particularly when they're this low. I don't know that I've heard of this big of a jump before, but I don't think it's impossible. If this is something you really want to do, you just have to retake. It's not worth going to any school you can get into at this point.

Frankly, if you can't achieve a 170 (or higher), it's going to be a very, very, very uphill battle.

Best of luck.

With studying, I would hope that I could improve my score greatly - verses no studying at all which is the boat I'm in now. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

How did you prepare the first time?

How did you prepare the first time?[/quote]

I did not prepare at all, which is why I got such a low score. I decided to just take the Oct LSAT and see where my "no studying" score would fall. I was hoping to get some motivation out of it, create a baseline and retake next year.

michiganturtle wrote:How did you prepare the first time?

I did not prepare at all, which is why I got such a low score. I decided to just take the Oct LSAT and see where my "no studying" score would fall. I was hoping to get some motivation out of it, create a baseline and retake next year.[/quote]
That makes sense. There are some phenomenal resources on this site that discuss how to best prepare. Best of luck on your retake.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6&t=200917

Pithy's & Noodley's are very credited.

I recommend reading the power score bibles and going from there.

Youll probably need about 6 months of dedicated study to get a score high enough to justify attending law school.

Nova wrote:http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6&t=200917

Pithy's & Noodley's are very credited.

I recommend reading the power score bibles and going from there.

Youll probably need about 6 months of dedicated study to get a score high enough to justify attending law school.

Now that the kids are grown, I have nothing but time on my hands to study. I will check out the link, thanks!

JWP1022 wrote:

michiganturtle wrote: Thanks for that, I do plan on studying my butt off and then retaking next year. Hopefully 30+ points will be easy to come by with lots of hard work and determination!

It will NOT be easy to come by. Be prepared to get knocked down a lot. Keep getting up and you will get where you want to be.

Thank you for your wisdom. The future is what we say it is, so I chose the word easy with that in mind. Believe me, I know what kind of bumps will be on the road to success in my endeavors, and I'm ready to climb over each and every one.

michiganturtle wrote:

JWP1022 wrote:

michiganturtle wrote: Thanks for that, I do plan on studying my butt off and then retaking next year. Hopefully 30+ points will be easy to come by with lots of hard work and determination!

It will NOT be easy to come by. Be prepared to get knocked down a lot. Keep getting up and you will get where you want to be.

Thank you for your wisdom. The future is what we say it is, so I chose the word easy with that in mind. Believe me, I know what kind of bumps will be on the road to success in my endeavors, and I'm ready to climb over each and every one.

It seems like you have the right attitude. Best of luck to you! Let us know how the studying goes.

OP you only have an associates degree? No bachelors? Or am I missing something from your first post?

tofuspeedstar wrote:OP you only have an associates degree? No bachelors? Or am I missing something from your first post?

Just an associates, that is correct. I am very interested in Cooley, which in special cases, will admit with just an associates.

Going to Cooley is not worth the time or money.

Finish your bachelors if you're serious about becoming an attorney, and do not apply to Cooley.

This:

michiganturtle wrote:I am very interested in Cooley

Is a worse idea than this:

michiganturtle wrote:I did not prepare at all, which is why I got such a low score. I decided to just take the Oct LSAT and see where my "no studying" score would fall. I was hoping to get some motivation out of it, create a baseline and retake next year.

You need to rethink your attitude towards this entire process. Study for the LSAT using the materials available (which is way cheaper than taking a $160 test as a diagnostic). Go back to school and finish your bachelors. The advantage of this is that since you don't have a BA yet, your GPA is not set in stone. You can spend as long as you need to in college to bring that GPA up.

If you increase your GPA and your LSAT substantially, you might have a chance of getting into a school with a COA that's worth it.

notalobbyist wrote:Going to Cooley is not worth the time or money.

Finish your bachelors if you're serious about becoming an attorney, and do not apply to Cooley.

This . I would hold off on the lsat

michiganturtle wrote:

tofuspeedstar wrote:OP you only have an associates degree? No bachelors? Or am I missing something from your first post?

Just an associates, that is correct. I am very interested in Cooley, which in special cases, will admit with just an associates.

Yeap, get your bachelor's degree man. Then aim higher.

tofuspeedstar wrote:OP you only have an associates degree? No bachelors? Or am I missing something from your first post?

careful reading ftw. My eyes only saw "136, 40, 3.2"

M.Turtle, Tuition at Cooley is over 100k for 3 years. Cost of living is another 50k over 3 years. With interest, it will cost nearly 200k to attend Cooley at full price. Cooley has some of the worst employment stats in the country. Even with a full scholarship, the job prospects do not justify attending.

Cooley wrote:•Over 70% of grads will never have long term, full time legal careers.
•Over 40% of grads were NOT employed in long-term jobs 9 months after graduating
•About 50% of grads were NOT employed in full-time jobs 9 months after graduation.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... show=chars
http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=cooley