What to do to increase chances of a favorable outcome: Forum

[fragged]

1. Message boards are not for everyone.

2. Generally when people say things like I don't mean to be insensitive but, it's because they know that they're about to be insensitive. She put in quite a bit of effort. She took multiple practice tests, dedicated a few hours each day to doing practices, and took a class before both tests.

1. Message boards are not for me either - this is honestly the only one I post on because of the wealth of resources here. I want to go to law school, so I signed up here and use the message boards. Thanks to some of the advice I got here, even if it was what I didn't want to hear, I improved my LSAT score and got into some schools that I wouldn't have gotten into otherwise.

2. Yes, I'm being insensitive because I'm also being honest. If you put a lot of hours into studying for the LSAT and can only pull a 144, you should seriously reconsider law school. The LSAT is arguably the most standardized test in existence. Regardless of whether or not you think it is a true indicator of one's potential in law school, you have to consider that if you get a 144, you are somewhere in the 20th-23rd percentile. That means in a room full of people who took the LSAT, your score is worse than roughly 80% of the people in that room. That's who you will be competing with in law school.

[wester0]

...

[subtle]

I thought the deadline was April or March. At my school they would do anything to get acum laude or better in their program

I'm pretty sure they've done all of the TFA interviews already. A different friend was already chosen, so I thought decisions were already made?

yeah, it appears I am wrong. I few years ago it was different. Have her get an MA in something

How are MAs looked on in the ap process? I understand that they can't hurt, but how much do they actually help?

@Fragged: Yes, we all understand the importance of the LSAT to the law school admissions process and what percentiles mean. That said, it's not my decision whether or not she should be a lawyer. As long as she's determined to be one, I'm going to provide her with whatever information I can about how to make a bad situation slightly better.

I've already proposed taking a year or more off to work and study. That's how I know that she (her parents?) isn't open to the idea. Since she's hell-bent on going this year, I feel like I should try to help her figure out the best way to make that happen. You can only do so much.

If I got my way, she'd tell her parents to eff off, work, study for the LSAT, and reapply in a few years to put distance between her and the 144/142. That way, even if she didn't score significantly better, she'd at least have work experience.

[Ignatius Reilly]

MA is a small help. If you get published, it is probably a bigger help, but not a huge game changer. but it gives her time and her parents can lay off. It is more of a time to retake strategy than a soft strategy.

If you want a major soft, you need to do peace core, some interesting volunteer work, or win a nobel . Find something that she is passionate about...leave the country, etc

I think alot of people on this site underestimate great softs.

[well-hello-there]

It seems like there's nothing else that can be said to her other that what I've already told her.

I know someone who is about to graduate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Texas and she has said that "there's lots of things you can do with a law degree besides practice law". It seems to me that this is the official line that the law school administrators are pitching to their students there.

show her the law school transparency graphs

--LinkRemoved--

[SortOfObsessed]

I sympathize with your friend because my parents put me in the exact same situation. They offered to foot the bill ONLY if I went directly from UG. They will only pay for a school of THEIR choice. And they are every bit as overbearing and misinformed as this girls parents appear to be in regards to job prospects after graduation.

I am in her exact situation, except with a higher LSAT score. And if my LSAT score was a 144? I wouldn't go at all.

I think the best thing to do is to help your friend contact career services at her UG and figure out something else to do. I think she's lucky to have a friend like you, and you'll be doing her a HUGE favor by helping her avoid a bleak future.

[fragged]

I thought the deadline was April or March. At my school they would do anything to get acum laude or better in their program

I'm pretty sure they've done all of the TFA interviews already. A different friend was already chosen, so I thought decisions were already made?

yeah, it appears I am wrong. I few years ago it was different. Have her get an MA in something

How are MAs looked on in the ap process? I understand that they can't hurt, but how much do they actually help?

@Fragged: Yes, we all understand the importance of the LSAT to the law school admissions process and what percentiles mean. That said, it's not my decision whether or not she should be a lawyer. As long as she's determined to be one, I'm going to provide her with whatever information I can about how to make a bad situation slightly better.

I've already proposed taking a year or more off to work and study. That's how I know that she (her parents?) isn't open to the idea. Since she's hell-bent on going this year, I feel like I should try to help her figure out the best way to make that happen. You can only do so much.

If I got my way, she'd tell her parents to eff off, work, study for the LSAT, and reapply in a few years to put distance between her and the 144/142. That way, even if she didn't score significantly better, she'd at least have work experience.

I have an MA - I actually had law school on the mind a while ago and got the MA because it is in a field that is very complementary to a law degree. I know it helped me, because I have had a couple interviews with schools, one that spent about 50% of the interview asking me questions about my studies and how they would apply to a law degree. I don't know if I would have gotten an interview in the first place if it weren't for that.

Maybe she should consider a part-time program so that she has fewer classes and a smaller workload?

[gbpackerbacker]

I sympathize with your friend because my parents put me in the exact same situation. They offered to foot the bill ONLY if I went directly from UG. They will only pay for a school of THEIR choice. And they are every bit as overbearing and misinformed as this girls parents appear to be in regards to job prospects after graduation.

Haha I wish my parents were overbearing enough to pay for my LS.