decisions to make (warning, super low lsat score) Forum

[yunjh1066]

Hi guys,

I had super low score in June, 146. Took another one in September and got 152, still super low. Average PTs were about 161. These scores are so embarrassing but I guess I should not be too surprised from PTs score of 161. My goal is Pepperdine, Loyola, USD, or Chapman with a lot of scholarship money. My GPA is 3.8 from a UC institution.

Should I retake it in December and apply late (to be honest, i am kind of burnt out; studied for about 4 months straight, quit my job and dedicated day and night) or sit out for this cycle to apply for next cycle or even reconsider going to law school? I might land on a good job opportunity at a big corporation as a legal assistant (yeah, just a legal assistant job but I have my paralegal certificate that I can maybe potentially use to advance as a paralegal for this corporation in the long run).

Please provide suggestion.

Thanks in advance.

[Smallville]

Hi guys,

I had super low score in June, 146. Took another one in September and got 152, still super low. Average PTs were about 161. These scores are so embarrassing but I guess I should not be too surprised from PTs score of 161. My goal is Pepperdine, Loyola, USD, or Chapman with a lot of scholarship money. My GPA is 3.8 from a UC institution.

Should I retake it in December and apply late (to be honest, i am kind of burnt out; studied for about 4 months straight, quit my job and dedicated day and night) or sit out for this cycle to apply for next cycle or even reconsider going to law school? I might land on a good job opportunity at a big corporation as a legal assistant (yeah, just a legal assistant job but I have my paralegal certificate that I can maybe potentially use to advance as a paralegal for this corporation in the long run).

Please provide suggestion.

Thanks in advance.

I think you should put some thought in getting back on the real world life track with getting a job again(how time consuming of one is up to you) and take the cycle off... don't shoot for Dec, its too soon for what you've been doing and don't wanna continue your burntoutness (my own new word) give Feb or maybe even June again a shot so you have time to relax, de-LSAT, and slowly spread out your study and bump yourself up

[Shakawkaw]

I'd sit this cycle out, OP. Lawl school isn't going anywhere, and you need time to recoup from a potential burnout. Have you considered enrolling in/are you able to afford taking a course? That might help give you the extra boost!

[yunjh1066]

Thanks guys!

So with my score, 152 and 3.8 GPA, there isn't a hope for any of the schools mentioned above for some money right? (not worth applying yet?)

I did take Blueprint course. It helped for me to get started. I then self-studies for 2 months just using Prep Tests (using the old ones for drilling and more recent ones as PTs).

Hopefully, I can get a job and just work as a paralegal as a career until I feel ready to get back onto LSAT (have been miserable studying for past four months and rarely got out because I felt so guilty. But only 152...)

Thanks anyways guys! More feedback would be appreciated.

[BP Robert]

A 3.8 from a UC school is a precious thing to waste!

I'd definitely recommend taking some time and then retaking the test. If you study casually for this next year, for example, I'm sure you'll be ready to obliterate the exam come October 2015. Two or three hours a week for the time being should suffice. Additionally, you'll have both removed the stigma of no work experience from your application, and also gained some useful insight about your legal goals, when you apply next year.

I know it looks like a bummer now but with those things in perspective there's a strong silver lining

Best luck,

Blueprint LSAT Prep

Feel free to PM if you have any further q's btw!

[PeanutsNJam]

Seriously if you have a GPA that's close to HYS medians, and you want to go to law school, there is no reason not to retake until you're at least 170+, then go to T14 for free.

[Mullens]

Is english your native language? I noticed some small fluency errors in your previous posts and your username.

If english isn't your native language, I suggest taking some time off to work on your fluency and then try getting back to LSAT studying.

[Louis1127]

My diagnostic was lower than your June score. I improved to a 160 and will be retaking with you because I think I can go higher. You can go higher than 152. I know you can.

Try a different approach- instead of studying full-time like you did (and got burned out from), study 2-3 hours per day, 6 days a week. Have a job/school/hobbies/social time so that you have other things to think about other than "LSAT LSAT LSAT oh hey guess what LSAT!". That's probably what was going through your mind when you did "full-time prep", and it probably hindered your progress.

Stick around the study forums and keep improving!

[yunjh1066]

Thanks guys!

Yes. I guess full time studying burnt me out to the max. Yes my native language is not English (although I lived in the States for 12 years already ) I guess my main issue was more of fast-comprehension, coming to a realization now.

Hopefully, I can be more persistent and read Economists or other magazine to strengthen my comprehension!

But guys, I know you guys want me to aim higher and that is definitely true, but can someone tell me the stats to my original question: With my score, 152 and 3.8 GPA, there isn't a hope for any of the schools mentioned above for some money right? (not worth applying yet?) I want to know where I am standing right now.


Thanks all.

[TLSanders]

Have you been able to identify why you're scoring significantly lower in the testing room than you are on your PTs?

It could simply be anxiety, but I wouldn't make that assumption unless you have some evidence to suggest it. Many people perform slightly better when it counts than in practice.

I would not retake the LSAT unless/until you have a clear idea of what's going wrong and have reason to believe you can change that. The answer might be more practice and preparation, but given the large discrepancy between your practice scores and real scores, it seems likely that something else is going on.

[BigZuck]

Check out http://www.mylsn.info

The schools you mentioned are all terrible and should be shut down or at best consolidated. They do a really bad job of creating lawyers and should not be attended even with a fully. Luckily your 3.8 can get you into UCLA/USC and possibly even Berkeley/Stanford which are all worthwhile law schools.

Good luck on the retake, tons of amazing resources on this subforum. You're obviously smart, just gotta figure out the lsat.

[alexrodriguez]

I'm in a similar boat.

June 153
September 156

I was PTing in the 160-162 range... I'm definitely taking again this December.

I have about 45 days left and this time I'm going to kill it.

Success is my only option. It's literally my only option.

be like slimshady on 8 mile and go for it

[yunjh1066]

Hmm... I think it's just the fact that with practice tests, I took them twice already (first for June Prep and second for September). So the scores do not really reflect my true performance. Also, reading comp. (although it was easier this time in September) had significantly gotten harder for me. Practice tests do not really help me that much since I remember reading the passages.

Anyways, I'm just waiting for my job offers and hopefully I can get motivated to study again and apply for next cycle!