What score do I need to get? Forum

[ShayBrah89]

Greetings everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I hope this isn't a stupid question, but here goes:

I have been wanting to go to law school for some time now. Fortunately, after graduating, I was offered an awesome job (albeit a contracted job, which means no security/room for advancement) where I can save up money for a couple years before attending law school (sitting at 30k now, can realistically save 20k more). My ultimate goal is to work in the political field. I purchased the PowerScore bibles + 10 practice tests to kick off my studying, and just cracked the LR book. I plan on taking the LSAT in June 2015, giving me plenty of time to study. I have not taken an initial diagnostic test because I think I'll do horribly and discourage myself early on. LR and RC don't intimidate me, but the logic games definitely concern me. Before I continue, here's my stats:

LSAC GPA: 3.98
UG GPA: 4.04
UG school: T1, recognizable state university
Non-URM
Combat veteran/former Marine sergeant with a disability
LORs: I would venture to say very solid
Softs: military experience, mentorship program, not much else

Goal: T-20 with ~50% scholarship

What should I be aiming for as far as LSAT test scores to achieve the aforementioned goal? 165+? 170+?

Thank you for your time everyone!

[ilikebaseball]

I think you'll get a lot of people saying 168-170 and up. Your GPA is going to be above for all schools. You're in the freakin drivers seat. Just buckle down and keep studying your LSAT til its up in that range and take it, no matter how long it takes to reach that level

[pkraft1]

It seems to me that you should be aiming higher. That GPA coupled with a 172+ gives you nearly guaranteed acceptance everywhere. You should be shooting for a full scholarship at a top 14, or HYS.

[Nova]

Hitting schools lsat medians will get you good scholarships

[Nova]

Play with

http://Www.mylsn.info

http://Www.lawschoolnumbers.com

[ShayBrah89]

Great. Thanks all for the information! My dream school is Boalt, and from what I understand they appreciate high GPAs. I'm just struggling with a lack of confidence and some ominous feeling that I'll severely under-perform on the LSAT

[JazzyMac]

Greetings everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I hope this isn't a stupid question, but here goes:

I have been wanting to go to law school for some time now. Fortunately, after graduating, I was offered an awesome job (albeit a contracted job, which means no security/room for advancement) where I can save up money for a couple years before attending law school (sitting at 30k now, can realistically save 20k more). My ultimate goal is to work in the political field. I purchased the PowerScore bibles + 10 practice tests to kick off my studying, and just cracked the LR book. I plan on taking the LSAT in June 2015, giving me plenty of time to study. I have not taken an initial diagnostic test because I think I'll do horribly and discourage myself early on. LR and RC don't intimidate me, but the logic games definitely concern me. Before I continue, here's my stats:

LSAC GPA: 3.98
UG GPA: 4.04
UG school: T1, recognizable state university
Non-URM
Combat veteran/former Marine sergeant with a disability
LORs: I would venture to say very solid
Softs: military experience, mentorship program, not much else

Goal: T-20 with ~50% scholarship

What should I be aiming for as far as LSAT test scores to achieve the aforementioned goal? 165+? 170+?

Thank you for your time everyone!

This is exactly the reason I haven't taken a diagnostic. Best of luck with your studying! Also, if you haven't already, check out the Veteran's Thread.

[Nomo]

You need to get the highest score you can possible get. There is no score that is good enough. Every point will give you better options at less debt. Study as hard as you can as long as you can. Take as many practice tests as you can get your hands on. When you think you've maxed out your potential take the test. And if the score is less than what you were expecting take it again.

[BP Robert]

Hi Shay,

There's been no shortage of advice here, but there are a few things I'd like to add.

1. Your question (What LSAT score do I need to get a 50% scholarship to a T20 school as a ~4.0 combat veteran?) is pretty much empirical. You can a) actually call a couple schools you're interested in and ask them about past trends for persons such as yourself, and b) scour the web/TLS and find a ton of useful information.

2. With that being said, if I were to take a stab at it, I'd say that the answer to your q is probably a 166 or 168. Meaning that if you, as a 4.0 combat veteran, score a 168, you have a very reasonable likelihood of achieving at least a 50% scholarship to schools around T20 (UCLA, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc).

3. Boalt, which, as I'm sure you know, is higher ranked than those schools, is actually relatively unique in their admissions processes. They've been known on several occasions to be very receptive to compelling personal statements, circumstances, addenda, etc -- more so, allegedly, than most other T14 schools. That makes them a little more difficult to predict, but I would guess that your relatively unique personal experiences will be a valuable asset. Again, to take a stab at it: most schools in that range would require closer to a 171 for a half-ride scholarship.

4. Do not settle for T20 and do not settle for Boalt. You're in a position where the very best is well within reach. You will not do horribly on the LSAT if you invest some time into studying and studying properly. Many students -- especially those who are not too diligent -- find prep courses valuable; they might be worth considering.

5. IMO, you should give significant consideration to the T6 schools. While the T3 (H, Y, S) do not provide merit-based aid, they offer the type of networking and opportunities worth taking out a hefty loan for. Outside those three, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, and Penn are all very generous with aid.

6. Your target score should be a 172+. 172 marks the 99th percentile, and after that there appears to be a diminishing marginal return on score increases (which is not at all to say that doing better does not help). This score would be more than sufficient to give you a strong shot at Harvard and Stanford, and significant money at Columbia, Penn, Chicago, and NYU.

7. If at all possible, don't rush things. A 4.0 is a precious thing to squander with an unsatisfactory LSAT score, so wait and take whichever administration coincides with your scoring goals. Also bear in mind that, if you retake, admissions committees will see your original score. This is not typically devastating but it looks decidedly worse than if your retake score was your only score.

Very best of luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any further questions.

[hillz]

I'm not sure that it's necessary that you take a diagnostic first. There are many reasons for taking one - to have a baseline score, to see what the test is like, to realize how hard your journey will be, etc. If you don't care if you have a score from the beginning to compare to your end result, I think you would be fine cracking open the Bibles and learning methods and then starting PTs after you have a feel for how to approach the various sections.

[HRomanus]

2. With that being said, if I were to take a stab at it, I'd say that the answer to your q is probably a 166 or 168. Meaning that if you, as a 4.0 combat veteran, score a 168, you have a very reasonable likelihood of achieving at least a 50% scholarship to schools around T20 (UCLA, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc).

As a 4.0/165 last cycle I got around a 75% scholarship to Emory and was waitlisted at Vandy, for comparrison's sake. A 167-169 should be your target score if you don't care about T14. That being said, you should care about the T14 and should study for the best score possible. A 172-175 will open many, many doors with low debt.

[ShayBrah89]

Thank you all for the replies. Very informative and helpful!